- Series
- Why is a writer?
- Air Date
- 1960-11-18
- Duration
- 00:14:30
- Episode Description
- This program focuses on American poet Emily Dickinson.
- Series Description
- Produced by the Iowa School of the Air, this series focuses on various works of literature from Shakespeare to Twain.
- Subject(s)
- Creator(s)
- University of Iowa (Producer)Walcoff, Larry (Director)Horowitz, Floyd (Writer)
- Contributors
- Setterberg, Dick (Actor)Keeler, Tom (Actor)Stribling, Don (Actor)Carter, Dave (Announcer)Phelps, Emma Sue (Actor)
- Genre(s)
- Geographic Region(s)
- regions
- Time Period
- 1951-1960
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The school of the air presents
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under a grant from the Educational Television and Radio Center in cooperation with the
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National Association of educational broadcasters.
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Today's program.
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Once each year is on an August afternoon. This
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professor Dickinson's Hollis who had banged shut as the guests came in.
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It was the afternoon of the first college commencement and inside.
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Miss Emilee daughter of the house aged 40 unmarried would
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serve the beverage as she had the last time and the year before
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and before and before that he missed both coffee
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this year I think Miss Emily.
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Yes times are changing I would suppose.
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I do agree 1870 may well be an unusual year for us all.
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You know they say in Boston later in the afternoon the tea of course was over
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the screen door banged for the last guest and the house was quiet.
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Miss Emily might start a poem that.
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Evening. Softly
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softly as an astral
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evening softly lit. As an astral.
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But if she didn't complete it then there was no hurry. Miss
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Emily had time.
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Of course during 1870 Miss Emily was still seen on her way through a visit
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or crossing the Hearst Tahrir Square Church.
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That's Emily Dickinson.
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She lived here all her life for the street looking lady and she strains
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to dress she always wears white. But now it is time to which
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I hadn't thought of it. She's always on that kind of dress
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you know eccentric.
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Well I don't know I suppose she doesn't think too much of things like that.
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There were always the voices the eyes that watched her pass
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the tongues that imagine why she'd never marry another
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women love affair love affair just working you know tongue
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never wrong the fear do you miss the both a romantic affair quite
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proper but heartbreaking heartbreaking no less.
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Why do you suppose she keeps to herself to her house.
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Nobody really knew that but it was true that Miss Emily kept to the
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house or at least she kept close to the house.
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Every day I'm right over here I asked him
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Don't trip over me.
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How can you ever plant so many flowers Emilie my dear brother. You must ask me that at
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least twice each week and I don't know how many years you've watched me do it.
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Of course I'm joking Emily of course so my I started
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early took my dog and visited the sea.
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The mermaids in the basement came out to look at me. Emily I don't believe you're
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ever serious with me. Then you weren't joking. You only want to do a bottle
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me up. I had no such but you look at me like you made me stop planting
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my Lily.
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Now if you don't say what you came across the lawn to say let me finish planting the poor
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flower is going to die and you were the murderer.
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Emily I realize that Susan you came to talk
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seriously about Susan. I realize you are angry and angry
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because Susan had printed my poem without my permission I know how important your poems are
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to you. You do force me to speak about the matter. Here's a little poem so painful it was
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wrong of me Austen which you gave her to her and she is your sister in law and you
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are my brother.
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I.
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And my poem was not meant to be printed in the pages of the Springfield Republican thank you very much the
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same but you didn't give it to her. I did not give it. I learned it.
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I meant it to her so that she might read it whenever she wanted.
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And Hearst in those days Amherst Massachusetts was small.
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Usually everyone knew well a great deal about everyone
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else.
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Yep about Miss Emily dickens you read up on the take at
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the way my with you anybody you take.
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For God you.
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Saw yet about Miss Emily who stayed in the brick house
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behind the hemlock hedges.
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I never saw. I never saw this
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yet. No I how the heather looks.
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And what a wave must be. I never spoke.
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Yet about Miss Emily Dickinson there was a mystery that people might not quite
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understand. A hundred other ladies might tender their garden and hardly ever
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leave their house. But I caved in only there would be a visitor.
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To Jackson. But if she never sees anyone that was
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Dickinson's friendly nothing you just said she doesn't visit doesn't have a visit
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to this one. Then I can't
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find out a thing. Maybe wait. We're going to ride right outta the
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house before I ever find out what happened while I was gone. It's just it doesn't happen I can
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see enough alone in my house to Vinnie's there
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never sees anyone. I wish you'd tell me what
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it. Oh I don't suppose anything and none of my business. It's not as if I
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were a prying stranger. These people you're right why they'd like her
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in Europe. I don't suppose she's been up to three years ago maybe
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if you went to Boston so Europeans like good poetry.
