Montana native Shann Ray reads from his book American Masculine at Billings YMCA Writers Voice

Not in Wyoming but just a few miles north of the border in Billings:

THE YMCA WRITER’S VOICE presents 2010 BAKELESS PRIZE FOR FICTION WINNER SHANN RAY reading from AMERICAN MASCULINE, 7 p.m., Thursday, July 14, third floor Parmly Billings Library, 510 N. Broadway, Billings, Mont.

American Masculine, is a muscular debut story collection that reconfigures the myths of the American West; a deeply felt and fiercely written ode to the country we left behind. “Ray’s collection has an unsettling power as his roughened characters incrementally come to terms with their humanity, fallibility, and their realized capacity for atonement. This is a highly accomplished and intensely lyrical debut.” – Publishers Weekly

Shann Ray Ferch holds a PhD in psychology from the University of Alberta. His work has appeared in McSweeney’s, Story Quarterly, and other publications. He grew up in Montana, spent part of his childhood on the Northern Cheyenne reservation and was a part of two state championship high school basketball teams at Park High in Livingston, coached by his dad, Tom Ferch. He played college basketball with his brother Kral at Montana State University, then played at Pepperdine University and professionally in Germany.

C.J. Box hits the road with "Cold Wind"

Cheyenne author C.J. Box hits the highway this week for appearances in Colorado, Wyoming and Montana. In May, he's off to the South Carolina Festival of Books in Columbia, S.C. In July, he'll travel to the UK for the Harrowgate Crime Writing Festival. 

C.J.'s new novel is "Cold Wind." Read the first chapter here.


Here's his schedule for this week:

Mon, 04/04/2011 - 7:00pm

Ft. Collins, CO

Old Firehouse Books

232 Walnut St

Fort Collins, CO 80524

970-484-7898

http://www.oldfirehousebooks.com/

Tue, 04/05/2011 - 3:00pm

Casper, WY

Ralph’s Books

Hilltop Shopping Center

215 South Montana Avenue  

Casper, WY  82609

307-234-0308

Wed, 04/06/2011 - 7:00pm

Billings, MT

Barnes & Noble

530 S. 24^th Street West

Billings, MT 59102

406-655-9500

Thu, 04/07/2011 - 6:00pm

Sheridan, WY

Sheridan Stationery Books and Gallery

206 North Main Street

Sheridan, WY 82801

307-674-8080

Fri, 04/08/2011 - 5:00pm

Cheyenne

City News & Pipe Shop

1722 Carey Ave
Cheyenne, WY 82001

307-638-8671


WAC Notes: C.J. Box was awarded a FY 1992 creative writing fellowship from the Wyoming Arts Council. 

Robert Harper conducts oil painting workshop March 31-April 2 at Casper Artists' Guild

Robert Harper will conduct an oil painting workshop on March 31-April 2 at the Casper Artists' Guild West Wind Gallery, 1040 W. 15th St., Casper. The cost is $150 for members, $210 for non-members. Registration deadline is Thursday, March 24. Participants must pay more than half of the registration price by March 24.

Robert Harper is a native of Montana and spent a large part of his life in rural Wyoming. In his teen years Bob was inspired by the legendary Conrad Schwering. It was at this time Bob dedicated his life to painting. Bob is now considered one of the foremost landscape artists in the nation.

FMI: mailto:casperartguild@bresnan.comor 307-265-2655

Billings Gazette: Cody saddle maker "preserves the cowboy way -- with bling"

Cody saddle maker Gordon Andrus was featured in an article in today's Billings Gazette entitled "Saddle maker preserves the cowboy way -- with bling." Gordon's saddles were among those exhibited last year at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center's "Art of the Horse." Read the Gazette article at http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/wyoming/article_d62af18d-5e3c-598e-b6fb-fccb369d5481.html

Carbon County Arts Guild features "Montana and Wyoming -- Past and Present" in February

The Carbon County Arts Guild in Red Lodge, Mont., sends this news about an upcoming exhibit:

Feb 1-28:  Pat Schermerhorn and Jane Stanfel Exhibit “Montana and Wyoming – Past and Present”.  Enjoy the work of these two fine Western artists in the Guild’s Main Depot Gallery.  Free and open during normal Arts Guild hours.  For more information, call the Arts Guild in Red Lodge at (406) 446-1370.

