Welcome to e-book land w/update

Friend and writing colleague Liz Roadifer is my mentor to the e-book world.

She has formatted five of her titles and they are featured on Amazon. To access, write Liz's name in the Universe of Amazon search box and there you are. The books are in five different categories: suspense, fantasy and young adult. I have read them all in manuscript form because Liz and I are members of a local critique group, Cheyenne Area Writers Group or CAWG. You won't find a listing for us on or off the Internet. We're not so much a secret organization as a nondescript one. Members are five now and we meet via Zoom every two weeks to critique one another's fiction projects. Members have come and gone over the past 20 years. But all of us, past and present, are published thanks in part to the good graces and fine eyes of CAWGers.

Most of my colleagues write what's labeled as genre fiction, a category MFAers are taught to loathe. Silly MFA programs. I wrote a suspense novel back in the day which never sold even though I had an agent I met at a writing conference. It taught me a lot mainly that I wanted to be a better writer. So I left the corporate world for the academy and the rest is history. I now write better than I did in my 20s and 30s. How much of that is due to maturity and voracious reading and how much is due to writing workshops is hard to say. Let's say 50/50. 

So here I am, formatting my first book of stories for Kindle Direct Publishing. Rights for the book reverted back to me after my press folded. I have a few print copies flitting about but have resisted the e-book world. I have written another book of stories and a novel, still unpublished. I am putting them all online. I've been writing on Blogger for 16 years, having signed up on a whim in 2001. I've posted almost 3,600 blogs. I used to be part of Blogger's AdSense program but never made any money. It requires you to have ads on your site and I found some disturbing and others stupid. 

So now I am signing on to the largest corporation in the known universe, the people who gave us spaceships, delivery drones, and free shipping. The KDP program is easy to learn and widens the audience. What's not to like? I'm almost finished with the formatting stage and ready to release it into KDP's care. It would be wrapping it up right this very minute but I am blogging instead. I spend too much time on my blog but it does give me a platform for promotion that not everyone has. Platform, of course, is the thing that all writers must have these days. Writers you see on TV usually have a platform or they wouldn't be on TV. I saw an interview with George Saunders on Stephen Colbert a few years ago and went out and bought "Lincoln in the Bardo" and his wild story collection, "CivilWarLand in Bad Decline." I love those stories. It was fantastic to see a real author on the airwaves. We need more of that.

So back to e-booking. Kudos to Liz for her persistence and patience. The book should be available soon, just in time for Christmas and the next Covid lockdown. 

UPDATE 12/6/21: "The Weight of a Body" Kindle edition now available on Amazon.

In memoriam: John Clark Pratt

I called him Dr. Pratt because it seemed appropriate. John Clark Pratt possessed a deep voice, military bearing, steely gaze. No surprise after 20 years in the Air Force, some of those in Vietnam (and neighboring countries), and then a stint teaching at the Air Force Academy.

At Colorado State University, he taught creative writing. He was the only writing prof hanging around the Eddy Building as I prowled around on a summer day in 1988. I dropped in. He gave me some of his time and, when I left, thought I had found the right place to get my M.F.A.

I was right. Dr. Pratt conducted one of my first writing workshops. He helped me fine-tune a sci-fi story that he thought was pretty good. You don't read too many sci-fi pieces in writing workshop. It's mostly dysfunctional family minimalism (DFM). No surprise, since most of the students are in their 20s and fresh out of their undergraduate experience and not too far away from their tormented youth. I was older, late 30s, fresh from a corporate PR gig and before that, years as a journalist and then a free-lance writer. If I had a tormented youth, it was way behind me.

I wasn't a better writer than my younger peers. I just wrote different stuff. I was used to being edited and revised and wasn't upset when others took a hand to it. So I published and kept writing, going through critiques, stopping to chat with Dr. Pratt along the way. He had published two great books about the Vietnam War, The Laotian Fragments and Vietnam Voices. In the latter book, he put together a pastiche of poets and writers, veterans and peaceniks. He had helped start the CSU Library's Vietnam War special collection. Nosing around in that collection, partitioned like a bunker in the basement of the old library, which in the late 1980s still had its card catalog and a new but rudimentary computerized system. While hanging out in the bunker, I discovered its future wars section. My first novel manuscript rests in that collection. It's the only way you can read it, if you're interested.

Dr. Pratt passed away Jan. 2 in Fort Collins after a long and gallant battle with cancer. We'd been in touch a few years ago when he was looking for a publisher for his new novel. Still writing, even as he battled the Big C. He wondered if my Denver publisher might be interested in the book. I asked. They were, but I don't think it worked out as the press vanished shortly thereafter. It felt good to do him this small favor. Then two weeks ago, I found out from a writer friend that Dr. Pratt had passed away.

