Funds for Bookworm are provided in part by Lannin Foundation.

You are a human animal. You are a very special breed,

or you are the only animal, who can think, who can reason, who can read.

Hello, and welcome to Bookworm.

This is Michael Silverblad, and today I'm thrilled to have as my guest, Guise Erdrich.

Her most recent book, published by Harper Collins, is The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse.

She is the author as well of Love Medicine, The Beat Queen, Tracks, The Bingo Palace, Tales of Burning Love, and the Antelope wife.

She is the author of two books of poetry, a book about infancy called The Blue Jays Dance, nonfiction.

And this is the most recent

in the cycle about Little No Horse. Now, you talk about how the book began with two images

that came to you in dreams. And I wanted in particular to talk to you about dreaming and writing.

Oh, good. It's a subject I can get into.

What were the images, first of all?

Well, the images were one of a woman in a billowing white night dress on the lid of a black grand piano, swirling off into a flood.

And the other was the image of a priest.

Well, it occurred in the writing.

I was writing about a priest who has, for many, many years, written letters to the Pope and has

had these letters unanswered.

And I had this elderly priest writing late at night and then getting up, slowly removing clothing

in order to go to bed.

And this priest, as he unwound an ace bandage from around his chest, turned out to be a woman.

And I started with these two images, not knowing how they would come together.

...