Feb 11:  Artists Reception.  Meet Pat Schermerhorn and Jane Stanfel, the artists who are featured in the Guild’s Main Depot Gallery during the month of February.  4-6 pm with a gallery talk at 5 pm.  The reception is free and open to all.  Refreshments will be served.  For more information, call the Arts Guild in Red Lodge at (406) 446-1370.

Activist and author Greg Mortenson to speak in Cheyenne March 29

From a post on Facebook:

Two-time Nobel Prize nominee Greg Mortenson will share insightful commentary and stunning photography to educate and promote awareness of the importance of primary education, literacy and cross-cultural understanding about the remote regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

He will speak at the Taco John’s Events Center in Cheyenne on Tuesday, March 29, 7-10 p.m. Limited amount of tickets go on sale on Friday, Jan. 7. Tickets: $5 Students (K-College)/$15 General Public. Contact the Taco Johns Events Center at (307) 433-0025 or on-line at www.cheyennecity.org

Greg Mortenson promotes peace through education. He is the co-founder of nonprofit Central Asia Institute www.ikat.org, founder of Pennies For Peace www.penniesforpeace.org, and co-author of New York Times bestseller ‘Three Cups of Tea’ www.threecupsoftea.com which has sold over 4 million copies, been published in 47 countries, and a New York Times bestseller since its 2007 release, and Time Magazine Asia Book of The Year.Mortenson’s new book, Stones Into Schools: Promoting Peace with Books Not Bombs, In Afghanistan and Pakistan, was released by Viking on December 1st, 2009.

As of 2010, Mortenson has established over 145 schools in rural and often volatile regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan, which provide education to over 64,000 children, including 52,000 girls, where few education opportunities existed before.

Laramie County Partners are bringing Greg Mortenson to Cheyenne for a series of activities, including talking to school children and a public event in the evening on March 29, 2011. The partners include: Laramie County Community College Foundation, Laramie County Community College, Cheyenne Rotary, Laramie County Library, Laramie County Library Foundation and Laramie County School District No. 1.

http://www.facebook.com/LaramieCountyPartnersPresentGregMortenson

Missoula Children's Theatre makes stops in Park County

The Missoula Children's Theatre comes to Cody and Powell in January and February with residencies at local schools and the following performances:


Pinocchio: Saturday, January 29, 2011 at 3:00 & 5:30 p.m., Wynona Thompson Auditorium at Cody High School

Treasure Island: Saturday, February 5, 2011 at 3:00 & 5:30 p.m., Powell High School Auditorium

FMI: Park County Arts Council

B.J. Buckley poems in HoboEye journal

Cheyenne native and Wyoming Arts Council creative writing fellowship recipient B.J,. Buckley has three poems featured on the online journal HoboEye. B.J. now lives in Lolo, Mont.


Read "Bitter," "Shakespeare's Monkeys" and "Cold Prairie" here.


Excerpt from "Bitter:"


Call it snow
but this dust from the moon’s basement
coats the windows of the
sky
until nobody can see out.

Caleco Foundry celebrates solstice with bronze pour

Employees at the Caleco Foundry in Cody prepare for a public winter solstice bronze pour on Dec. 21. Read the Billings Gazette article by Martin Kidston at http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/wyoming/article_caa7ecd4-8720-5864-b6fc-4c26e0dfcf4c.html. Photo by Martin Kidston.

Yellowstone-area museums offer "Passport to Adventure"

From a BBHC press release:

Five museums in the area that surrounds Yellowstone National Park have joined together to create a new Passport to Adventure. Visitors to any one of the facilities can pick up the colorful brochure and have it stamped there—and each time they go to another of the "gateway museums." When all five have been visited and the passport stamped for each, visitors then receive the reward designated by the museum where they received their fifth and final stamp. Currently, each museum is offering a family membership.

Participating museums are Wyoming's Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody and National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson; and Montana's Carbon County Historical Society and Museum, Red Lodge; Yellowstone Historic Center, West Yellowstone; and Yellowstone Gateway Museum, Livingston.

The museums designed the Passport to Adventure to encourage visitation in the region, something the group feels is more and more attractive as the cost of travel increases. They also feel that, together, they present a more complete picture of the history and culture of the Yellowstone region.