Last week, I received a call from a woman whose club was preparing Dr. Pratt's household for an estate sale. She said she found in Dr. Pratt's library my business card and letter in a copy of my short story collection. She invited me to FoCo for a preview of the estate sale. I went.

It's too bad I no longer am accumulating books. My shelves are full, I have many boxes of books in the basement and I am retired. But I thought it might be a way to help in some way, maybe use it as a way to say farewell to Dr. Pratt.

My friend John met me there. He taught with Dr. Pratt and he too is retired. Linda showed us into the room containing Pratt's research books. The director of the Vietnam War collection had already been out to sort through the material. John and I found some collectible books that hadn't been priced as well as well as some wonderful early editions, especially of books from the 1960s. A row of Joseph Heller's books, including early hardcovers of Catch-22. John Updike, Ken Kesey, Kenn Babbs, Timothy Leary. Pratt knew them all, and was interested in all of the voices of the sixties. I thought, "Wouldn't it be great to have books that a mentor cared enough to keep?" The answer was yes. But I resisted. John and I found excellent copies of 1984 and Sinclair Lewis's It Can't Happen Here, both of which we turned over to Linda for pricing. I found a first edition of James Burke's first novel,The Lost Get-Back Boogie. It was an LSU Press original and back before the author became Best-Selling NYT-Author James Lee Burke. English majors would like the fact that an excerpt of the book was first published in CutBank, University of Montana's excellent litmag. I found a big box of Vietnam War research material, including a Look Magazine cover with the header, "We're Winning in Vietnam." It was fall of 1967, just a few months before Tet.

I attended Dr. Pratt's funeral at Spirit of Joy Lutheran Church. His adult children recounted their memories and we had a few laughs. The Poudre River Irregulars, minus its banjo player, played a few tunes, closing out with "When Those Saints Go Marching in."

I am thankful that I had Dr. Pratt as a mentor. He saw things in my writing that I did not. He encouraged me when I needed encouraging. You never know what kind of impact people will have on you. It's important that you give them a chance and see what happens.

Never too late for a wellness class

Chris and I are attending a wellness class at the YMCA.

The class uses a text entitled "Living a Healthy Life with Chronic Conditions." It outlines self-management tools based on "an ongoing series of studies conducted at Stanford University School of Medicine." Stanford, founded by robber baron Leland Stanford, is known for many things. It helped spawn the computer revolution, trained numerous NFL players and sponsors a kooky marching band (go you Cardinal!). And I have nothing against robber barons -- with them we wouldn't have Stanford's Wallace Stenger poetry fellowships, the many Carnegie libraries that taught generation to love books, and Grand Teton National Park (thanks Rockefeller family). Our current crop of high-tech billionaires seem to be trying to follow in the footsteps of their elders, although our grandkids will have to judge their legacies.

I'd be lying if I said the book's Stanford connection didn't impress me. There are some elitist bones in my body. But the book is a good and helpful and logical. We all need self-management skills when it comes to our health. Too often, we don't sail our own ship, health-wise, and that leads to many problems down the line -- heart disease, arthritis, diabetes, asthma and, as the book notes, "other physical and mental health conditions." Notice that latter term -- mental health conditions. The book stresses links between physical and mental health. Very important. You really can't have one without the other.

Pages 8-9 lists the management skills recommended for an array of chronic conditions. Categories include pain management, fatigue management, breathing techniques, relaxation and managing emotions, nutrition, exercise and medications. Notice that "medications" is last? I did. I take a boatload of meds for my heart disease, but also pay attention to the other categories, especially exercise and nutrition. I would like to wean myself off some heart meds. This is a challenge, as the drug lobby is adamant we use its products and never get off of them. Out docs are complicit in this strategy. They may also need this wellness class.

The series of six classes are led by two women who were trained in the process. Each class involves note-taking and brainstorming and action plans. We often choose partners to work on action plans. Our workshop leaders call during the week to check up on our progress, or lack of it.

Is the class worth it? Not sure, as I'm only halfway through. I probably will miss the last two sessions, as I'm getting a new knee Feb. 3. Takes a good month to get back in the action. But wellness is important and I wish that I'd taking it seriously sooner. At 65, I have several chronic conditions: heart disease, arthritis, depression. A better lifestyle would have spared me the heart condition. Arthritis and bad knees show the wear-and-tear of time, and many years of basketball and running. Depression runs in the family.