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I don't think I ever heard the place for a poet is taken soon.
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Then I said to him Miss Dickinson if you please has talent is a poetess of
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the first Helen Jackson. That man didn't have any reason to know me well never
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mind about him anyway. I came to see you and here I
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am 46 years old I believe in a good time to begin again. I told
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Thomas Niles about two nines is he some friend friend. Why he's the publisher
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of the no name Siri.
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Oh just oh. At Mount Holyoke as I recall we were taught to
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say oh very politely whenever we didn't know what else to say where.
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Say yes say yes to one to letting Niles publish your poetry
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publish it. Oh dear no. But you must have portfolios full of it all I know
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I never meant to have you think my dear Emily I assure you it's considered quite
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proper for a lady to have poems published to have her poems
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published of course.
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But even a writer a poet as I think you ought not to publish your very life
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experience now you must let me talk to you about this.
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You think me a to serious alone here no
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public I'd be stale in a month. It's not a matter of being overly
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serious it's well but that's the point.
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You see I like it.
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I like my life itself
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and I have my friends.
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And it was true for many people receive Miss Emily's little notes perhaps a
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short poem. They were her friends. And others like Mr. Higgins and
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would receive her letters.
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Do you. When you wrote you would come in November.
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It would please me it were November
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and there would be a poem or lines perhaps 8 as if I asked a
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common use and in my wondering praying your prayers.
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As if I asked the audience and
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then simply the closing lines of the letter.
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I hope you have
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reveries and perhaps you have spoken with George Eliot.
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Will you tell me about it when you come in November
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November.
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In 1880 Miss Emily was exactly half a century old.
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Fifty years of quietness in Amhurst village the people often said
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gifted that Miss Emily hardly left the house now even
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for Lily.
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That's not exactly a rise Emily.
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I wish. Vinnie hadn't bothered you doctor. I'm just then he ought to
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rest as far as I know that's been my whole life. Rys and I don't
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want you reading Emersons essays came just this noon. It's not very fair of you
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is it.
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Do you think I've got no heart Emily. I'm old doctor. Either listen
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or you don't and if you don't if I don't you better take it to another doctor and if I
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only pretend to listen but really don't.
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And read Mr. Emerson any way you wouldn't even know I suppose. But
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you wouldn't. You know you wouldn't. So why don't we compromise. And
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I just read a little and not a bit more.
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You're not a man to spin me round your finger. Oh heaven forbid. You have a
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doctor. I want to look into for me Emily Dickinson.
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Well I suspect you're right. Maybe I will if I can only.
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I'm just so tired.
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So tired.
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So tired and who could know why the
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poems perhaps half a century of being frail
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Perhaps perhaps perhaps.
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My dear Mrs. Jackson perhaps it wasn't to be traced
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before her recent death. Miss Emily Dickinson asked me to write and thank
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you for your kind read.
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In 1884 Miss Emily quietly die.
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Of course there were lilies for the occasion and of course the people in town had their tears.
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Then a month passed and a year.
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As could be expected life went on. And a very few people talked about Miss Emily.
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Very few until suddenly and 1890.
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Oh if you could it says in the paper.
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Miss Emily Dickinson who. We knew she wrote poems.
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It says here she was a poet. Imagine living right here.
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Yep she was gifted All right. A little queer.
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Yes it was hard for the people in hers to change their way of looking at Miss Emily.
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But there was a whole book of her poetry a wonderful I always urged her
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why Emily are a few but who would have supposed so many.
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And Miss Dickinson is the most sensitive poet America has produced these past
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50 years.
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And what would she have said to it herself within her house.
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Amidst the quietness beauty.
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But was scarce adjusted in the two when one died for truth. Was
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in an adjoining room.
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Questions. For beauty I
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replied and dive for truth.
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The one we brethren are he said. And so
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between the US had reached us and covered up our
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names.
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Heard in today's program where Imus who Phelps Ruth lost Billy parado Dick said of Tom cater lower
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uncocking and his old Brando friend whereas in Harold's wants and where our studio engineers why
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is a writer is written by Floyd Horowitz and directed by Larry Wall coffee this is Dave Carter
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speaking this has been another program in the series why is a writer produced by WSU
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wise Iowa School of the air under a grant from the Educational Television and Radio Center
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and is distributed by the National Association of educational broadcasters.
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This is the Radio Network.
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