This year's Rocky Mountain Writers' Festival will run March 10 through March 13 in Pocatello, Idaho, with many events hosted at ISU. The Festival was founded in the 1990s by Will Peterson, writer, art supporter and owner of the Walrus and Carpenter bookstore in Old Town. The festival has always been a wonderful showcase of local writers and in recent years, with grant support, organizers have brought in award-winning guest writers such as Jonathan Johnson, Brandon Schrand, Paisley Rekdal and Simon Ortiz. This year, the Festival is honored to welcome Professor Janet Holmes from Boise State University. Holmes is the director of Ahsahta Press, a 35 year-old small press specializing in the publication of poetry. Holmes has authored five books of poetry, including The ms of my kin (Shearsman, 2009) and F2F (University of Notre Dame Press, 2006). She is winner of the Foreword Book of the Year award for The Green Tuxedo, which also won the Minnesota Book Award, and has received grants from the Bush Foundation, the McKnight Foundation and the Minnesota State Arts Board. Janet Holmes will read a selection of her work on Friday, March 12, at 7 p.m. at ISU's Bengal Café. Other readers include Leslie Leek and Harald Wyndham (poet and director of Blue Scarab press) on Wednesday's Opening Night. University Night on Thursday focuses on talent associated with ISU, including teachers, alumni and students. Saturday afternoon's reading features native voices such as Ronald Snake Edmo and current Fort Hall Elementary Princess Khalila Roybal, while Saturday night's Finale Reading celebrates many great writers, including visiting Utah writers such as Star Coulbrooke. The Festival is truly a community event, and each night provides unique flavor, created by the hosts and readers. All events are free and open to the public, thanks to generous support from the Pocatello Arts Council, ISU's Cultural Affairs Council, and ISU's Department of English and Philosophy.
Schedule of events: OPENING NIGHT: Wednesday, March 10 (7 p.m.), Portneuf Valley Brewing, 615 S. 1st Ave UNIVERSITY NIGHT: Thursday, March 11 (7 p.m.), College Market, 604 S. 8th Street
JANET HOLMES SMALL PRESS COLLOQUIUM: Friday, March 12 (3 p.m.), LA256, Idaho State University
BLACK ROCK AND SAGE'S AFTERNOONER: Friday, March 12 (4-5 p.m.), Student Union Building's Bengal Café, ISU
BOOK FAIR: Friday, March 12 (5-6:45 p.m.), Student Union Building's Bengal Café, ISU
JANET HOLMES READING: Friday, March 12 (7 p.m.), Student Union Building's Bengal Café, ISU.
NATIVE VISIONS: Saturday, March 13 (1-3 p.m.), Student Union Building's Bengal Café, ISU
REMEMBRANCE OF POETS PAST: Saturday, March 13 (5 p.m.), The Warehouse, 1009 S. 2nd Avenue
FINALE NIGHT: Saturday, March 13 (7 p.m.), The Warehouse, 1009 S. 2nd Avenue
A full schedule and information about the festival are available at www.rockymountainwriters.com.
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