I'd like to sum up by saying something memorable about living life to the fullest. Must be a gazillion quotes and thousands of memes on the subject.

Here's one: "Be here now," coined by writer/philosopher Ram Dass for his book of the same name..

Here's another: "One day at a time," something I heard once or twice at Twelve-Step meetings.

"So it goes" from Kurt Vonnegut.

Great line-up of writers and editors for WWInc Conference in Cheyenne

In a Dec. 8 post, I wrote about Colorado poet Aaron Abeyta coming to Cheyenne June 5-7 as the keynoter for the Wyoming Writers, Inc., annual conference.

What I forgot to mention are the other fine writers and editors serving as faculty at the conference. Fiction writer and essayist Laura Pritchett from Fort Collins will be there, as well as Kent Nelson, a great short story writer from Salida, Colo. Editor Patrick Thomas will represent Milkweed Editions, one of Pritchett's publishers ("Hell's Bottom, Colorado") and one of America's great non-profit presses based in Minneapolis/St. Paul. Other editors include Tiffany Schofield from Five Star Publishing and Meghan Saar, senior editor of True West Magazine.

The WWInc conference launches the summer art season in Wyoming. School's out, the flowers are in bloom, and the snow is mostly over. People enjoy the outdoors all day and sip Wyoming-made IPAs on the front porch in the evening. Air Guard C-130s and Blackhawks buzz our house and the neighbor kid pops wheelies on his dirtbike. Al over the state, people dig music festivals, art fairs and brewfests. The mountains, too -- can't forget those.

At the writers' conference, I've agreed to serve as emcee for Friday and Saturday night's open readings. I enjoy the job. Each writer (me included) gets five minutes for their prose or poetry. Some accompany themselves on guitars or kazoos. When the timer sounds at the end of five minutes, the writer has to sit down. The hook comes out if they don't. You don't want to get the hook. It goes on your permanent record.

See you in June in Cheyenne.

Kurt Caswell returns to LCCC Oct. 3-4 for the Literary Connection

The Literary Connection features a four-hour free workshop for writers on Friday, Oct. 3, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., in the LCCC Center for Conferences & Institutes in Cheyenne. Featured writers this year are Kurt Caswell, Ernie Cline and Danielle Pafunda. Great to see Kurt Caswell back at LCCC, where he taught English and writing classes back in the day. LCCC Theatre Director Jason Pasqua will serve as emcee.

Registration deadline has passed, but you can probably show up next Friday and find a seat. LCCC usually offers some fine treats and coffee.

Here's the schedule:

8 a.m.: Bookstore opens. Buy books.

8:30 a.m.: Registration and Breakfast. Lots of good munchies and coffee.

9:15-10:15 a.m.: Danielle Pafunda -- "Loss for Words: How Poetry Helps Us Say What We Mean"

10:30-11:30 a.m.: Kurt Caswell -- "Spiritual Mathematics: Reconsidering Structure in Your Writing"

11:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m. -- Ernest Cline -- "Writing W hat You Know By Writing About What You Love"

Saturday's events at LCCC Conferences & Institutes require a fee. Registration begins at 9:30 a.m. and the program starts at 10 a.m. No breakfast, but lunch will be served.

Go to the Friday workshops. But the Saturday events are worth the cost. You get to schmooze with fellow writers and talk to the presenters. Buy books, too.

Get more info here: 307-778-1285

Molina Speaks blends hip-hop and futurism and social justice

Adrian Molina at a performance in Denver.

Spoken word artist and Rawlins native Adrian Molina will conduct an interactive workshop that focuses on "the power of voice in the technological age" on Sunday, March 9, 2-3:30 p.m. at the Laramie County Library in Cheyenne. Geared for youth ages 16-25.

I've never seen a hip-hop TEDx talk. Molina (a.k.a. Molina Speaks) uses his skills as a rapper in this video to do this:

Building on his talk on futurism and hip-hop, Molina Speaks delivers a performance serving as a powerful demonstration of the values of the new hip-hop movement as it ties into a new vision of the future. 

Here’s a taste of Molina on stage last year at TedX Mile High in Denver: http://youtu.be/3ejY6bAqNM4

Molina's vision for the future is one where young people have unfettered access to the arts. He puts this philosophy into practice daily as a mentor to students in one of Denver poorest neighborhoods. He's performance director and a lead instructor at Youth On Record, an arts education organization started by the Flobots that recently launched a state-of-the-art Youth Media Studio on Denver’s west side. 

