Twelve Branches

Stories by Nora Murphy, Joanna Rawson, Julia Klatt Singer, and Diego Vázquez

April 1, 2003 • 6 x 9 • 200 pages • 978-1-56689-140-0

Four writers gather stories from the people of St. Paul and weave them into this beautiful collection.

What happens when a city gets together, not to read a book, but to write one? Twelve Branches: Stories from St. Paul began as an innovative, artistic project meant to bring together city residents from all ages and backgrounds to collaborate on writing a book—one that would ultimately result in this beautifully realized collection and serve as a lasting document for the city of St. Paul, Minnesota. To achieve this lofty goal, four accomplished writers gathered memories and histories from the community at twelve St. Paul branch libraries. Each of the twelve fictional chapters, grown from the stories told at the libraries and combined with historical research, is as diverse in style and content as the communities from which they sprang—from war to friendship and fire to fertility, these stories are tied together by the city itself.

Reviews

 

“A once-in-a-lifetime book.” —St. Paul Pioneer Press