The passport is valid through December 31, 2011.

Committed to connecting people with the Spirit of the American West, the Buffalo Bill Historical Center weaves the varied threads of the western experience—history and myth, art and Native culture, firearms technology and the nature of Yellowstone—into the rich panorama that is the American West. The Center, an Affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, is now operating its fall schedule, open daily, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. For general information, visit http://www.bbhc.org/, or call 307.587.4771.

Photo of the week: Morgan Tyree

Morgan Tyree of Powell spends his autumns photographing small-town football in Wyoming and Montana. He documents his travels through words and images on his blog. In this photo, Savage freshman Cameron Hough assists teammates in neck drills prior the start of their Montana Class C six-man football game with the visiting Terriers from Terry. See the full-sized version of this photo by going to http://www.flickr.com/photos/mdt1960/5089556017/

Author Diana Kouris earns laurels for her High Plains Press book

This comes from Nancy Curtis at High Plains Press in Glendo: Diana Kouris (left), author of Riding the Edge of an Era, has been doing High Plains Press proud. She was a finalist for both the Zonta Best Woman Writer Award at the Billings Book Festival and the Willa Award which was presented in Wickenburg, Arizona. Diana and I went to both events and had a great time. My friend and former co-editor Linda Hasselstrom (right) traveled with us and came home with the top award at both events. Here we are.

Portland Art Museum curator touring the West

Bonnie Laing-Malcomson, curator of Northwest Art at the Portland (Oregon) Art Museum, will be conducting a session on Sunday, October 17, 11 a.m.-6 p.m., at the Yellowstone Art Museum, 401 N 27th St., Billings, Mont.

Here's what she has to say about the subjects of her session:

“What I am doing around the west is two-fold. Firstly, I am holding what I am calling focus group meetings for artists and arts professionals (college arts administrators, gallery owners etc.) to present the Portland Art Museum’s curatorial focus on Northwest art and to outline the opportunities and limitations inherent to the position. Below is a ...brief position description describing my responsibilities, and listing the number and type of exhibitions for which the Curator of Northwest Art is responsible annually.

The Curator of Northwest art is responsible for the care, research, exhibition, growth and custody of all objects in the Northwest art collection belonging to or on loan to the Portland Art Museum. The position serves a five-state region including Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming. Duties include developing temporary exhibitions, especially the biennial Contemporary Northwest Art Awards and three-to-four, usually single artist, changing exhibitions per year know as “APEX” exhibitions. The curator works on exhibition related programs, garnering support and writing and speaking about Northwest art. The curator supervises presentation of all traveling exhibitions of Northwest art scheduled by the Museum and serves as advisor to the Northwest Art Council.” “I am very interested … to begin building a library of discs of current and past work, so as I am planning exhibitions I will know who is doing strong work in the five-state region.”

Call for entries: Front Range literary journal

Thanks to our fellow bloggers at http://montanaartscouncil.blogspot.com/:

Front Range, an internationally-circulated annual literary journal, seeks submissions of high quality fiction, poetry and creative nonfiction beginning 1 August for our 6th (2011) issue. Deadline is 7 November 2010. We report results by end of December, publish first week of March each year.

For writers' organizations: Please feel free to pass this along to your memberships.

Strongly suggested: Take a look at a recent copy. Archives and submission guidelines on our website: http://www.frontrangemt.org/

We love Montana, and the Rocky Mountain West. We also love work from and about other places that juxtaposes our existence with that of the world at large.

Poetry: Up to 8 unpublished (preferably) poems, maximum 15 pages total, single or double-spaced, left justified.

Short Fiction: Up to 3 unpublished (preferably) stories, not to exceed 4,000 words each, double-spaced, following standard conventions of paragraphing.

Nonfiction: Up to 3 unpublished (preferably) creative nonfiction pieces, not to exceed 4,000 words each, double-spaced, following standard conventions of paragraphing.

Artwork: .JPEG files of paintings, drawings, or photography, each file saved with title of piece. Shock us, surprise us, or yank on our emotions. We publish two pieces in color each year (front/back cover); all others are converted to b/w. Color photos should be high res, at least 430 dpi.

