Showing posts with label Equality State. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Equality State. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

New bronze at Historic Cheyenne Depot celebrates Wyoming's history as "The Equality State"

A new bronze statue by Veryl Goodnight, "A New Beginning," will be dedicated Wednesday (today) at 3 p.m., at the Historic Cheyenne Depot. The event is free and open to the public. The artist will be at the ceremony. Her work often celebrates the West and has been displayed all over the world. She has created 20 different "Women of the West" bronzes since 1984. Goodnight lives in Mancos, Colo., and shows her work at the Goodnight Trail Gallery of Western Art.

Read the entire article and see a photo of the sculpture at New bronze statue at depot honors early pioneer women - Wyoming Tribune Eagle Online

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

People First Language offers humane ways to refer to members of the nation's largest minority group

This article comes from the spring 2011 Wyoming Arts Council Artscapes newsletter set for an April 29 pub date. It was contributed by WAC staffer Marirose Morris. As Arts Access Specialist, Marirose oversees several grant programs and 504/ADA guidelines. Contact her at the WAC at 307-777-7742.
A person’s self-image is tied to the words used about him/her. People First Language was started by individuals who said, “We are not our disabilities!”

People First Language puts the person before the disability, and describes what a person has, not who a person is. Are you “cancerous” or do you have cancer? Is a person “handicapped/disabled” or does he/she “have a disability?” Using a diagnosis as a defining characteristic reflects prejudice, and robs the person of the opportunity to define him/herself.

People with disabilities comprise the nation’s largest minority group. It is also the most inclusive: all ages, genders, religions, ethnicities, sexual orientations, and socioeconomic levels are represented, and anyone can join it, at any time.

Say:
Instead of:
Children/adults with a disability
Handicapped, disabled, special needs
S/he has a cognitive disability
S/he is mentally retarded
S/he has Down syndrome
S/he’s mongoloid/Down’s
S/he has autism
An autistic person
S/he has a learning disability
S/he is learning disabled
S/he is deaf
The deaf
S/he has a speech disorder
Mute
S/he is blind, has a visual impairment
The blind
S/he has epilepsy
An epileptic
S/he uses a wheelchair
Wheelchair bound
S/he walks with a assistive device
A cripple
S/he is a little person
Dwarf or midget
People without disabilities
Normal or healthy people
Accessible parking, hotel rooms, etc.
Handicapped parking, hotel rooms, etc.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Islamic Cultural Awareness Week April 13-15 at UW

From a University of Wyoming press release:
Comedy, prayer and table tennis are among activities scheduled to celebrate Islamic Cultural Awareness Week April 13-15 at the University of Wyoming, sponsored by the UW Muslim Student Association.
The schedule:
Wednesday, April 13, 5:45-7:45 p.m. -- "Why Do We Love Jesus?" speaker from Colorado in the Wyoming Union Ballroom. Pizza will be provided.
Thursday, April 14, 8 p.m. -- Comedy show "Allah Made Me Funny" in Room 103 of the Classroom Building. Pizza will be provided.
Friday, April 15, 12:30 p.m. -- Friday prayer on campus in Room 123 of Coe Library. Snacks will be provided.
Friday, April 15, 5 p.m. -- Ping pong competition in the Wyoming Union basement, with awards given to the top three places. To sign-up or get more info, email Mahmoud at malkahlo@uwyo.edu or Ammad at  aamad@hotmail.com . Registration ends at noon Wednesday, April 13.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Award-winning "Kicked Out" features foreword by Casper's Judy Shepard


Casper's Judy Shepard wrote the foreword to the new anthology edited by Sassafras Lowrey, "Kicked Out." Last night, the book received a major literary award. Here's info from Lowrey's web site:
Last night Kicked Out received a HUGE honor and was not only included in the American Library Association’s Over the Rainbow booklist for 2011, but was also included in their Top 11 books of 2011!    Being included is a tremendous honor, and one which will help get Kicked Out into even more libraries across the country, and thus the hands of folks who need its messages the most. You can see all the books included in the top 11 as well as the full Over the Rainbow book list here
I’m so grateful to the American Library Association’s Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Round Table and its Jurors  for honoring Kicked Out.
Here's a description from the book jacket:
In the U.S., 40% of homeless youth identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer (LGBTQ). Kicked Out brings together the voices of current and former homeless LGBTQ youth and tells the forgotten stories of some of our nation’s most vulnerable citizens. Diverse contributors share stories of survival and abuse with poignant accounts of the sanctuary of community and the power of creating chosen families. Kicked Out highlights the nuanced perspectives of national organizations such as The National Gay & Lesbian Task Force and The National Alliance Against Homelessness and regional agencies, including Sylvia’s Place, The Circus Project and Family Builders. This anthology, introduced by Judy Shepard, gives voice to the voiceless and challenges the stereotypical face of homelessness. To learn more, visit us online at KickedOutAnthology.com

