Masha Hamilton read an excerpt from her novel “The Camel Bookmobile,” which concerns an idealistic American librarian from Brooklyn who goes to Kenya to establish a camel library. These libraries do exist and are exactly as they sound – books packed on camels and transported from one nomadic settlement to another in Kenya’s arid northeastern region which abuts Somalia.
Masha was at her local library with her kids when she heard about the camel version. The libraries are important because the illiteracy rate is around 85 percent and schools are few and far between. The rules are strict too. If a book is not returned, the camel library will stop coming to a settlement. That detail, Masha said, piqued her curiosity and fired up her imagination. On the way home from the library, she started making up a story about the camel library and telling it to her kids. She created some intriguing characters and realized that this could be her next novel. Much to her kids’ dismay, the on-the-spot version of the story ended and the novelistic process began. Such is the way of the novelist.
Ray Gonzalez then read poetry from his recently published volume of collected works. Ray’s no stranger to Wyoming and the West. He was born and raised in El Paso, lived in Denver for 12 years, and once judged the Wyoming Arts Council creative writing fellowships. The landscapes and the people of the West regularly appear in his poems, such as “Runaway Train” and “Ascending.”
Robert Ben Garant, who plays the dark-haired cop with a mustache the the TV show “Reno 911,” next read an excerpt from a screenplay. Ben said that he enjoyed hearing the work of talented writers read aloud. “I tell jokes,” he said. He then launched into an excerpt of his script for the feature film “Night at the Museum 2: Escape from the Smithsonian.” This is a follow-up to “Night at the Museum,” which he also scripted. He also writes the ”Reno 911” material, which he described as “filthy, filthy, filthy,” which is why Comedy Central has to bleep some of the dialogue.
In “Night at the Museum 2,” the main character (which I assume is again played by Ben Stiller) is trapped in the Smithsonian’s National Gallery of Art. His companion is Amelia Earhart, played by Amy Adams from “Enchanted,” who has popped out of one of the museum’s photographs. They are being pursued by a legion of hawk-headed ancient Egyptians who have been summoned by an ancient stone tablet. As the main characters are chased through the museum, the artworks come alive. The Stiller character borrows the pitchfork from “American Gothic” and uses it as a weapon against his pursuers. They all end up in the famous photograph from V-J Day in Times Square where a jubilant sailor is kissing a girl. Ben employed his acting skills as he read, moving from the gruff voice of a Brooklyn sailor to the determined (but confused) voice of Amelia Earhart.
Ben said that the movie’s being filmed now. He hopes that it has the same effect on the National Gallery of Art D.C. as the first movie had on New York’s Natural History Museum. “The museum saw a 20 percent rise in attendance,” said, quipping that "I can use my evil skills for good.”
Next to read was New York City literary agent Katherine Sands. She read excerpts from her book “Making the Perfect Pitch: How to Catch a Literary Agent’s Eye.”
“We’ve seen such great creativity up here,” she said. “Now comes the cold bath of reality.” Katherine noted that she’s always on the outlook for the next good book. When she reads fiction, she wants to be “compelled and propelled” and searches for writing that makes her want to turn the page.
The evening’s final presenter was Rita Rosenkranz who founded her own literary agency after a career as editor with major New York City publishing houses. She’s represented several books on the West, including "Guns of the Wild West" with the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody. She loves to travel. “In Wyoming, you see the world horizontally instead of vertically,” she said, which gives you a different perspective. She read an excerpt of a book she represented, “A Survival Guide to Landlocked Mermaids.” The title, she said, “seized my imagination.”
All of these talented people will be conducting talks and workshops as the conference moves into Saturday and Sunday. There also will be award ceremonies and a Saturday night open mike reading, which may last until the cows come home. All events are at the Ramada Riverside in Casper.
--Michael Shay, June 7, Casper
