Thanks to Keith Cottam and Jane Young at the Casper College Goodstein Foundation Library for providing a fine venue for the Wyoming Arts Council's creative writing fellowship reading yesterday afternoon.
We were the first literary event the library has hosted in a very long time, but it won't be the last. The event was over just a few hours when I was talking WAC grants with Jane. "Did you know that the Arts Council has grants to support readings, workshops and all kinds of library events." People usually start running the other way when I mention grant writing. But Jane was very gracious, saying she might look into it. By the way, unlike telephone solicitors and city police, WAC staffers do not operate on a quota system. It may seem like it at times....
A crowd of around 40 listened to award-winning work by fellowship recipients Doug Reitinger of Sheridan, Val Pexton of Laramie, and Kevin Holdsworth of Green River. All of them brought family members and significant others for moral support. Val's parents drove over from Douglas for the event. Rounding out the readings was fellowship judge Laura Pritchett, a talented fiction writer from Fort Collins, Colo.
The audience first heard from me and then WAC board chair Bruce Richardson, who's no stranger to Casperites as he's been teaching at the UW Casper campus for 20 years. Doug's short story, "Follow Through," is a funny and ultimately serious tale about two buddies who go on an outing to a sporting clay shooting course" on the Wallop Ranch (name sounds familiar) near the Big Horns. We used to call this "shooting clay pigeons" but the pastime has gone upscale. In the story, one of the main characters calls it "golf -- only with guns." But that's only the setting for a story with a very serious undercurrent. Let's just say it has something to do with the merits of being incompetent with a shotgun.
Val's story, "Riding the Fences," asks the question: "When is someone crazy or just eccentric." The story is set in Wyoming ranch country where Val grew up. Kevin's story "Silver Wings" takes us to Utah. "Silver Wings" is a Merle Haggard song, but that's only one of the musical influences in this quirky piece. "I always wanted to write a story with Kansas lyrics in it." He's referring the the seventies rock group Kansas, and not the state. The story is also influenced by Kevin's grandfather, who once raised guinea pigs for experiments in biological labs. Kevin said that "Silver Wings" has not been published -- not yet, anyway. His next book will be out soon.
Laura read a story from her collection, "Hell's Bottom, Colo.," published by Milkweed Editions. The story is called "Dry Roots" and takes a gruesome twist at the end. It involves a loaded gun and a crippled calf. This was Laura's first published story, way back when.
A great reading. Thanks again to Keith and Jane at the library. See you again soon!
EDITOR'S NOTE: Linda Coatney snapped photos of this reading -- and will be doing the same thing for the other Equality State Book Festival events today and Saturday in Casper. We'll add them later.
