ESPN's Howard Bryant to sign copies of "The Last Hero: A Life of Henry Aaron" April 26 at UW

ESPN sports writer Howard Bryant will be the guest speaker at the University of Wyoming Libraries Book and Author Luncheon at noon Thursday, April 26, at the UW Conference Center at the Hilton Garden Inn.

Admission is $50, and raffle tickets cost $20 each. To reserve a seat or to purchase a raffle ticket, call UW Libraries at (307) 766-3279. Reservation deadline is Tuesday, April 17.

Copies of Bryant's recent book, "The Last Hero: A Life of Henry Aaron," will be available for purchase at the luncheon. Two drawings -- one for four tickets to a Colorado Rockies game, and another for four tickets to UW vs. CSU basketball and football games -- will take place at the event.

The author of several sports books, Bryant is a senior writer for ESPN.com and ESPN the Magazine. Before joining ESPN, he spent two years at The Washington Post.

He appears regularly on ESPN's "The Sports Reporters," "First Take" and "Outside the Lines," and serves as sports correspondent for National Public Radio's "Weekend Edition Saturday."

Photo: Howard Bryant

Julianne Couch essay in New West

Laramie's Julianne Couch teaches at UW, works as a free-lance writer, is a member of the Wyoming Arts Council artist roster and is a Wyoming Writers, Inc., board member planning the group's 2011 conference. She's also working on a new book. Whew! She notifies wyomingarts that she just published her first "official" piece in New West. Here are the opening paragraphs:

Shaded under a cluster of evergreens in the Medicine Bow National Forest, I watch the family of our friend Mark deliver part of him back to Wyoming from where he lived in Missouri, a few months after his death.

About 50 friends and family gathered to witness Mark’s wife and daughter scatter his ashes into a swift and shallow mountain stream. His dust the color of bentonite disappears like fiber powder into the waters of Douglas Creek. Part of Mark is bound for the Platte River, then will leave Wyoming for the Missouri River, then the Mississippi, then finally, the Gulf of Mexico and the ocean beyond.

You will want to read the entire essay at http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/a_western_sense_of_place_knowing_who_we_are_by_where_we_are/C39/L39/

New York Times education blog features Pat Frolander's "Denial" in "Poetry Pairing" series

The Learning Network, a New York Times blog, has a weekly “Poetry Pairing” series. In collaboration with the Poetry Foundation, TLN features a work from Ted Kooser's American Life in Poetry project alongside content from The Times that somehow "echoes, extends or challenges the poem’s themes."

This week's poem is "Denial" by Pat Frolander of Sundance, Wyoming, long-time member of Wyoming Writers, Inc., WyoPoets and Bear Lodge Writers (see June 24 wyomingarts post).

To read Pat's poem, Ted Kooser's intro and the accompanying NYT story, "Getting on with life after a partner dies," go to http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/

Wyoming musicians invited to participate in Daniel Pearl World Music Days

From the Daniel Pearl Foundation:

Now in its 9th year, Daniel Pearl World Music Days, is a month-long global network of concerts each October, promoting peace and cross cultural understanding through the universal language of music. Coinciding with Danny's October 10 birthday, this global symphony welcomes the participation of all music events from every genre. We set a new record last October, with musicians at 1,558 events in 79 countries, empowering audiences with a sense of unity and purpose under the common banner of "Harmony for Humanity." This year, with your help, we hope to increase the impact on every continent..

There is no financial obligation to participate, all that is required is a dedication made from the stage, or listed in the printed program, and a simple registration of the event on http://www.danielpearlmusicdays.org/. Once registered, all performances will be promoted on our website, with artist pages, bio's and external links.

Led by our honorary committee, World Music Days is open to all - professionals, amateurs, student groups, non-profit organizations, embassies and religious groups of every faith. Participating events include already scheduled performances or specifically organized events. Please note that concerts held outside the October 1-31, 2010 time frame are welcome to be registered as "Tribute Events."

