Sheridan library one of 65 chosen nationally to host Civil War program

The Sheridan County Fulmer Public Library is one of 65 libraries selected to host a new program entitled "Let's Talk About it: Making Sense of the American Civil War." Here are the details:


The American Library Association (ALA) Public Programs Office and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) announced that 65 public, academic and community college libraries will receive Let’s Talk About It: Making Sense of the American Civil War reading and discussion program grants. A complete list of the selected libraries is available at www.ala.org/civilwarprograms.


Let’s Talk About It: Making Sense of the American Civil War follows the popular Let’s Talk About It model, which engages participants in discussion of a set of common texts selected by a nationally known scholar for their relevance to a larger, overarching theme. As a part of the grant, the 65 selected libraries will receive:

• A $3,000 grant from NEH to support program-related expenses.
• Fifty sets of three titles:  including “March” by Geraldine Brooks (Penguin, 2006), “Crossroads of Freedom: Antietam” by James McPherson (Oxford University Press, 2002) and a forthcoming Civil War anthology of historical fiction, speeches, diaries, memoirs, biography and short stories, edited by national project scholar Edward L. Ayers and co-published by NEH and ALA.
• Promotional materials, including posters, bookmarks and folders, to support local audience recruitment.
• Training for the library project director at a national workshop, where they will hear from the project scholar, expert librarians and organizers and receive a program planning guide, materials and ideas. As part of the grant,NEH will pay for two nights of lodging in Chicago for the library project director.

Funding for this program was provided by a grant from NEH to the ALA Public Programs Office. Let’s Talk About It: Making Sense of the American Civil War is supported by NEH’s We the People initiative, which aims to stimulate and enhance the teaching, study and understanding of American history and culture.

The ALA Public Programs Office promotes cultural and community programming as an essential part of library service in all types and sizes of libraries. Successful library programming initiatives have included Let’s Talk About It reading and discussion series, traveling exhibitions, film discussion programs, the Great Stories CLUB, LIVE! @ your library and more. Recently, the ALA Public Programs Office developed www.ProgrammingLibrarian.org, an online resource center bringing librarians timely and valuable information to support them in the creation of high-quality cultural programs for their communities. For more information about the ALA Public Programs Office, visit www.ala.org/publicprograms.

Created in 1965 as an independent federal agency, the National Endowment for the Humanities supports learning in history, literature, philosophy and other areas of the humanities.  NEH grants enrich classroom learning, create and preserve knowledge and bring ideas to life through public television, radio, new technologies, exhibitions and programs in libraries, museums and other community places.  Additional information about the National Endowment for the Humanities and its grant programs is available at www.neh.gov.

BBHC exhibit of arts & crafts from Heart Mtn. Internment Camp opens June 1

View of Heart Mountain Relocation Center barracks, 1942. Photo by Jack Richard. Jack Richard Collection. 

Beauty Behind Barbed Wire: Arts and Crafts from the  Heart Mountain Internment Camp

June 1-September 6, 2011, Cody Firearms Museum Breezeway, Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Cody

A small exhibit showcasing the craftsmanship of the Japanese-American internees confined at the Heart Mountain Internment Camp during the years 1942-1945 will be on display at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center during this 2011 summer. The exhibit will feature twenty-four arts and crafts objects on loan to the Historical Center from the Heart Mountain, Wyoming Foundation along with another three items from other lenders. Wood carvings, jewelry, needlework, oil paintings, and a doll are among the artifacts in the exhibit.

Through this exhibit the Historical Center aims to call the attention of its visitors to the opening of the Interpretive Learning Center at Heart Mountain on August 20, as well as to honor the artisans who made these incredible pieces. The skill and artistry involved in crafting these objects is outstanding, and the exhibit is certain to be informative and enlightening.

In Memoriam: Harry Jackson

Always supportive of the arts community, Harry Jackson attended an artists’ reception at Stone Soup Studios in 2007 with (from left) Janet Bedford, Melodie Ferri, Stephanie Hedrick, Sybil Hedrick, the Rev. Daphne Grimes and Lura Brewes. Cody Enterprise photo.

From the Cody Enterprise:

Cody lost a living legend and the art world an icon when Harry Jackson died Monday, April 25.

