The 21st annual ARTCORE/Casper College Literary Conference, with the theme of "Spiritual Warriors," features an international line-up of poets and writers Oct. 17-19 in Casper.Presenters include Nick Flynn, New York City poet and essayist and author of the memoir "Another Bullshit Night in Suck City;" Ekiwah Adler-Belendez (shown at right), a 19-year-old poet prodigy raised in the small village of Amatlan, Mexico, who has captivated his country’s literary scene with three poetry collections; Valzhyna Mort from Minsk, Belarus, whose first poetry collection, "I’m as Thin as Your Eyelashes, addresses the upheaval of anti-communist revolutions in Eastern Europe, when poets became prophets for their nations and when poetry, the only voice of freedom, had to be carefully hidden – because poetry was considered both a sin and a weapon; Dr. Jean Shinoda Bolen, author of "Goddesses in Older Women: Archetypes in Women Over Fifty" and "Urgent Message From Mother: Gather the Women, Save the World;" Chad Hanson, Casper essayist and fiction writer whose story collection, "Swimming with Trout," was published by the University of New Mexico Press; and Colorado musician and songwriter Jeff Finlin.
Each of them will conduct a writing workshop and read from their work during the course of the conference. There is a fee for the workshops, but the readings are free and open to the public. A free public reception will be held on Thursday, Oct. 18, 5-7 p.m., at Casper’s Izaak Walton Clubhouse, followed by a "Spiritual Warriors" panel session and reading by Ekiwah Adler-Beléndez, Valzhyna Mort, Nick Flynn, and Chad Hanson. Special guest Dana Gioia, poet and chairman of the National Endowment of the Arts, will say a few words and introduce the panel. Gioia will be in town to speak at the Wyoming Arts Summit Oct. 19 at the Casper Events Center.
For a full schedule of events, and to register for the workshops, go to <http://www.caspercollege.edu/events/literary/>.
FMI: Michael Shay, Wyoming Arts Council, 307-777-5234.