He teaches Chicano Studies, Hip-Hop Studies and Media Justice courses at the college level, including courses at his lama mater, the University of Wyoming. Molina is a member of the Café Cultura Artist collective. He has collaborated with Bioneers, Denver Spirituals Project, Su Teatro, Lighthouse Writers, Café Nuba, Slam Nuba, The Growhaus, Servicios de la Raza, and the Denver Public Library, among others.

Come on out to the Molina's presentation on Sunday. It's designed for our kids but we all can learn something from such an engaged and talented artist. 

Dear Students: It ain't easy to feed this fiction-writing habit, but you gotta do it

What secrets will I be sharing with student writers at Western Wyoming College on Feb. 7?

It's a secret. Don't want to ruin the suspense. What kind of fiction writer would do that?

I will begin by telling them a bit about myself. I was born a poor white child in suburbia. My father built homes for rocket ships. My mother was the Florence Nightingale of Denver. I spent my youth reading and taking care of my many siblings. Along the way I started to write and haven't stopped since.

Words of wisdom: The Nike ad said it best -- "Just do it!" If I had a nickel for everyone who told me, "I want to write a book," I would be as rich as Warren Buffet. If I had a nickel for everyone of those people who actually finished a book, I would have enough to buy a cup of coffee -- at Starbucks. If I had a nickel for everyone who finished a book and got it published, I would have enough for a cup of coffee -- at the Loaf 'n' Jug.

Last year, I read a quote by Florida Governor Rick Scott who said that Liberal Arts degrees were a waste of time. He may be right. If you measure an English degree on production values, it isn't very practical. Will it help it get you a job? Possibly. Let me make a list of the jobs I've had since graduating with an English degree from the University of Florida:

Correspondent for a construction industry trade journal
Book store clerk
Book warehouse order filler
Sports reporter
Telephone salesman
Junior high paper grader
Weekly newspaper managing editor
Weekly newspaper columnist
Business newspaper editor
Teaching assistant
Partner in an advertising/marketing firm
Free-lance writer
Free-lance editor
Newsletter editor
Literary magazine editor
Anthology editor
Corporate publications editorhttp://hummingbirdminds.blogspot.com/
Fiction writer
Essayist
Photographer
Free-lance writing teacher
Adjunct professor
Arts administrator
Event planner
Grants panelist
Grants writer
Arts magazine editor
Public Information Officer

Some of these jobs overlapped, especially the free-lance ones. Almost all of them had something to do with writing and editing. All of them fed my fiction writing habit.

Author and National Geographic Magazine roving correspondent Mark Jenkins of Laramie (who spoke at WWC last year) once told me that he majored in philosophy at UW and then retreated to the mountains for a year to think big thoughts. Eventually he had to come down from the mountain and decide how to make a living. And he did. He became an international adventurer and wrote about it. Wrote very well about it. He's won all of the fellowships you can win from the Wyoming Arts Council. We don't have any fellowships for philosophers. But we do for those people who want to spend the 10,000 hours it takes to become a good writer or artist or musician. And that's just for starters.

I can't wait to address those emerging writers coming to my workshop at WWC in Rock Springs on Feb. 7. By the end of my workshop, they will either be scared to death, ready to find a practical major such as agronomy or nursing, or they will be fired up and ready to go write and write and write some more.

I'm guessing it will be the latter.

Love & terror & poetry Oct. 4-5 in Cheyenne

Attend a free writing workshop on Friday, Oct. 4, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. at Laramie County Community College’s Center for Conferences and Institutes.

This Literary Connection event will be conducted by Poe Ballantine, Dave Jannetta and Lisa Zimmerman.

Ballantine and Jannetta will present “Love and Terror: The Infinite Fascinations and Complex Problems of Portraying True Crime in a Small Town.”

Zimmerman will talk about “Writing through the Block: Inventive Ways to Get Lines to the Page.”

Continental breakfast provided.

On Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., the three writers will talk in detail about their work at the Center for Conferences and Institutes. It will be followed by a book signing. Lunch is provided.  Fee is $45. Online registrations are now closed. Please call 307.778.1285 to register.

About the Authors

Poe Ballantine: Born in Denver, Poe Ballantine is known for his novels and essays, many of which appeared in The Sun. His second novel, Decline of the Lawrence Welk Empire, won Foreword Magazine’s Book of the Year. The odd jobs, eccentric characters, boarding houses, buses, and beer that populate Ballantine’s work often draw comparisons to the life and work of Charles Bukowski and Jack Kerouac. Ballantine is the author of the true-crime book Love and Terror on the Howling Plains of Nowhere (2012) and is also the subject of the documentary Poe Ballantine, A Writer in America. He has written four books – two collections of essays and two novels. Many of the stories he tells are taken from his personal experiences that include traveling, living on the road, and working some 75 odd jobs. One of Ballantine’s short stories, The Blue Devils of Blue River Avenue, was included in Best American Short Stories 1998 and his essay 501 Minutes to Christ appeared in Best American Essays 2006. He lives in Chadron, Nebraska, with his wife, Christina, and their son.

