Western Literature Week

The Western Literature Association and the University of Colorado’s Center of the American West hosted a celebration of contemporary Western writing in conjunction with the Western Literature Association’s 43rd Annual Conference. The week-long event provided the CU-Boulder community with a rich and varied program of free public readings and presentations by prominent Western authors. Featured authors included:

– The lyrical Chicano poet from Colorado’s San Luis Valley and American Book Award winner, Aaron Abeyta
– The Coeur d’Alene novelist Janet Campbell Hale, whose novel The Jailing of Cecelia Capture was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize
– The Chickasaw essayist, poet, and novelist Linda Hogan
– Writer, artist, and producer Teresa Jordan
– The Acoma Pueblo poet, essayist, and Professor, Simon Ortiz
– The rising northern Colorado novelist, Laura Pritchett, whose 2005 novel Sky Bridge won several awards
– The acclaimed poet, essayist, and Professor Emeritus from CU-English, Reg Saner
– Writer and filmmaker Annick Smith, who co-produced the award-winning film, A River Runs Through It

Schedule

Thursday, October 2

4:00-5:15 p.m. – Outdoor Pavilion, Millennium Hotel – Western Poetic Landscapes with Aaron Abeyta and Linda Hogan

7:00-9:00 p.m. – Grand Ballroom, Millennium Hotel – Western Collaborations with William Kittredge and Patty Limerick (2008 Distinguished Achievement Award Recipients from the Western Literature Association)

Friday, October 3

12:15-1:15 p.m. – Outdoor Pavilion, Millennium Hotel – Women Write the Range with Teresa Jordan and Laura Pritchett

12:15-1:15 p.m. – Century Room, Millennium Hotel – A Tribute to Jean Stafford – Huck Finn Joins the Camp Fire Girls: Jean Stafford’s “Bad Characters”

5:00-6:15 p.m. – Outdoor Pavilion, Millennium Hotel – Reflecting the Sacred and Sacrificed West with Simon Ortiz and Reg Saner

Saturday, October 4

9:30-10:30 a.m. – Century Room, Millennium Hotel – A Reading and Conversation with Annick Smith

7:00-9:00 p.m. – Old Main, CU Campus – An Evening with Janet Campbell Hale (moderated by Patty Limerick)

These events were sponsored by the Colorado Endowment for the Humanities, University of Colorado-Boulder’s Center for Humanities and the Arts, the University of Colorado’s President’s Fund for the Humanities, Chevron, and the Charles Redd Center for Western Studies.