While we have accepted previously-published work from established authors, this is normally by prior arrangement.

Please note requirement for separate identifying info and author/artist bio: Name, address, phone number/email of writer should appear on a separate cover sheet, no identification on the work itself. Please list title of each submitted poem or story on cover sheet. Artist/author bio should appear on cover sheet or in text of email.

Electronic submissions only, as separate email attachments in .doc, .docx or .rtf format (no other formats).
Simultaneous submissions accepted. All rights revert to author/artist upon publication. Payment in contributor copies.

Submit to: editor@frontrangeMT.org (preferred) or FrontRangeMT@hotmail.com
 
Please note: due to the volume of submissions we receive each year, those not conforming to submission guidelines will not be read or acknowledged.

BBHC hosts disaster preparedness workshop for museums, libraries and archives

From the BBHC in Cody:

“So you have a disaster plan, but will it work in a real emergency situation?”

That’s the question Randy Silverman raises with area museums, libraries, archives, and similar institutions. Silverman, the Preservation Librarian with the University of Utah Marriott Library, is bringing a workshop about emergency procedures to protect valuable documents, artwork, and other artifacts to the Buffalo Bill Historical Center on Monday, September 13, 9 a.m.–4 p.m. There is no charge for the workshop, which is sponsored by Western States & Territories Preservation Assistance Service (WESTPAS), but registration is required.

According to Silverman, “This workshop will help you assess your vulnerabilities, test your plan using a scenario table top exercise, explore how collaborations can help you respond to a disaster, and build a shared vision for disaster preparedness. It’s better we should find answers now than after a disaster has occurred.”

Those encouraged to attend the workshop include staff member(s) responsible for emergency preparedness, administrators and/or managers responsible for the building and collection, and key members of the emergency/disaster team responsible for decision-making. Requirements for attendance are: a written disaster plan that includes collections response/recovery, a letter of institutional commitment to explore collaboration to optimize preparedness, and a completed three-page vulnerability assessment which is distributed in advance of the workshop.

The workshop also takes place in Montana on Wednesday, September 15 at the Bozeman Public Library and on Friday at the Lewis & Clark Library in Helena. Funding for the project is provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities and co-sponsored by the Montana and Wyoming State Libraries and State Archives.

Even though the meeting is free, pre-registration is required and can now be completed online at http://tiny.cc/ZePOL. The site also provides a schedule of WESTPAS workshops. For more information, contact Buffalo Bill Historical Center Conservator Beverly Perkins at beverlyp@bbhc.org or 307.578.4029. Silverman can be reached at randy.silverman@utah.edu.  

Stay current with Historical Center news and activities at http://www.bbhc.org/. 

New anthology features nine Wyoming poets

Nine Wyoming poets are featured in New Poets of the American West, an anthology of poets from eleven Western states. They are:

Constance Brewer, Gillette
Patricia Frolander, Sundance
H.L. Hix, Laramie
Bo Moore, Green River
Kate Northrop, Laramie
Tom Rea, Casper
David Romtvedt, Buffalo
Robert Roripaugh, Laramie
Dawn Senior-Trask, Saratoga

They join poets from ten other Western states. They include Alberto Rios and Leslie Marmon Silko from Arizona, Dana Gioia and Kim Addonizio from California, Idaho's Margaret Aho and Robert Wrigley, Montana poets Sandra Alcosser and Melissa Kwasny, Adrian C. Louis and Stephen Liu from Nevada, Jimmy Santiago Baca and Joy Harjo of New Mexico, Colorado's Mary Crow and Bill Tremblay, Utah's David Lee and Paisley Rekdal, Lawson Inada and Kim Stafford from Oregon, and Sherman Alexie and Carolyne Wright of Washington.
 
The book is edited by Lowell Jaeger and published by Many Voices Press at Flathead Valley Community College in Kalispell, Montana.
 
FMI:  http://www.fvccbookstore.com/ or call 406-756-3814. 

Contact Lowell Jaeger at 406-756-3907 or ljaeger@fvcc.edu

Call for proposals: Helena, MT, Parks & Rec

From the Montana Arts Council blog:

The city of Helena Parks and Recreation Department and the Helena Public Art Committee (HPAC) are seeking artists to provide a design and painting for a new mural inside the band shell at Veteran’s Memorial Park located in Helena (Last Chance Gulch and Lyndale Ave.). The submission deadline for proposals is 5:00 PM, June 14. The project must be completed no later than September 15, 2010.