The internationally-renowned artist, who turned 87 on April 18, passed away at the V.A. Hospital in Sheridan. He finally succumbed to the life-long effects of head wounds he suffered as a front-line combat marine and combat artist in the Pacific Theatre of World War II.

Read entire obituary here

"The Wind that Shakes the Barley" wraps up Casper College Multicultural Film Festival

The third and final film of the Casper College Multicultural Film Festival, “Exploring Ireland Through Films,” is The Wind That Shakes the Barley, which tells the story of two brothers, Damien (Cillian Murphy) and Teddy (Padraic Delaney) involved in a guerrilla war between Britain and the Irish Republican Army in the years immediately following World War I. The film, directed by Ken Loach, will be shown on Friday, April 15, beginning at 7 p.m. in the Wheeler Auditorium, located in the Wold Physical Science Center, Room 103.

“This film was chosen so that we could explore the sectarian divisions inherent in Irish society and politics,” said Erich Frankland, film festival co-director.

In his review, published in the Chicago Sun Times, movie critic Roger Ebert said: “You don't have to know about the history of ‘the troubles’ in Northern Ireland to be swept up in the human drama of The Wind That Shakes the Barley, which won the Palme d'Or at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival.”

Casper College English instructor and film festival co-director Patrick Amelotte will lead the post-film discussion.

The Wind that Shakes the Barley is free and open to all and is sponsored by the Casper College Honors Program, the Casper College International Studies Program, and Casper College.

FMI: Lisa S. Icenogle, 800-442-2963, ext. 2372

The Congo Tour film will be screened tonight at Casper College

Tonight at 7 p.m. Casper College will be showing The Congo Tour film from Invisible Children.

From the organizer, Casper College student Lorian Stegelman: We will be screening the new TONY bracelet documentary (eight years in the making and finally being screened for the first time). Also, a Ugandan adocate named Collines is coming with the Roadies. She is part of the 1% of Ugandan students who make it to University. Extra: IC will be bringing in more merchandise, including more MEND bags. The event is free, but the merchandise helps to fund IC campaigns.

The screening will take place in the Wheeler Auditorium Rm. 103 in the Wheeler Auditorium, Wold Physical Science Center. You are welcome to attend and visit with Lorian, Collines, the roadies, etc.

More information on the Congo Tour can be found here: http://www.invisiblechildren.com/congo

UW screens "The Tillman Story" Jan. 13

"The Tillman Story" can be seen Thursday, Jan. 13, at 7 p.m. in the University of Wyoming College of Education auditorium in Laramie. 

The free film is part of the Student Activities Council monthly film series.

In 2004, Pat Tillman, a defensive back with the Arizona Cardinals, was killed in action while serving in the U.S. Army in Afghanistan.

Filmmaker Amir Bar-Lev examines Tillman's unusual life and times, the facts about his death, how and why the military created a cover story to hide the truth, and his family's battle to bring the real story into the open.  The "Tillman Story" had its world premiere at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival.

Amnesty International Film Festival at UW Oct. 23

The Amnesty International Film Festival, featuring short and full-length film on issues of human rights worldwide, will be held on Saturday, Oct. 23, in Laramie. Many films are award winners. Schedule includes "ICYIZERE: hope" (2008) that is also showing in Casper and Jackson. Refreshments provided. Time TBA (start about 10 AM or Noon) into the evening, Classroom Bldg Rm. 129, UW Campus. Info: Conor, cmullen@uwyo.edu. Free.

Valentino Achak Deng, one of the "Lost Boys of Sudan," speaks at UW Sept. 14

From a UW press release:

Valentino Achak Deng, one of the "Lost Boys of Sudan," will share his story Tuesday, Sept. 14, at 4 p.m. in Room 129 of the University of Wyoming Classroom Building.


A Sudanese refugee, Deng will tell his personal story of migration from Sudan, to Ethiopia and Kenya, and finally the United States. The New York Times described his life as a testament "to human resilience over tragedy and disaster." He eventually resettled in America, to a new set of challenges. Deng's life is the basis of Dave Eggers' epic book "What Is the What."

Deng's lecture is part of a statewide International Studies Scholar Lecture Series funded by a U.S. Department of Education grant. The UW International Studies Program received the grant in partnership with the Wyoming community colleges. All seven of Wyoming's community colleges are participating in the grant.