To register an October performance, or learn more about the benefits of this unique global music network, please visit http://www.danielpearlmusicdays.org/

Teton Co. Library: "Iran Uncovered" March 12

From a press release:

On Friday, March 12, 7-8 p.m., the Teton County Public Library presents a free program in the Ordway Auditorium.

Join investigative reporter Robert Dreyfuss for an eyewitness account of the 2009 Iranian election and its aftermath and to hear about interviews he conducted with key Iranian decision-makers and analysts. Dreyfuss will discuss: Does Washington have an alternative to negotiations? Will sanctions work? Is a military confrontation inevitable?

Dreyfuss has written extensively about the post-9/11 war on terror, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the confrontation with Iran. He covered the Iranian elections for The Nation and is currently writing about this month's Iraqi elections on his blog The Dreyfuss Report at www.thenation.com/blogs/dreyfuss.

Dreyfuss also covers national security for Rolling Stone and writes frequently for Mother Jones and The American Prospect, as well as many other publications. His book, Devil's Game: How
the United States Helped Unleash Fundamentalist Islam, was published in 2005. Read more about Dreyfuss' background and find articles at http://www.robertdreyfuss.com/.

Dreyfuss spoke about Afghanistan to an enthusiastic crowd at the library last fall. "We are thrilled to have Bob back at the library, he is extremely knowledgeable as well as a very personable and engaging presenter," said Oona Doherty, Adult Humanities Coordinator.

For more information, contact Doherty at 733-2164 ext. 135 or odoherty@tclib.org. You can also visit the library online at http://www.tclib.org/.

Philip Gourevitch at Teton Co. Public Library: "Crimes Scenes & Aftermaths"

From the Teton County Public Library in Jackson:

On Friday, January 22, 7 p.m., the library presents "Crime Scenes & Aftermaths: Reporting & Writing from Rwanda to Hell's Kitchen to Abu Ghraib and Beyond," with author Philip Gourevitch.

Gourevitch reads from his books and talks about how he got the stories and what is at stake in them -- politically, morally and dramatically. Gourevitch is an award-winning author of books on the Rwandan genocide and Abu Ghraib, an intrepid correspondent for The New Yorker and editor of The Paris Review.

He is the 2009-2010 Eminent Writer in Residence for the MFA program in Creative Writing at the University of Wyoming, a copresenter with the Jackson Hole Writers Conference. Cost: Free. Location: Ordway Auditorium.

Contact: Adult Humanities Coordinator, Oona Doherty, 733-2164 ext. 135 or odoherty@tclib.org.

WAC's fall issue of newsletter now out

Fall issue of the newsletter should have arrived in your mailbox this week. You can also read it online at http://www.wyomingartscouncil.org/.

This issue features:

Front page--A recap of Arts Summit 2009 audience favorite Kelly Barsdate's presentation. Kelly works for NASAA, the National Assembly of State Arts Agency. There's also a terrific photo of Leah Hardy's artwork, a WAC Visual Arts Fellowship 2009 winner.

Our director Rita Basom talks about surveys and the inconvenience for the answerer, but the necessity for the asker, of filling them out. WAC board member Susan Stubson, a concert pianist from Casper, laments Natrona County's plans to take instrumental music out of grade schools.

Page 5 features the visual arts fellowship winners and a piece of art work from each.

Our Wyoming Artist Spotlights feature Sundance poet Patricia Frolander, cowboy poet and performer Cora Wood, and visual artist Georgia Rowswell.

Since it's cowboy poetry season, we listed several well-known cowboy poets in the footer and also featured eighty-nine year old cowboy poet Georgie Sicking.

Andrea Graham is the new Folklife Specialist at UW, and will be working with our folk arts specialist Annie Hatch on projects throughout the state. We also introduced you to our new cultural resources intern Ji Eun Kim, from South Korea, also a talented visual artist.

If you'd like to receive a paper copy of the newsletter, just call Linda at 307-777-6393 or email me through the blog address with your mailing address and I'll get one to you.

