Yael Ksander Really Does See Spot Run

Ksander in radio mode

Some of us call her the next Terry Gross.

Yael Ksander’s  finely crafted essays and voluptuous voice have made her a favorite among Indiana Public Media listeners. But the brilliance of Ksander’s broadcasts begins with her close reading of texts.

Ksander recently wrote a segment about A Home of Her Own for the WFIU program Artworks. While the book’s lavish illustrations may tempt many to linger at the surface, this graduate of Columbia University’s MFA program in Art History took the time to absorb the words.  And how.

“A wolf in sheep’s clothing,” she astutely calls the work. “Betty Friedan disguised as Martha Stewart.”

Instead of taping interviews for her program at the studio, Ksander chose to visit one of the houses in the book, confident that immersing herself in context would enrich her story. She arrived at the home of  Linda Oblack, subject of Chapter 7, with microphone, recording device, and her well-read review copy of the book in hand.

No sooner had Linda retired than she painted her living room and replaced the well-worn carpet.

For a  recording and transcript of the broadcast, along with more of Ksander’s writings on Hoosier history and culture,  cut and paste the following link into your browser: http://indianapublicmedia.org/arts/home-reclaiming-a-latterday-frontier/ .

 

Colleagues David Brent Johnson and Yael Ksander at the offices of WFIU, Bloomington, Indiana

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