"The three-year grant, now in its second year, has built a consortium among Wyoming colleges to share a statewide speaker series focusing on a variety of global issues," says Jean Garrison, director of UW International Studies. "We also are working to enhance the international studies course offerings at the colleges, and to build new or expand upon existing international studies programs."

Deng's visit is also sponsored by the Wyoming Council for the Humanities and the University of Wyoming Office of Academic Affairs. A reception will follow the lecture and books written by Deng will be available for signing.

For more information, contact Jeanette Reisenburg, (307) 766-3415, e-mail jeanette@uwyo.edu.

Photo: Valentino Achak Deng, will speak Tuesday, Sept. 14, at 4 p.m. in Room 129 of the University of Wyoming Classroom Building. (International Studies)

Can a modern-day Victory Garden be "folk art?"

Pamela Price at the Red, White and Grew blog continues to make her case to consider contemporary Victory Gardens as a folk art. She's trying to refine her definition, at one point calling this history-based garden of the World War II home front a "folk arts installation." Here is what she came up with in today's post:

Having let the idea of victory gardens as folk art sink in further to my grey matter, I’ve come up with the realization that not all gardens would fit that definition.

So, here are the two main criteria:

• The garden must be given the “victory garden” name by the gardener. Of course, if someone wants to call it kitchen garden, potager, etc. and still meet the criteria below, then they’d still likely be folk art, too–just not victory gardens as folk art. The choice of the name suggest a conscious desire to engage with a particular history, in this case American garden history over the last century.

• The garden must be suited to the micro-climate. In other words, rather than being a formulaic bed (or beds) laid out precisely in keeping with the suggestion of someone else (a landscape designer, garden book author, extension agent), the garden must reflect the gardener’s conscientious choice to grow food in harmony with the particular site. Now, the garden may not begin this way–first-timers like formulas, but over-time and with practice, the garden should become more reflective of place. This evolution suggests a unique (and hopefully fruitful) dialogue is taking place between gardener and environment.

Sudanese novelist Valentino Achak Deng at Teton County Library Sept. 16

From the Teton County Public Library in Jackson:

An evening with Sudanese author and refugee Valentino Achak Deng on Thursday, Sept. 16, 7:30-8:30 p.m.

Valentino Achak Deng is a Sudanese refugee whose amazing life story is told in the best-selling novel, "What Is the What: The Autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng," by acclaimed author Dave Eggers. Tickets to this FREE talk are available beginning Aug. 16 at all local bookstores, including Valley Bookstore, Jackson Hole Book Traders and Main Event. Presented by InterConnections 21, Wyoming Humanities Council, Tatiana Maxwell & Refugees International, Teton County Library Foundation and Valentino Achak Deng Foundation. Cost: Free. Location: High School Auditorium.

Contact: InterConnections 21, 307-699-2787 or jenna@ic21.org.

Cold War, cool art, at UW Art Museum

From a UW press release:

"Cold War in America: Works from the 1950s - 1970s, Selections from the Art Museum Collection" opens to the public Saturday, Aug. 21, at the University of Wyoming Art Museum. A free public reception for all the fall exhibitions is scheduled at 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 17.

The end of World War II in 1945 marked the beginning of a new conflict, the Cold War. This ongoing state of political conflict, military tension and economic competition continued primarily between the United States and the Soviet Union.

Abstract expressionism, color field painting, pop art and minimalism all came of age during the Cold War period, representing a radically new engagement with materials and space, and redefining the role and purpose of art.

Abstract expressionist artists, such as Willem de Kooning and James Brooks, who based their works on the pure expression of ideas relating to the spiritual, the unconscious and the mind, will be included.

Color field painting is characterized by large fields of flat, solid color creating areas of unbroken surface and a flat picture plane. It will be represented by the work of artists such as Robert Motherwell and Adolph Gottlieb.

Pop art in the United States, considered a reaction to abstract expressionism, will be represented by artists Alice Neel, Robert Rauschenberg, Ed Ruscha, Lee Krasner and Larry Rivers.

For more information on exhibitions and programs, call the UW Art Museum at (307) 766-6622 or visit the museum's Web page at www.uwyo.edu/artmuseum or blog at http://www.uwartmuseum.blogspot.com/.