Dave Jannetta: Dave Jannetta is the founder of 32-20 Productions, a Philadelphia-based production company covering the full spectrum of film and video production with a focus on telling quality stories of all shapes and sizes. Dave has worked closely with Poe Ballantine to turn his story Love and Terror on the Howling Plains of Nowhere into a documentary movie.

Dave will discuss taking a literary piece and working with it to create a visual representation.

Lisa Zimmerman: Lisa Zimmerman received a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing from Washington University in St. Louis. Her poetry and fiction have appeared in the Colorado Review, Redbook, Paper Street, Poet Lore, Eclipse, Atlanta Review and many other journals. Her poetry has been nominated three times for the Pushcart Prize. She has published two poetry chapbooks as well as the full-length collections How the Garden Looks From Here, winner of the 2004 Violet Reed Haas Poetry Award, and The Light at the Edge of Everything (2008). Lisa is an assistant professor of English at the University of Northern Colorado and has been the poet-in-residence at Colorado schools in Aurora, Brighton, Longmont, Fort Collins and Idalia.

"Writing Away the Stigma" with true stories

Pittsburgh's Lee Gutkind is a fine writer. He specializes in health topics and is the author of Stuck in Time: The Tragedy of Childhood Mental Illness and Many Sleepless Nights. 

Lee is the fine editor of Creative Nonfiction magazine and numerous anthologies.

Lee also is an accomplished leader of writing workshops. He's conducted quite a few of them in Wyoming, a state he first explored by motorcycle when researching his first book, Bike Fever. I've attended workshops by Lee at the Casper College Literary Conference, at the Big Red Barn at the Ucross Foundation, and at the Writers' Summit that used to be held at the old church retreat complex on Harriman Road between Cheyenne and Laramie. This guy can inspire you to new heights in your writing.

His latest project is an intriguing one: "Writing Away the Sigma: With True Stories Well Told." Here's the plan:

Each year, 1 in 4 American adults will endure the trials of a mental health condition. But while many Americans have experienced a mental illness--either firsthand or through a family member or friend--the stigma of mental illness remains. In an effort to help correct this situation, the Creative Nonfiction and Staunton Farm Foundations have partnered to offer residents of Southwestern Pennsylvania a unique opportunity to tell their stories.

Writing Away the Stigma: With True Stories Well Told will provide support for 12 individuals to study, free of charge, with the founder and editor of Creative Nonfiction magazine, Lee Gutkind, recognized by Vanity Fair as "the Godfather behind creative nonfiction." Selected writing fellows will attend five weekly workshops led by Lee, which will cover the entire writing process from idea to final product.

All 12 participants will conceive their stories, learn the creative nonfiction craft, and write first and follow-up drafts. The final session will focus on how to get published.

The catch is that you have to be a resident of one of 10 southwestern Pennsylvania counties. That's not to say we can't one day lure Lee West to lead a similar workshop.

As is the case with thousands of my fellow Wyomingites, I'm a consumer of mental health services. I also have plenty of company when it comes to dealing with mental health issues faced by family members. Due to our status as a rural state, it's tough to find help. When you do find it, it's a long way away. Some of that is being addressed by electronics. My Cheyenne psychiatrist has a gigantic view screen in his office that connects him via a Skype-like system with patients in Lusk and Big Piney and other far-flung locales. It's almost as good as being there. Almost. 

The stigma wanes but never disappears.

Find out more about "Writing Away the Stigma" at https://www.creativenonfiction.org/study-lee-gutkind

Sunday wrap-up: How does your blog, story or garden grow?

Sunday weekend wrap-up...

My fellow WYO prog-blogger and author Rodger McDaniel will be a guest on MSNBC's morning show tomorrow. He'll be talking about his new book, Dying for Joe McCarthy's Sins The Suicide of Wyoming Senator Lester Hunt. As he said on Facebook earlier today:

Hope you get up early in the morning to watch me on Chuck Todd's show between 7 and 8 a.m. Wyoming time.

We'll be up and watching, Rodger. And congrats.

