Wyoming Arts Council

"Confluences" is the theme of 29th annual Casper College Literary Conference

Featured News, Grant News | September 8, 2015

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DOWNLOAD CONFERENCE BROCHURE HERE

California poet Rebecca Foust served as the Arts Council’s 2016 poetry fellowship judge. She will read from her work on Sept. 26 at the literary conference along with fellowship winners Carol Deering, Kathleen Smith and Constance Brewer.

The 29th Annual Casper College and ARTCORE Literary Conference “Confluences” will be held Thursday-Saturday, Sept. 24-26. Click here to see the conference brochure. The conference will feature a variety of writers and artists who will give both presentations and workshops during the three-day event. The conference wraps up on Saturday, Sept. 26, with a reading of the 2016 poetry fellowship winners Carol Deering, Kathleen Smith and Constance Brewer and fellowship judge Rebecca Foust.

On Thursday, Sept. 24 artist Naomi S. Adams will lead a workshop on Japanese Stab Binding. The session is limited to 20 participants and all supplies will be provided. The workshop is sponsored by the Casper College Visual Arts Department and begins at 4 p.m. in the Goodstein Visual Arts Building, Room 102.

On Friday, Sept. 25, two presentations and one workshop will take place at the Goodstein Foundation Library, Room 215A. Vincent Crolla, director of the Casper College Western History Center, will present a workshop on oral histories beginning at 9 a.m. According to Julia Whyde, conference director and Casper College English instructor, Crolla will “discuss the importance of taking oral histories and how to best preserve stories, traditions, and local and family history shared through oral histories. During the workshop participants will have a chance to practice newly learned skills”

At 10 a.m. Nancy Curtis, owner of High Plains Publishing, will present “Streetlight at the Intersection of Story and Reader” followed by Jessica Robinson at 11 a.m. Robinson, who writes fiction under the pen name of Pembroke Sinclair, will present “Women and Slasher Films.”

The venue will switch to the Casper College Visual Arts Building and Room 102 where Adams and fellow artist Laura Ahola Young will present an artist talk from 12:15-1 p.m. The two currently have a display at the Goodstein Gallery titled “Composite Practices.” Lunch will be served, courtesy of the Casper College Art Galleries for those in attendance.

At 1 p.m. Russell Hawley, Tate Geological Museum education specialist and artist will present “Jurassic Art: The Science of Paleontological Reconstruction.” “In his talk, Russell will discuss the intersection of science and art that helps scientific illustrators produce accurate drawings of creatures that are now long extinct,” said Whyde.

At 2 p.m. Emilene Ostlind, editor of Western Confluence magazine published by the University of Wyoming’s Ruckelshaus Institute, will present “Scientists as Storytellers and Storytellers as Scientists: Why We Need Professional Science Communicators.” The day will wrap up with “A Habit of Mind: All Presenter Panel Q&A: Creativity/Collaboration” moderated by Bruce Richardson, Ph.D.

Saturday’s activities will take place at the Natrona County Public Library in the Crawford Room starting at 10 a.m. with “Tattered Flower Wreathes Workshop” led by Leann Aagard who works in paper crafts. “Leann will show participants how to redeem about-to-be-recycled books for use in creative visual art projects, “said Whyde.

A pause in the conference will take place from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. so that participants may check out the Friends of the Library Book Sale and take a lunch break, said Whyde. At 1:30 author J. Warren will present a workshop titled “Stop Writing Hallmark Cards.” The workshop will focus on ways for writers to combat the boring, sluggish, trite, and sappy narrative voice that many writers can get trapped in. According to Whyde the workshop is open to those 19 and older because Warren “will be discussing uncomfortable, adult, and possibly ‘triggery’ ideas, events, and material.”

The conference will end with the “Wyoming Arts Council Poetry Fellowship Winners’ Reading with Fellowship Judge Rebecca Foust” at 4 p.m. The presentation will feature this year’s poetry winners Carol Deering of Riverton, and Kathleen Smith and Constance Brewer, both of Gillette. Foust was the 2014 Dartmouth Poet-in Residence and has received fellowships from The Frost Place, the McDowell Colony and the 2015 Sewanee Writer’s Conference. She is the poetry editor for Women’s Voices in Change.

The 2015 Casper College and ARTCORE Literary Conference “Confluences” is sponsored by the Wyoming Arts Council, the Casper College Foundation, Casper College English and Visual Arts departments, the Casper College Women’s Studies program, the Jack McCann Campus Store, the Goodstein Foundation Library, the Natrona County Public Library, Friends of the Natrona County Public Library, Ramkota Inn, ARTCORE, and Casper College.

All events are free and open to the public, but registration is required for all workshops due to limited seating for participants. To register for workshops or for more information contact Whyde at 307-268-2502 or jwhyde@caspercollege.edu. For more information about the Sept. 26 fellowship reading, contact Michael Shay, Wyoming Arts Council, 307-777-4234 or mike.shay@wyo.gov

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