Monday, December 6, 2010

Cody native Gregory Hinton interviewed on NPR about his "Out West" series at the Autry Museum

This info on the Autry Museum's "Beyond Brokeback" and other offerings in its "Out West" series comes from Wyoming native Gregory Hinton:

Below is a link to our L.A. National Public Radio affiliate which has an interview of me about Out West and includes a copy of the speech I gave for our first event. This might be of interest to you if you wish to reprint it. It mentions Ucross, my Wyoming history, and includes a nice quote from Al Simpson and Annie Proulx. You should also be aware that my interview with Brian Kahn on Yellowstone Public Radio's Home Ground is being aired tomorrow at 6:30 and will be available on podcast.

http://www.scpr.org/news/2009/12/10/out-west-series-autry-national-center/

http://www.yellowstonepublicradio.org/programs/local/home_ground.html 

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Fore! Illustrator Zak Pullen's very busy September


Fans of Zachary Pullen's character-based illustrations will have two occasions to hear him speak -- and view his work -- during the next two weeks.

The Ned and Barbara Murray Art Series at Laramie County Community College in Cheyenne is sponsoring an exhibit of Zak's work Sept. 15-Oct. 15. The show will be in the Esther and John Clay Fine Arts Gallery. Zak will talk about his work at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 15, in the Fine Arts Building, Room 113. A reception follows at 8 p.m. in the gallery. All events are free and open to the public.

On Friday and Saturday, Sept. 24-25, Zak will participate in the Equality State Book Festival in his hometown of Casper. During the day on Friday, Zak will visit Natrona County Schools along with fellow bookfest presenters Gene Gagliano, Ray Troll and Jacko Gantos. That evening, the bookfest co-sponsors an author and illustrator reception at Zak's Corridor Gallery, 120 E. 2nd St., 5:30-7 p.m. A free event, with fine art and hors d’oeuvres and lively conversation.

On Saturday, Zak, Ray Troll and Russell Hawley will participate in an illustrators panel: “Drawn In: Get Interested in Illustration!” This free event is 10 a.m.-11:30 a.m. in the Nichols Auditorium, McMurry Career Studies Bldg., Room 160. Zak will join other authors at a book signing from 5-5:45 p.m. that day in the Strausner Student Center at Casper College.

FMI: http://www.zacharypullen.com/ and http://www.equalitystatebookfest.com/ and http://www.lcccfoundation.edu/

Meet the Equality State Book Festival authors: John Vernon

Another distinguished author appearing at the Equality State Book Festival Sept. 24-25 in Casper:

John Vernon is a Massachusetts native who now lives in Colorado. He was educated at Boston College and the University of California at Davis, and has taught at the University of Utah and Binghamton University (S.U.N.Y.) He is the author of eleven books, including the book of poems Ann, the memoir A Book of Reasons, and the novels La Salle, Lindbergh's Son, Peter Doyle, All for Love: Baby Doe and Silver Dollar, The Last Canyon, and Lucky Billy. His work has appeared in Harper's, Poetry, American Poetry Review, The Nation, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times Book Review, and many other magazines, journals, and newspapers. Two of his books have been named New York Times Notable Books of the Year, and he has been awarded two National Endowment for the Arts grants.

Vernon is the 21st faculty member at Binghamton University to be named a Distinguished Professor and now teaches there each spring semester. For the rest of the year, he lives in the mountains of northern Colorado and combines a routine of writing and mountain climbing. In Colorado, he is also affiliated with the Center of the American West at the University of Colorado in Boulder.

John Vernon will be on stage for “Imagining Billy the Kid: A Reading from Lucky Billy” on Friday, Sept. 24, 7:30-8:30 p.m., in the Aley Fine Arts Center Durham Hall at Casper College. The event is free and open to the public. Books will be available for purchase and signing.

Friday, August 20, 2010

Novelist Larry Watson at Equality State Bookfest

Larry Watson is one of the many fine writers who will participate in the Equality State Book Festival in Casper Sept. 24-25. All bookfest events are free except for the Friday night banquet.