I spent my weekend at the Wyoming Writers, Inc., conference in Laramie. It was great seeing old friends and hearing good writing and publishing advice from novelist Margaret Coel and agents Katherine Sands and Sandra Bond. My state government colleague Chris Madson gave an inspiring opening speech. Pat Frolander of Sundance delivered a Sunday morning farewell speech from our poet laureate. This eminence gris conducted a workshop about online publishing and was pleased to see a packed house. I served as emcee for the Saturday night open mic reading and had the pleasure of serving as the spirit of Ernest Hemingway in a poem by Sheridan's Rose Hill. I'm beginning to look a bit like Papa in his Old Man and the Sea era. 

This is a supportive group of writers and poets. The org has attracted 73 new members in the last year and still growing. Go to the web site and join, and attend the 40th anniversary conference in Sheridan the first weekend in June 2014. 

My veggie garden leapt forward in my absence. The greens are greening, the beans and cukes are poking out of the sod and I have some blossoms on the squash and at least one of my tomato plants. I'm happy to be back in the Mr. Greenjeans biz. Wish me luck for a warm and hail-free summer. Photos coming soon...

Speaking of gardening, the Tuesday Farmers' Market returns to Cheyenne on Tuesday (of course), June 11, but at a new location located in the parking lot just west of Sears at Frontier Mall. This is the third location of the TFM since its founding in 2004. But don't let that throw you. It's a great mix of vendors offering grass-fed beef, handmade breads, BBQ, and arts and crafts. Later on, it will have lots of local veggies and fruits. Eat Locally!

Register now for the Wyoming Writers, Inc., conference in Laramie June 7-9

I'm one of the faculty this year, but don't let that stop you from registering for the conference at www.wyowriters.org. Deadline for early registration is Friday, May 10. 

I'm pleased to join line-up of presenters at this summer's Wyoming Writers, Inc., conference

Gayle Irwin sent out a Facebook message today that the Wyoming Writers, Inc., 2013 conference brochure was going out in the mail. She urges poets and writers in the region to come out to the conference set for June 7-9 in Laramie. I'm pleased to be one of the conference presenters along with Colorado author Margaret Coel (author of the Wind River mysteries and Catherine McLeod novels), poet and essayist Rick Kempa of Rock Springs, children's and young adult writer and educator Gene Gagliano of Buffalo, Casper author and historian Tom Rea and literary agents Sandra Bond and Katharine Sands. Additionally, Chris Madson, editor of Wyoming Wildlife magazine will be speaking on Friday evening, June 7. I will be talking about short stories, online publishing and blogging. Get registration info at http://www.wyowriters.org.

One more thing about the conference... My old pal Page Lambert will be conducting a pre-conference workshop at the Vee Bar Guest Ranch near Laramie June 1-6. If you can't make it for the six-day workshop, check out the special two-day "Mini-Retreat" June 6-7 prior to the Wyoming Writers Conference in Laramie: Literature and Landscape of the Horse. Learn more at http://www.pagelambert.com/horse_literature.html

I'm big on writing and eating and campfires and camaraderie but not much of a horse guy. But if you are, you can't go wrong with this mini-retreat near the ramparts of the Snowy Range that moves right into the conference a few miles away in Laramie. 

Good weekend for writers and artists in southeast Wyoming

It's a good weekend to be a writer or artist in southeast Wyoming.

Henry Real Bird, former poet laureate of Montana, will present a free writing workshop at the Laramie County Public Library in Cheyenne on Sunday, March 3, 1-3:30 p.m. No need to register; just show up with your journal and your imagination. Henry was born and raised on the Crow Indian Reservation in Montana and is a often is a presenter at the annual Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nevada. He's in town to serve as a judge for the 2013 Poetry Out Loud competition which takes place on Monday and Tuesday.

The Wyoming Arts Council and UW team up to present CLICK: A Weekend for Wyoming Visual Artists March 1-3 in Laramie. Hear from arts professionals in a series of panel sessions and attend hands-on studio sessions conducted by UW arts professors. On Friday at 7 p.m., hear from UW Eminent Visiyting Artist Judy Pfaff. Registration fee is $100. FMI: http://wyoarts.state.wy.us/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/CLICK-conference-registration-2013.pdf

Poet Mark Nowak wants to hear your stories about "Working in Wyoming"

Poet and labor activist Mark Nowak is coming to Wyoming and wants to hear your stories about work. This comes from the "Working in Wyoming" Facebook page:

Have an uncle or a sister or a cousin or a friend or a neighbor who works in Wyoming and always tells great stories about their job? Invite them -- no, BRING them -- to one of our "Working in Wyoming" workshops in February. We want all the great Wyoming storytellers to tell us what it means to work in Wyoming. 

The writing workshops will be held in the conference room in the Laramie Plains Civic Center in Laramie. We hope to see you there!