Reporter T.R. Reid addresses health care

On Friday, March 20, 7-8 p.m., Washington Post foreign correspondent T.R. Reid will talk about "The Healing of America: A Global Quest for Better, Cheaper and Fairer Health Care" at the Teton County Public Library in Jackson. This event is free and open to the public.

Reid has a book coming out later this year entitled "The Healing of America." He's a frequent guest on NPR’s Morning Edition, and his recent work on health care has been featured in the 2008 documentary “Sick Around the World,” and the upcoming film “Sick Around America.”

Contact: Adult Humanities Coordinator, 733-2164 ext. 135.

Latest issue of Wyoming Winds online

Wyoming Winds, a monthly e-newsletter from the Wyoming Coalition for the Homeless in Cheyenne, contains lots of info about homelessness in Wyoming and the U.S. It also features art and poetry. Check out the latest issue at http://www.wch.vcn.com/wwfeb09.htm

WCH Director Virginia Sellner encourages wyomingarts readers to check out the org's new page on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=39676562300&ref=mf

Dawn Turner Trice and "The 'R' Word"

From a University of Wyoming press release:

A march, panel discussions, music and keynote addresses from a prominent newspaper columnist and the former American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) president highlight the annual Martin Luther King Jr./March and Days of Dialogue (MLK/DOD) celebration next week at the University of Wyoming.

"Social Justice Through Your Lens" is the theme of the event that runs Jan. 19-23. MLK/DOD renews UW's commitment to making campus a more welcoming and empowering place for people from different backgrounds, heritages, orientations or abilities. Events celebrate the continuing impact of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s life and ideals.

Most events are free and all are open to the public. For more details, visit the MLK/DOD Web site at www.uwyo.edu/MLK/.

Highlights of the week are keynote addresses from Chicago Tribune columnist Dawn Turner Trice (shown in above photo from Chicago Tribune) and Nadine Strossen, former ACLU president. Turner Trice's presentation, "The ‘R' Word: Using Journalism to Open a Civic Dialogue on Race and Culture," is Thursday, Jan. 22, at 5 p.m. in the Wyoming Union Family Room. Strossen's talk, "Social Justice Through Advocacy and Activism; Conversations about Current Civil Liberties, Challenges and Controversies," is the following day, also at 5 p.m. in the Wyoming Union Ballroom.

Turner Trice is a regular commentator for WTTW's "Chicago Tonight" show and has written commentary that was heard on National Public Radio's "Morning Edition" program.

She has written two novels; "Only Twice I've Wished for Heaven" (Random House, 1997), which will be made into a movie, and "An Eighth of August" (Random House, 2000).

Turner Trice received the 2008 Studs Terkel Media award, two Illinois Arts Council awards, an American Library Association Alex award and a 2006 National Endowment for the Arts fellowship.

Strossen discusses the challenges to American civil liberties today and elaborates on issues that are particularly relevant: the war on terror and government's efforts to enact potentially intrusive legislation, growing demographic diversity, technological advances and a conservative political climate.

She was the first woman and the youngest person to ever serve as ACLU president. A professor of law at New York Law School, Strossen has written, lectured, and practiced extensively in the areas of constitutional law, civil liberties and international human rights. She also has written two books "Defending Pornography" and "Speaking of Race, Speaking of Sex: Hate Speech, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties."

For more information, contact Gracie Lawson-Borders, UW African American Studies director and MLK/DOD co-chairman, at (307) 766-2482 or e-mail glawsonb@uwyo.edu.

"An Evening with John Byrne Cooke"

"An Evening with John Byrne Cooke" will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 9, 6-7 p.m., at the Teton County Public Library in Jackson. The event is free and open to the public.

John will talk about his late father, Alistair Cooke’s book, "Reporting America 1946-2004," the most comprehensive collection to date of the senior Cooke’s reporting for the (U.K.) Guardian newspaper and his weekly BBC radio broadcasts, "Letter from America."