"Imagine learning from the masters" is a guiding principle of the UW Art Museum's programs. Located in the Centennial Complex at 2111 Willett Drive in Laramie, the museum is open Mondays through Saturdays from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Admission is free.

Photo: Conrad Marca-Relli ‘s 1969 collage "Untitled #7," is among the works to be featured in a University of Wyoming Art Museum exhibition on Cold War art. (UW Art Museum)

Cody's Harry Jackson got his start as Marine combat artist

Great article in today's New York Times about the U.S. Marines' combat artists' program. During World War II, the Marines has 70 combat artists and today only one remains, Sgt. Kristopher J. Battles.

One of those World War II Marine combat artists was Harry Jackson of Cody. At 18 in 1942, he was the youngest of them all. The slide show accompanying the NYT article shows one of Harry paintings. Here's the caption:

"From World War II there's a vigorously worked scene of men engaged in combat on Tarawa, painted by Harry Jackson, later an Abstract Expressionist and today a hugely successful Western painter."

View Harry's painting of the battle of Tarawa -- and the rest of the slide show -- at http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2010/07/14/arts/design/20100718-MARINES-8.html. The painting is on exhibit at the National Museum of the Marine Corps, Triangle, Virginia.

Harry was awarded a Wyoming Arts Council Governor's Arts Award in 1990. Read about his very colorful life in his equally colorful autobiography at www.harryjackson.com/biography.cfm

On July 4 in Laramie, Wyoming National Guard soldiers perform song they brought back from Iraq

"Freedom Has a Birthday" is Laramie's annual Fourth of July celebration. It takes place from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. in Washington Park on Sunday, July 4. On stage from noon-1 p.m. will be the Joe Speed Band, made up of National Guard soldiers from Laramie and Rawlins. They'll perform their song "Cowboy Soliders," the number one song on GIJams, a web site devoted to military musicians.

Jennifer Dunn wrote about the band in today's Casper Star-Tribune:

Christmas Eve in a tent in Iraq, three members of the Wyoming National Guard recorded a song.

They called it "Cowboy Soldiers."

Despite my cowboy roots
They fit me for some combat boots
Instead of home on the range
We'll be ridin' the plains
Lookin' for that old sand dune

It's a song about what a cowboy from Wyoming needs, serving deep in the desert heat.

Namely, a beer.

It's what a lot of soldiers need, it turns out. The song has become something of an internet sensation, the most listened to and downloaded song on the website GIJams, a website devoted to promoting musicians of all genres serving in any military branch.

"We've been at No. 1 since we've been on there. I would like to think someone can knock us off the top," said Spc. Jeremiah Eaton, 33, of Rawlins. He's one of the three founding members of the Joe Speed Band, formed in Iraq with two other Wyoming soldiers -- Sgt. Nathan Harvey, 26, and Pfc. Dusty Scott, 26, both of Laramie.

Harvey and Scott met in elementary school. They met Eaton while deployed with the Guard's 133rd Engineer Company from 2004 to 2005.

“Nathan and I were heavy equipment operators, and Jeremiah fixed what we broke,” Scott said.

To read the rest, go to http://trib.com/lifestyles/weekender/article_0fdba667-981d-50f3-82d1-8efa04517f52.html

Listen to more music from the Joe Speed Band at http://www.gijams.com/web/joespeedband

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/

Roripaughs lead session about Heart Mountain during Wyoming Writers, Inc., conference

Lee Ann Roripaugh

At the Wyoming Writers, Inc., conference June 4-6 in Cody, there will be a session about the Heart Mountain Relocation Camp. During World War II, the camp was home to more than 10,000 Japanese-Americans relocated from the West Coast. The camp is now a National Historical Site and an interpretive center is under construction.

The Heart Mountain session will be conducted by Wyoming Poet Laureate Emeritus Robert Roripaugh, his wife Yoshiko and their daughter, Lee Ann, a Laramie native who now teaches creative writing at the University of South Dakota. Lee Ann will read selections from her award-winning poetry book, "Beyond Heart Mountain."

This presentation will be held on Friday, June 4, 7-8 p.m., at the Holiday Inn at the Buffalo Bill Resort in Cody. A book signing will follow. Both events are free and open to the public.