Wednesday, February 20th from 6-7:30 PMSaturday, February 23rd from 2-3:30 PMWednesday, February 27th from 6-7:30 PM

Henry Real Bird will conduct "Shadow of Home" writing workshop March 3 at the Laramie County Public Library

In conjunction with Wyoming's Poetry Out Loud state competition, guest judge and Native-American poet Henry Real Bird will be facilitating a public workshop on Sunday, March 3, at the Laramie County Library, from 1:30 to 4:00 p.m., in the Cottonwood Room on the main floor.

Henry's theme for the workshop, "Shadow of Home" will "take participants beyond reflection and past the stars, sending our thoughts in search of rhyme, exploring realms of dreaming in sound and tunes of a life." 

This workshop is free and open to the public.

Workers urged to share their voices in a "community-building, creative investigation of what it means to labor in Wyoming"

Today's news from Michigan shows that the Republican war on workers continues unabated. Southern Wyoming once had a strong union presence in the mines and on the railroads. But most of the railroad jobs were moved out of Rawlins and Rock Springs and the mines got all "Right-to-Work-State" on its workers.

Mark Nowak is a documentary poet, teacher and labor activist who will will serve as eminent writer-in-residence for the University of Wyoming creative writing program in February. He and I are two of the writers featured in Working Words: Punching the Clock and Kicking out the Jams, a 2010 anthology from Coffee House Press.

This is an excerpt about working in a steel mill from Mark's poetry series, "$00 / Line / Steel / Train," which is included in the anthology:

Because the (brake) past is used because the tearing  (past) of the (brick) form is used is used because the fence (in) of the (goddam) frame is used is used is utterly used against us and by us and upon us and for us is used is used in the present (past) future (form) we are used yet users yet used.

Every day you put your life on the line when you went into that iron house. Every day you sucked up dirt and took a chance on breaking your legs or breaking your back. And anyone who's worked in there knows what I'm talking about.

Mark sent along this info about the "Working (in Wyoming)" project he'll be conducting when he's in the state. Here it is:

Working (in Wyoming) is a community-building, creative investigation of what it means to labor in Wyoming. A series of creative writing workshops will be held in southeastern  Wyoming (Laramie and Cheyenne) in February of 2013.

These workshops will be facilitated by Wyoming writing instructors and students in the University of Wyoming's MFA program in creative writing. In these workshops, Wyoming workers of diverse backgrounds will have the opportunity to collaborate with others in the Wyoming community to create a short piece of creative writing (a poem, a parable, a short story, a piece of flash fiction/nonfiction, etc.).

Working (in Wyoming) will culminate in a large-scale yet intimate evening event in Laramie on February 28. Here working people from across the state will have the opportunity to share what it means to work in Wyoming with a presentation of pieces created in workshops. 

To get involved in the project, contact Kay Northrop at knorthrop@uwyo.edu or Brie Fleming at briennafleming5@gmail.com Read more on the project's Facebook page.

Mark's blog is filled with info about union organizing and strikes worldwide. If you think that workers in the U.S. don't have anything in common with coal miners in China or maquiladora laborers in Mexico, think again, and take a look at Mark's Coal Mountain blog.

How about a WWInc membership for that writer on your gift list?

I've been attending the annual conference of Wyoming Writers, Inc., since I first came to Wyoming in 1991. I've been to June conferences in Cody (twice), Casper (many times), Cheyenne, Rock Springs, Sundance (Bear Lodge Writers home turf), Riverton (the year after the hotel caught fire) and Thermopolis (with my teen daughter). In 2013, the conference will be in Laramie for (I think) the first time. This June 7-9 conference is shaping up to be a fine one despite the fact that I am one of the presenters. You've been forewarned! I'll be talking about short stories and will be shilling my new book which, I hope, will be hot off the presses come May. I'll also address blogging and social media for writers.

Who are some of the writers, editors and agents featured at WWInc conferences? Glad you asked. Performance poet M.L. Liebler, mystery writer Margaret Coel, novelist Tim Sandlin, Graywolf Press editor Katie Dublinski, Coffee House Press publisher Chris Fishbach, Hollywood screenwriter Ben Garant, father/daughter poetry team Robert and Lee Ann Roripaugh, poet and musician David Romtvedt, western novelist Johnny Boggs, essayist Teresa Jordan, folklorist Hal Cannon, romance novelist Amanda Cabot and scores of others. 