He will also share how his father’s work influenced John’s own book, "Reporting the War: Freedom of the Press from the American Revolution to the War on Terrorism."

Book-signing to follow presentation.

Contact: 307-733-2164 ext. 135.

Karen Cotton offers tips for young writers

Karen Cotton, Wyoming Tribune-Eagle features/entertainment reporter and children's writer, will be conducting a presentation for middle school-age students at the Laramie County Public Library in Cheyenne on Thursday (tonight) at 7 p.m. Her free presentation will focus on journalism and novel writing. It is being sponsored by the New Futures Program through a student loan corporation.

Some of the topics Karen will cover include:

• honing your writing skills
• how-to tips on publishing
• classes for writers
• college degree -- important or not?
• writing organizations, conferences and workshops
• generating writing ideas

She's e-mailed professional writers about their views on these subjects. Their answers are featured on the WTE's entertainment blog at http://wteentertainmentarticles.blogspot.com/.

From Karen's WTE blog, here are some tips from mystery writer and former journalist T. Jefferson Parker:

I think the most important thing a writer can do, besides write every day, is to read a lot. That’s how you learn what good writing is. The human race is lucky to have thousands of years of writing to instruct us – so dig right in. Good books are the diet of the writing mind, just like good nutrition and good exercise build the body. What you take in is what you will eventually put out. So read the best writers you can find. Who are they? That’s up to you. Let’s just say that a good book will delight and instruct and mystify and provoke and educate and satisfy you. There, that’s a nice wide definition. Read on, friends.

I (Mike Shay) will appear with Karen at the library tonight to answer your questions about writing awards and programs offered by the Wyoming Arts Council.

Globe-trotting journalist to speak at UW

From a UW press reelease:

Steve LeVine, a veteran foreign affairs journalist, will be the keynote speaker at the 12th annual Susan B. Horton Cone Family Distinguished Lecture Friday, Oct. 3, at the University of Wyoming.

LeVine's presentation, "Russia, Pipelines and the Great Game," begins at 4 p.m. in the College of Education auditorium. The lecture, sponsored by the UW Department of History, is free and open to the public.

Currently the chief foreign affairs editor for BusinessWeek, LeVine has also reported for several prominent publications -- including Newsday, Newsweek, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal -- over the past 18 years.

LeVine is author of two books, including the recently-released "Putin's Labyrinth: Spies, Murder and the Dark Heart of New Russia," which examines the powerful men of Russia and their use of murder and other eccentric actions to maintain their power. His first book, "The Oil and the Glory: The Pursuit of Empire and Fortune on the Caspian Sea," was released in October 2007.

For more information on LeVine's visit to UW, call the UW Department of History at (307) 766-5101.

John Byrne Cooke on war reporting

Teton County Library presents an author talk with Jackson author John Byrne Cooke, who explores the enduring tensions between a free press and government during times of war in his new book.

Cooke will discuss his book, "Reporting the War: Freedom of the Press from the American Revolution to the War on Terrorism" on Wednesday, Jan . 16 from 7:30-8:30 p.m. in the library's Ordway Auditorium in Jackson. The program is free and open to the public. A book signing will follow.

Published in October, Cooke's book has garnered accolades from reviewers, who have deemed it "an incisive, well researched account of war-time reporting and a must-read for those who want to be critical consumers of news." Cooke explores how the press has opposed government war policies; how the government has tried to intimidate and suppress dissenting opinion; and
how the press has worked to inform the public while preserving the principles of the Founding Fathers.

Cooke's first novel, "The Snowblind Moon" (1985), was a featured alternate selection of the Book-of-the-Month Club. His second novel, "South of the Border" (1989), received praise from The Washington Post, which wrote: "Like Michener, Cooke is a historian in novelist's clothing, but he is not as long-winded and his sentences are more graceful."

FMI: Contact the library's Adult Program Coordinator at 733-2164 ext. 135. You can also visit the library online at http://www.tclib.org/.