Julianne Couch essay in New West

Laramie's Julianne Couch teaches at UW, works as a free-lance writer, is a member of the Wyoming Arts Council artist roster and is a Wyoming Writers, Inc., board member planning the group's 2011 conference. She's also working on a new book. Whew! She notifies wyomingarts that she just published her first "official" piece in New West. Here are the opening paragraphs:

Shaded under a cluster of evergreens in the Medicine Bow National Forest, I watch the family of our friend Mark deliver part of him back to Wyoming from where he lived in Missouri, a few months after his death.

About 50 friends and family gathered to witness Mark’s wife and daughter scatter his ashes into a swift and shallow mountain stream. His dust the color of bentonite disappears like fiber powder into the waters of Douglas Creek. Part of Mark is bound for the Platte River, then will leave Wyoming for the Missouri River, then the Mississippi, then finally, the Gulf of Mexico and the ocean beyond.

You will want to read the entire essay at http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/a_western_sense_of_place_knowing_who_we_are_by_where_we_are/C39/L39/

New York Times education blog features Pat Frolander's "Denial" in "Poetry Pairing" series

The Learning Network, a New York Times blog, has a weekly “Poetry Pairing” series. In collaboration with the Poetry Foundation, TLN features a work from Ted Kooser's American Life in Poetry project alongside content from The Times that somehow "echoes, extends or challenges the poem’s themes."

This week's poem is "Denial" by Pat Frolander of Sundance, Wyoming, long-time member of Wyoming Writers, Inc., WyoPoets and Bear Lodge Writers (see June 24 wyomingarts post).

To read Pat's poem, Ted Kooser's intro and the accompanying NYT story, "Getting on with life after a partner dies," go to http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/

Wyoming musicians invited to participate in Daniel Pearl World Music Days

From the Daniel Pearl Foundation:

Now in its 9th year, Daniel Pearl World Music Days, is a month-long global network of concerts each October, promoting peace and cross cultural understanding through the universal language of music. Coinciding with Danny's October 10 birthday, this global symphony welcomes the participation of all music events from every genre. We set a new record last October, with musicians at 1,558 events in 79 countries, empowering audiences with a sense of unity and purpose under the common banner of "Harmony for Humanity." This year, with your help, we hope to increase the impact on every continent..

There is no financial obligation to participate, all that is required is a dedication made from the stage, or listed in the printed program, and a simple registration of the event on http://www.danielpearlmusicdays.org/. Once registered, all performances will be promoted on our website, with artist pages, bio's and external links.

Led by our honorary committee, World Music Days is open to all - professionals, amateurs, student groups, non-profit organizations, embassies and religious groups of every faith. Participating events include already scheduled performances or specifically organized events. Please note that concerts held outside the October 1-31, 2010 time frame are welcome to be registered as "Tribute Events."

To register an October performance, or learn more about the benefits of this unique global music network, please visit http://www.danielpearlmusicdays.org/

Teton Co. Library: "Iran Uncovered" March 12

From a press release:

On Friday, March 12, 7-8 p.m., the Teton County Public Library presents a free program in the Ordway Auditorium.

Join investigative reporter Robert Dreyfuss for an eyewitness account of the 2009 Iranian election and its aftermath and to hear about interviews he conducted with key Iranian decision-makers and analysts. Dreyfuss will discuss: Does Washington have an alternative to negotiations? Will sanctions work? Is a military confrontation inevitable?

Dreyfuss has written extensively about the post-9/11 war on terror, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the confrontation with Iran. He covered the Iranian elections for The Nation and is currently writing about this month's Iraqi elections on his blog The Dreyfuss Report at www.thenation.com/blogs/dreyfuss.

Dreyfuss also covers national security for Rolling Stone and writes frequently for Mother Jones and The American Prospect, as well as many other publications. His book, Devil's Game: How
the United States Helped Unleash Fundamentalist Islam, was published in 2005. Read more about Dreyfuss' background and find articles at http://www.robertdreyfuss.com/.

Dreyfuss spoke about Afghanistan to an enthusiastic crowd at the library last fall. "We are thrilled to have Bob back at the library, he is extremely knowledgeable as well as a very personable and engaging presenter," said Oona Doherty, Adult Humanities Coordinator.

For more information, contact Doherty at 733-2164 ext. 135 or odoherty@tclib.org. You can also visit the library online at http://www.tclib.org/.

Philip Gourevitch at Teton Co. Public Library: "Crimes Scenes & Aftermaths"

From the Teton County Public Library in Jackson:

On Friday, January 22, 7 p.m., the library presents "Crime Scenes & Aftermaths: Reporting & Writing from Rwanda to Hell's Kitchen to Abu Ghraib and Beyond," with author Philip Gourevitch.

Gourevitch reads from his books and talks about how he got the stories and what is at stake in them -- politically, morally and dramatically. Gourevitch is an award-winning author of books on the Rwandan genocide and Abu Ghraib, an intrepid correspondent for The New Yorker and editor of The Paris Review.

He is the 2009-2010 Eminent Writer in Residence for the MFA program in Creative Writing at the University of Wyoming, a copresenter with the Jackson Hole Writers Conference. Cost: Free. Location: Ordway Auditorium.

Contact: Adult Humanities Coordinator, Oona Doherty, 733-2164 ext. 135 or odoherty@tclib.org.

WAC's fall issue of newsletter now out

Fall issue of the newsletter should have arrived in your mailbox this week. You can also read it online at http://www.wyomingartscouncil.org/.

This issue features:

Front page--A recap of Arts Summit 2009 audience favorite Kelly Barsdate's presentation. Kelly works for NASAA, the National Assembly of State Arts Agency. There's also a terrific photo of Leah Hardy's artwork, a WAC Visual Arts Fellowship 2009 winner.

Our director Rita Basom talks about surveys and the inconvenience for the answerer, but the necessity for the asker, of filling them out. WAC board member Susan Stubson, a concert pianist from Casper, laments Natrona County's plans to take instrumental music out of grade schools.

Page 5 features the visual arts fellowship winners and a piece of art work from each.

Our Wyoming Artist Spotlights feature Sundance poet Patricia Frolander, cowboy poet and performer Cora Wood, and visual artist Georgia Rowswell.

Since it's cowboy poetry season, we listed several well-known cowboy poets in the footer and also featured eighty-nine year old cowboy poet Georgie Sicking.

Andrea Graham is the new Folklife Specialist at UW, and will be working with our folk arts specialist Annie Hatch on projects throughout the state. We also introduced you to our new cultural resources intern Ji Eun Kim, from South Korea, also a talented visual artist.

If you'd like to receive a paper copy of the newsletter, just call Linda at 307-777-6393 or email me through the blog address with your mailing address and I'll get one to you.