2008 Woodie Awards
Local and visiting writers bring flavor to festival
Melinda Christensen
Issue date: 4/9/08 Section: Life
The weeklong events comprising the Rocky Mountain Writers' Festival began with a reading by Brandon R. Schrand, the author of The Enders Hotel: A Memoir, which won the 2007 River Teeth Prize for best book of literary nonfiction. He was a Barnes and Noble Discover Great New Writers selection for summer 2008. Schrand coordinates the MFA Program in Creative Writing at the University of Idaho; he is accompanied in Moscow by his wife and two children.
The following evening, featured writers from the university district at the College Market read a selection of pieces from short stories and essays to poetry. Writers were given ten minutes of stage time for their readings and the night was an eclectic mix of humor, wit, emotion and saga. One noteworthy reading was by Josh Mayes, who is also a staff member at The Bengal.
Today's events include a colloquium and reading by Ofelia Zepeda, Regent's Professor and Poet Laureate. Zepeda is a member of the Tohono O'odham nation, located in southwestern Arizona. She grew up in the nearby town of Stanfield, Ariz. Zepeda received her Master's degree and Ph.D. from the University of Arizona where she is currently a professor of linguistics. Zepeda not only authored the first grammar of the Tohono O'oodham language, but also worked actively with her tribe to increase literacy of their native language and English. She is co-director of the American Indian Language Development Institute and a member of the editorial board of The Smithsonian Series of Studies in Native American Literatures.
Another enjoyable mix of authors will congregate on Thursday for a community reading at Main Street Coffee and News. The readings a variety of genres and prose will begin at 7 p.m.
Paisley Rekdal, the author of The Night My Mother Met Bruce Lee, The Invention of the Kaleidoscope, Six Girls Without Pants and A Crash of Rhinos, will present a lecture on Friday at 3 p.m. in room 111 of the Rendezvous Center. Later that evening at 7, she will read at Portneuf Valley Brewing Co. Rekdal has received a Village Voice Writers on the Verge Award, a Fulbright Fellowship and the University of Georgia Press' Contemporary Poetry Series Award for her work. She is currently an Associate Professor for the department of English at The University of Utah.
The festival will conclude with a finale on Saturday, including a book fair, potluck and reading at The Warehouse, on 2nd Ave. near St. Vincent's thrift store.
The festival is free and students are encouraged to attend and participate in discussions.
For more information visit www.rockymountainwriters.com.
The following evening, featured writers from the university district at the College Market read a selection of pieces from short stories and essays to poetry. Writers were given ten minutes of stage time for their readings and the night was an eclectic mix of humor, wit, emotion and saga. One noteworthy reading was by Josh Mayes, who is also a staff member at The Bengal.
Today's events include a colloquium and reading by Ofelia Zepeda, Regent's Professor and Poet Laureate. Zepeda is a member of the Tohono O'odham nation, located in southwestern Arizona. She grew up in the nearby town of Stanfield, Ariz. Zepeda received her Master's degree and Ph.D. from the University of Arizona where she is currently a professor of linguistics. Zepeda not only authored the first grammar of the Tohono O'oodham language, but also worked actively with her tribe to increase literacy of their native language and English. She is co-director of the American Indian Language Development Institute and a member of the editorial board of The Smithsonian Series of Studies in Native American Literatures.
Another enjoyable mix of authors will congregate on Thursday for a community reading at Main Street Coffee and News. The readings a variety of genres and prose will begin at 7 p.m.
Paisley Rekdal, the author of The Night My Mother Met Bruce Lee, The Invention of the Kaleidoscope, Six Girls Without Pants and A Crash of Rhinos, will present a lecture on Friday at 3 p.m. in room 111 of the Rendezvous Center. Later that evening at 7, she will read at Portneuf Valley Brewing Co. Rekdal has received a Village Voice Writers on the Verge Award, a Fulbright Fellowship and the University of Georgia Press' Contemporary Poetry Series Award for her work. She is currently an Associate Professor for the department of English at The University of Utah.
The festival will conclude with a finale on Saturday, including a book fair, potluck and reading at The Warehouse, on 2nd Ave. near St. Vincent's thrift store.
The festival is free and students are encouraged to attend and participate in discussions.
For more information visit www.rockymountainwriters.com.
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