Larry Watson received his BA and MA from the University of North Dakota, and his Ph.D. from the University of Utah.

He is the author of In A Dark Time, Montana 1948, Justice, White Crosses, Laura, Orchard, Sundown, Yellow Moon, and American Boy (forthcoming 2011), and the chapbook of poetry Leaving Dakota. Watson’s fiction has been published in more than a dozen foreign editions, and has received prizes and awards from Milkweed Press, Friends of American Writers, Mountain and Plains Booksellers Association, New York Public Library, Wisconsin Library Association, and Critics’ Choice. Montana 1948 was nominated for the first IMPAC Dublin international literary prize. Four of his books have been optioned for film.

His short stories and poems have appeared in Gettysburg Review, New England Review, North American Review, Mississippi Review, and other literary magazines. His essays and book reviews have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Sun-Times, the Washington Post, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, and other periodicals and anthologies. Watson has received two writing fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Watson taught writing and literature at the University of Wisconsin/Stevens Point for many years and is presently a Visiting Professor of English at Marquette University. He has also taught in the low-residency MFA program at Warren Wilson College and he was the Ebey Visiting Writer at Colorado College.

He and his wife Susan live in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. They have two daughters, Elly and Amy, and two grandchildren, Theodore and Abigail.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

2010 Equality State Book Festival set for Casper College Sept. 24-25

In case you haven't heard, the Equality State Book Festival will be held Sept. 24-25 at Casper College. Here are some details from the bookfest web site:

In 2006, the first statewide book festival, The Equality State Book Festival, was held in Casper. Four years later with two book fests now under our belts, we proudly mark the 24th anniversary of the Annual Casper College/ARTCORE Literary Conference by once again celebrating books, authors and the written word in Wyoming with two days of fun in Casper, September 24-25. We hope you will join us for readings, panel discussions, book signings, craft talks, a banquet and a late-night poetry slam. All events are open to the public without charge except for the banquet.

This year we will feature around 15 authors and illustrators, including but not limited to, Jack Gantos, Larry Watson, Jaimee Wriston Colbert, Zak Pullen, Gene Gagliano, Ravi Shankar and John Vernon. Wyoming Arts Council fellowship judge, Lee Gutkind, and three fellowship winners who will be announced later this summer, will join us for readings as well. Nina McConigley, Honors Program instructor from the University of Wyoming, returns to Casper for the Fest where she will appear on a panel and read for us. And the ever-popular George Vlastos has agreed to emcee the poetry slam which is always a lot of fun!

Visit this page regularly to learn more about the authors and events as we will update it often during the planning process. Registration links for the banquet will be made available later this summer.

We'd like to thank the Natrona County Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) for their early, generous support, as well as UW/CC and the English department at the University of Wyoming. Funding sources we will be applying to include the Casper College Foundation, Casper Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, Natrona County School District, Wyoming Arts Council, The Wyoming Community Foundation, The Wyoming Cultural Trust, Kinder Morgan and the Rocky Mountain Power Foundation. Finally, we'd like to express our appreciation to Casper College and ARTCORE for over two decades of steady support for an annual literary conference in Casper.

Laurie Lye and Holly Wendt, Co-directors, ESBF

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Sighted at 2010 Governor's Arts Awards Gala...

Wyoming U.S. Sen. John Barrasso attended the Feb. 12 Governor's Arts Awards Gala sponsored by the Wyoming Arts Council. In a brief address to the crowd of 400 at Little America in Cheyenne, he sang the praises of the arts in Wyoming. Here he is shown at the event with constituents. Wyoming's lone U.S. Representative, Cynthia Lummis, dropped in to say hi during the pre-banquet social hour. Photos by Evangeline Bratton, WAC Staff.

Wyoming Arts Council Board member Susan Stubson of Casper (left) and Bobbi Brown Barrasso, wife of Sen. John Barrasso. This shot was taken at the Governor's Residence reception.

Cheyenne Mayor Rick Kaysen and wife Diane

Former Wyoming Secretary of State Thyra Thomson (at the Governor's Residence)

Former U.S. Senator Al Simpson of Cody

Sara Needles (center), administrator of the Wyoming Division of Cultural Resources, with WAC Board members David Kathka (left) of Rock Springs and David Neary of Lander.
Wyoming Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. Jim McBride (center) at the Governor's Residence reception.