In this edition of Madison Book Beat, host Andrew Thomas speaks with Henry Wise on his debut novel, Holy City (2024, Grove Atlantic Press).

Holy City is a novel that grabs your attention by the opening sentence and propels you into a world of crime, guilt, unrealized desire, and vanquished hopes and dreams. The narrative shuttles between Richmond, Virginia–the eponymous Holy City–and the rural county of Euphoria. Anything but euphoric, it’s peopled by a cast of characters both burned out on the passage of time and not very optimistic about the present. We encounter people enduring the harsh realities of poverty, the legacies of racism, the personal and historical ghosts of the past, as well as the fickleness of the small town legal system. Everyone’s running from something, and everyone’s got something to hide. We encounter this world through the eyes of Deputy Sheriff Will Seems, a prodigal son of sorts who returns to Euphoria from Richmond after a decade away. While immediately embroiled in the investigation of a brutal homicide, our brooding protagonist must navigate a guilty past, a fraught relationship with family, and an increasingly suspect county Sheriff. Its fast pacing is complemented by a striking poetic lyricism that demands regularly slowing down and relishing in the talents of this poet-turned-novelist.

Henry Wise is a graduate of the Virginia Military Institute and the University of Mississippi MFA Program. His work has appeared in Shenandoah, Nixes Mate, Radar Poetry, Clackamas, and elsewhere. His nonfiction and photography have appeared in Southern Cultures. Holy City is his first novel.

In this edition of Madison Book Beat, host Lisa Malawski talks with Robin and Joan

Rolfs about their book Hearthstone: America’s Electrical National Treasure.

Joan and Rob have been enthralled with Hearthstone since the 1970’s when they

moved to the Fox Cities. Joan developed a successful Interior Design program at Fox

Valley Technical College in 1971.

In 1986, Joan was contacted by a member of The Friends of Hearthstone Board and

invited to become involved with the restoration of Hearthstone. Rob was also invited

because of his background in electronics and electricity. Realizing the Edison

connection and the historical importance of the house, the Rolfs accepted.

In 1990, they were given the task to develop the Hydro-Adventure Exhibit in the lower

level of Hearthstone. The exhibit increased public awareness of the role of electricity in

daily lives and the transformation which occurred in society as a result of Thomas A.

Edison’s inventions and Henry Roger’s vision for implementation.

Hearthstone contains all the original architecture and electrical light fixtures from when

the home was built in 1882. The Rolfs worked with the Edison National Historical Park

in Orange, NJ and one day during their visit met Chad Shapiro, a collector and historian

of early lighting. He shared his knowledge and provided the Rolfs with copies of original

Bergmann lighting catalogs from 1882-1884.

Approximately thirty years later, as the Rolfs researched the hanging light fixtures

(electroliers) and wall sconces, they concluded the majority of these light fixtures were

the original Sigmund Bergmann fixtures dating to 1882. The significance of these

fixtures is they are the earliest surviving examples of Bermann electroliers and sconces

in the world! This inspired the Rolfs to write Hearthstone: America’s Electrical National

Treasure.

In this episode, Lisa discusses the Rolfs passions for all things Thomas Edison, their

volunteerism at Hearthstone, antique phonographs, records, writing and their shared

love for research.

In her fourth collection, Driftless Area-based poet Nikki Wallschlaeger further proves herself as a singular poet of astonishing emotional depth and formal range. Hold Your Own is a steadfast search for peace, self-acceptance, and pleasure in a world that makes those basic rights an everyday challenge for Black women. It was published in May 2024 by Copper Canyon Press.

Nikki joins host Sara Batkie for a conversation about getting the right rhythm, the joys of working with books every day, and the natural beauty of her home state.

Nikki Wallschlaeger’s work has been featured in The Nation, Brick, American Poetry Review, Witness, Kenyon Review, Poetry, and others. She is the author of the full-length collections Waterbaby (Copper Canyon Press, 2021), Houses (Horseless Press 2015), and Crawlspace (Bloof 2017), as well as the graphic book I Hate Telling You How I Really Feel (2019) from Bloof Books. She is also the author of an artist book called “Operation USA” through the Baltimore-based book arts group Container, a project acquired by Woodland Pattern Book Center in Milwaukee.