This mural project will replace the 10-year old existing mural. The project consists of four elements; an assessment and repair of the interior band shell mural surface; a mural design; the actual painting of the mural and the application of a protective sealant. The design of mural should incorporate or represent Helena community elements or icons and be such that the potential for graffiti and vandalism is minimized. The color and design should also be visually effective from a distance. An optional component of this project is to incorporate community involvement.

A complete Request for Proposals can be picked up at the city of Helena Parks and Recreation Department office on the 4th floor of the City-County Building, 316 North Park Avenue, or downloaded from the department webpage at http://www.ci.helena.mt.us/fileadmin/user_upload/City_Parks/RFP_mural_5.doc.

The competition is open to artists, architects and designers.

Cody's Shirley Barhaug will judge Rocky Mountain Regional Juried Exhibition

From the Carbon County Arts Guild in Red Lodge, Mont.:

Apr 1-30: Rocky Mountain Regional Juried Exhibition. This annual competition is open to artists in 7 Western states. Artists compete for entrance to the exhibit then vie for cash prizes once accepted into the show. Judge and juror this year is Cody, Wyoming artist and President of the Cody Country Art League, Shirley Barhaug. Exhibit is free and open to everyone during normal Arts Guild hours. For more information on the competition, call the Arts Guild in Red Lodge at (406) 446-1370.

Apr 9: Rocky Mountain Regional Juried Exhibit Reception and Awards Ceremony. Join the artists who have artwork entered into the competition for an early evening reception from 4-6 pm at the Arts Guild in Red Lodge. Awards will be announced at 5pm. Refreshments will be served. Open to everyone. Free. For more information, call the Arts Guild at (406) 446-1370.

Bozeman's Werner Quartet performs at Wyoming Girls School in Sheridan

Casper Star-Tribune correspondent Judy Hagerott wrote this piece about the visit of the Werner Quartet to Sheridan’s Wyoming Girls School:

SHERIDAN -- The Werner Quartet of Bozeman, Mont., became a conduit of energy, inspiration and dedication to residents of the Wyoming Girls School on Friday night.

The cello quartet is comprised of four Werner siblings: Hele'ne', 20, a sophomore at Yale; Luc, 19, a freshman at Harvard; Mariel, 17, and Ande're, 16, both students at Bozeman Charter School. When not traveling the world making music, the gifted musicians often put their talent to good work, such as the Girls School performance.

The Wyoming Girls School is a therapeutic and educational facility for treatment of court-ordered delinquent girls ages 12 to 21. The program teaches youths to take personal accountability for their actions and develop socially responsible values in preparation for successful transitions back to their families and communities.

To read the entire article, go to http://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/article_e61d9014-44b1-5dd4-a3bc-86741db5880b.html

Cheyenne/Arapaho tribes in Wyo., Mont. and Okla. win preservation award

The Billings Gazette reports this:

The National Trust for Historic Preservation has presented its Preservation Honor Award to the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Montana, Wyoming and Oklahoma.

The award to the tribes was one of 23 bestowed by the National Trust during its 2009 National Preservation Conference in Nashville, Tenn.

On Nov. 29, 1864, U.S. military troops attacked a peaceful encampment of Cheyenne and Arapaho along Sand Creek in what is today southeastern Colorado.

More than 150 American Indians -- many of them women, children and the elderly -- were killed in the attack. Nearly four years later, Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer led a surprise dawn raid on a sleeping Southern Cheyenne encampment along the Washita River in western Oklahoma.

Today, more than 140 years after the carnage, both the Sand Creek Massacre Site and the Washita Battlefield are National Historic Sites, thanks in large measure to the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribe members who would not let their history be forgotten.

Along with the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes, co-recipients honored were the National Park Service; Steve Brady; Otto Braided Hair; Ben and Gail Ridgely; Lee LoneBear; Richard Williams; Gov. Darrell Flyingman; and Chief Gordon Yellowman.

Winners of the National Preservation Awards will appear in the ovember/December issue of Preservation Magazine and online at www.PreservationNation.org/awards.