Vonnegut Bio; Hank Nuwer Stories
Grab a coffee and enjoy the story clearinghouse of Hank Nuwer with photos of Alaska and its wildlife by Malgorzata (Gosia) Nuwer.
You’ll find that I’ve added some finished and partially finished biography-in-progress of Kurt Vonnegut, “The Man in the Hole.”
Hank Nuwer’s Indiana University Press books on hazing. Podcast in The Culture
Podcast of “Weed in the Garden of Academe” with Hank Nuwer
Scroll down for archived Realalaskadaily stories.Thank you for reading. Got a compliment or gripe? Drop a line to Hjnuwer@Alaska.edu. Gosia and I want to keep this site ad-free. Trying to raise funds for last-minute research on my Kurt Vonnegut biography: “Kurt Vonnegut: The Man in the Hole. A Life of Reinvention.” (“Not authorized, but authentic scholarship”). Your donation would be so helpful: Hank Nuwer, PO Box 73446; Fairbanks, AK 99707-3446.
An Icy Reception in Fairbanks
I enjoyed Scott Shaffer’s “A Look Back” article last week as he recalled the Randolph County (Indiana) severe blizzard of Jan. 17, 1978. He highlighted the unselfish determination of Union City’s fire chief and crew who partnered with local snowmobilers to haul grub...
Ohio’s recalled license plate
If you watch The Simpsons, you know Homer Simpson’s shout after a flub-beyond-repair is “D’oh.” Well, no doubt you heard that the new Ohio state license plate crashed and burned upon liftoff. True, the new plate was gorgeous, depicting a nice sunny background and an...
Who was worthless as gum on a boot?
By Hank Nuwer Fred Brown fought the law. Guess who won? Today’s story starts in 1887. Richard (Dick) Beers, 14, was known in Greenville for juggling balls with the skill of a circus performer. Dick was worthless as gum on a boot heel. He had a mouth as foul as his...
The Tragic Columbus, Ohio Penitentiary Fire: 322 dead after a candle ignites rags
By Hank Nuwer The Greenville Democrat said James J. (J.J.) Webster looked too dignified to be a criminal. “Rather did he appear as a bank clerk,” the paper said. Tall and dark, Webster wore spectacles and a brown business suit at his trial. The prosecution named him...
What’s in your fenced yard?
When we lived in Union City, our backyard neighbor was a mama opossum. The first time Gosia saw her with hanging babies, she couldn’t believe such a species existed. At our summer cabin in the woods in rural Poland, I equally thrilled to the sight of a mated pair of...
Duck Moose is back and in his good place
Back in mid-September, I interviewed the head of the Kroschel Wildlife Center near Haines, Alaska, as he was trying to locate and lure back a docile moose raised in captivity. Star attraction Duck Moses found a way to escape from the public education facility and...
A Life-Changing Assignment
By Hank Nuwer Some of my best feature stories never appeared in print. That’s because the era from 1976 to 1992 — when I wrote every month — saw magazine and newspaper circulation numbers drop drastically. As a result, advertisers pulled out and many publications...
Christmas 2023: Remembrances of Christmas Past
Remembrances of Christmas Past By Hank Nuwer My recent role in Fairbanks’ “Miracle on 34th Street” as Kris Kringle has made this a particularly memorable Christmas season. With so many child actors and carolers in the play, the acting experience felt as if family...
The Gift of the Magi
The Gift of the Magi Hank Nuwer Christmas Day was both a special day and a day like any other for this professional writer. My wife Gosia and I are on a budget and so we exchanged gifts. I gave her “beautiful combs, pure tortoise-shell, with jeweled rims.” She gave me...