FMI: http://www.wyowriters.org/; http://www.heartmountain.us/

Renwick exhibits arts & crafts from Heart Mountain and other WWII internment camps

This painting was by an unidentified artist interned at Heart Mountain Internment Camp in Park County, Wyoming, during World War II. "Camp Scene," wood and paint (note Heart Mountain in background). Collection of the Japanese American Museum of San José, From "Art of Gaman" by Delphine Hirasuna, ©2005, Ten Speed Press. Terry Heffernan photo.

It is one of the works in "The Art of Gaman: Arts and Crafts from the Japane-American Internment Camps, 1942-1946," showing now at the Renwick Gallery in Washington, D.C. The exhibit runs through Jan. 30, 2011.

From the Smithsonian American Art Museum catalog:

Arts and crafts became essential for simple creature comforts and emotional survival. These objects—tools, teapots, furniture, toys and games, musical instruments, pendants and pins, purses and ornamental displays—are physical manifestations of the art of gaman, a Japanese word that means "to bear the seemingly unbearable with dignity and patience."

The exhibition is organized by San Francisco-based author and guest curator Delphine Hirasuna, and is based on her 2005 book The Art of Gaman, published by Ten Speed Press.

The exhibition is presented under the honorary patronage of The Honorable Norman Y. Mineta. Mr. Mineta, a former Congressman, Secretary of Transportation, and Regent of the Smithsonian, was interned as a child at Heart Mountain.

FMI: Read recent posts on the museum’s blog, Eye Level

"The Toll of War" hits stages in Utah

From the Salt Lake Tribune:

James Svendsen believes works of art about warriors from thousands of years ago might be used to serve warriors of today. The University of Utah dramaturge is helping produce a series of staged readings of "The Toll of War," two short one-act performances cut from Sophocles' 2,400-year-old plays "Ajax" and "Philoctetes."

"Ajax" tells the story of a suicidal warrior who takes his own life after struggling to come to terms with the unjust spoils of war. "Philoctetes" is a play about a disabled soldier who is abandoned by his commander.

Svendsen said it's not hard to find modern resonance in either play. And he hopes military members and veterans of recent wars -- the performances will be staged at Fort Douglas, the Salt Lake City VA hospital and other locations where they are likely to draw a military-oriented crowd -- will walk away understanding they are connected to generations upon generations of past warriors, who also struggled to "come home" from war.

Free performances of "The Toll of War" will be staged in these Utah locations:
Wednesday, 7 p.m. » Main Library Auditorium, 210 E. 400 South, Salt Lake City
March 6, 2 p.m. » Universe City, 2556 Washington Blvd., Ogden
March 8, 11:50 a.m. » Fort Douglas Post Theater, east of the University of Utah Campus
March 13, 7 p.m. » VA Hospital, Bldg.8, 500 Foothill Drive, Salt Lake City

FMI: http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_14493842

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.

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.

Paintings by interned World War II veteran featured at Western Heritage Center in Billings

Paintings by Montana's Ben Steele documenting his experiences in Japanese concentration camps during World War II will be on display through Sept. 19 at the Western Heritage Center, 2822 Montana Avenue, Billings, Mont.

Here's some background on Steele featured in the Billings Gazette:

Ben Steele, of Billings, Mont., was one of thousands of American soldiers captured in the Philippines at the beginning of World War II. His three and one half years as a prisoner of war began with the infamous "Bataan Death March," a 60-mile march that occurred after the three-month Battle of Bataan, part of the Battle of the Philippines (1941–42). He was later interned under the severe conditions of several Japanese labor camps. His captivity ended after working in a Japanese coal mine less than 80 miles from the ground zero of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.

During his internment, he began drawing images that recorded the extent of human degradation. The consequences of being caught making these drawings could have resulted in severe punishment or execution. He did drawings on whatever scraps of paper he could find and with whatever he could use to make a mark. The drawings were hidden and kept, but all but two were destroyed in the sinking of a transport boat that was taking the prisoners to the Japanese Mainland. Steele then produced more drawings and several oil paintings that graphically document the suffering shared by the prisoners.

Several of the larger oil paintings will be on display at the Western Heritage Center this summer. Tears in the Darkness, a new book featuring Steele’s life story, written by Michael and Elizabeth Norman, has been receiving national acclaim and Steele was recently interviewed by the New York Times and Washington Post.

FMI: http://www.ywhc.org/