Wyoming Writers, Inc. (WWInc) has had its ups and downs over its 38 years. Some of its founders remain active members, and one of the challenges is attracting and keeping new members. Here's one way to do this, taken from the new and improved WWInc web site:

WHAT DO YOU GIVE A WRITER? If you're looking for a special Christmas gift for your favorite writer, or perhaps there's a birthday coming up that deserves something more than another book, lunch out or a gift certificate to the same ol' place... Consider giving a membership to Wyoming Writers, Inc., the oldest statewide, multi-genre writers' organization in Wyoming! Go to the "Become a Member or Renew Your Membership" page and either fill out the form online or print and mail it, with the appropriate payment (add student ID information if needed) to: Wyoming Writers, Inc., P. O. Box 999, Sundance, WY 82729 Help us increase our membership and give a wonderful gift to a writer at the same time!

I'm a member so this is not the appropriate gift for me. A much better gift would be a Kindle or perhaps that beard trimmer I have been looking at with envy. No neckties, thank you very much! And especially no Wyoming neckties (know what I mean?)

Did I mention that WWInc is a recipient of a Wyoming Governor's Arts Award?

Anyway, it's a great group. Its members are accomplished and friendly, and always find a way to put on a smashing conference.

Give the gift of membership. You'll be glad you did.

City News holds series of writing and publishing workshops in October

City News in downtown Cheyenne is hosting a series of writing and publishing workshops in October.

On Sunday, Oct. 21, noon-1:30 p.m., there will be a special workshop designed for children. According to a press release, it will "encourage young authors to expand their skills, put ideas into words, through fun exercises and sharing. Halloween costumes are encouraged."

A writing workshop for adults will be held on Sunday, Oct. 28, noon-1:30 p.m. Bring your finished writing or come in for ideas. Author and publisher Blaze McRob will be there to discuss the horror genre.

FMI: Alan or Audrey, 307-638-8671.

On Thursday, Oct. 25, City News will hold a free workshop from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Hear tips from author Patricia G. Stevenson ("The Dilapidated Man," "The Jezebel Bride"), artist N. Kay Stevenson and agent Carolyn Campbell. Come join the team as they workshop the steps in writing, designing and promoting a book. More info at patriciagstevenson.com.

Veterans, artists, writers and colleges team up for the Combat Paper Project

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From Nov. 5-9, the Combat Paper Project is teaming up with the Colorado

State University Veterans Organization right down the road in Fort Collins

for a week-long program of workshops, film screenings, presentations and 

an exhibit leading up to Veterans Day on Nov. 11. The completed works 

will be exhibited at the William E. Morgan Library at CSU from 7-9 p.m. on

Thursday, Nov. 8. The event is free and open to the public. For more 

information, contact Drew Waldbauer, alvs_staff@mail.colostate.edu, 

970-491-3977. 

Here's some info on the project:

The Combat Paper Project utilizes art-making workshops to assist veterans in reconciling and sharing their personal experiences as well as broadening the traditional narrative surrounding service and the military culture.

Through papermaking workshops veterans use their uniforms worn in combat to create cathartic works of art. The uniforms are cut up, beaten into a pulp and formed into sheets of paper. Veterans use the transformative process of papermaking to reclaim their uniform as art and begin to embrace their experiences in the military.

The Combat Paper Project is based out of art studios throughout the United States and has traveled to Canada and the United Kingdom, providing veterans workshops, exhibitions, performances and artists' talks. This project is made possible by a multifaceted collaboration between artists, art collectors, academic institutions and veterans.

Through ongoing participation in the papermaking process, combat papermakers are attempting to progress from creating works specific to their military experiences to expressing a broader vision on militarism and society. The work reflects both the anger of the past and hope for the future. Through this collaboration between civilians and veterans, a much-needed conversation is generated regarding our responsibilities to the returned veteran and an understanding of the dehumanizing effects of warfare.

The Combat Paper Project is a collaboration initiated by Drew Matott and Drew Cameron, involving war veterans, activists and artists. More information about our beginnings or the papermaking process can be found in our basic papermaking primer.

Some good advice for writers from Clarissa Pinkola Estes

"The most difficult endeavor is not to create something. The most difficult endeavor is not even to begin. The most difficult is to keep rowing all the way through to completion. And this, in spades, is the content of the night-sea journey... making the descent to true self, nourishing the work from that locus of control, and completing the work. Then beginning the next, and the next... and completing them."

--Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes, from her Creative Fire manuscript 

Dr. Estes will be conducting a creativity workshop, "Rowing Songs for the

Night-Sea Journey," Oct. 20-25 at Sunrise Ranch in the foothills between

Fort Collins and Loveland. Go here for more info: 

http://sunriseranch.org/personal-growth/rowing-songs/