Start the new year with a pottery class

"Beginning Pottery: Session I" will he held Jan. 15-30, 6:30-9 p.m., at the AVA Community Art Center in Gillette. It will be conducted by local artist John Werbelow. He will teach you how to make pots using the potters' wheel; how to handbuild using slab, coil, and pinch methods, and how to use the extruder.

Session Fee is $90 (AVA Members $80). Includes all clay and firing. Does not include glazes. Member discounts are not available online. If you would like to receive your member discount, please call AVA before your register online.

FMI: 307-682-9133

AIE grant guidelines are changing

Here's an important announcement from the Wyoming Arts Council:

The Wyoming Arts Council is changing the Arts in Education grant program. The annual program will become a biennial application, due March 1, 2008, that allows grantees to request funding for two years. Starting July 1, 2008, there will also be an ongoing grant for programs not eligible for the biennial track.

Applicants will apply in only one of the categories described below. This change will provide greater access to arts education funding for more organizations and schools and help WAC accomplish the arts education goals in its long-range plan.

The Biennial AIE Grant provides grantees that demonstrate consistent arts education programming with-two year funding. This will stabilize organizations and allow staff to focus on planning and evaluation. Organizations who apply in this track must have successfully completed at least five WAC grants, including at least two AIE grants, and apply for multiple or year-long projects.

Successful applicants can plan on grant funding for two years, although amounts may vary. Rather than an outline for a future project, applicants will tell the story of activities and accomplishments from the past year, the results of their evaluation and planning for future activities.

The Ongoing AIE Grant, available for projects starting July 1, 2008, will serve grantees that are new to WAC or single projects. Applications will be accepted all year.

A mailing with more information was done in early December to all current and previous grantees. Applications will be accepted on-line only, unless special arrangements are made. For more information, see our web site or call 307-777-7742.

"Wyoming Signatures" features author interview

The semi-monthly University of Wyoming television series, "Wyoming Signatures," will feature segments on clean air initiatives and a popular Wyoming author. The public affairs program will air on KCWC, Wyoming Public Television, at 5:30 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 23.

Critically acclaimed Wyoming mystery author C.J. Box is a special guest on this week's show. Known for his "Joe Pickett" series, his latest book "Free Fire," which takes place in the wilds of Yellowstone National Park, will be released in May 2008. Box is a recipient of a Wyoming Arts Council creative writing fellowship.

Bart Geerts, associate professor in the UW Department of Atmospheric Science, will discuss the "Cool Cities" initiative, in which individuals work at the local level to take action against the threat of climate change caused by carbon dioxide emissions.

Also on the program is a segment about 14,000 pounds of dinosaur fossils and rocks that are being cleaned, sorted and identified at the UW Geological Museum.

"Wyoming Signatures" is produced by UW Television. KCWC can be seen off-air or via cable in communities throughout Wyoming, including Casper, Cheyenne, Laramie, Riverton, Lander, Rock Springs, Green River, Powell, Cody, Sheridan, Gillette, Jackson, Pinedale and Big Piney. Check local listings for specific channel information.

Andy Warhol Foundation announces gift

On October 16, 2007, the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts announced the 20th Anniversary Photographic Legacy Program. What this means is that 183 college and university art museums across the U.S. will receive part of 28,543 original Warhol photographs that are valued in excess of $28 million.

According to foundation president Joel Wachs, the aim of the Photographic Legacy Program is to provide greater access to Warhol's artwork and process, and to enable a wide range of people from communities across the country to view and study this important yet relatively unknown body of Warhol's work. The program offers institutions that do not have the means to acquire works by Warhol the opportunity to bring a significant number of photographs into their permanent collections, while allowing those institutions that do not have Warhol in their collections to enrich the breadth and depth of their holdings.

Each of the participating institutions will receive approximately 150 original Polaroid photographs and gelatin silver prints. "Warhol often shot a person or event with both cameras, cropping one in Polaroid color that Warhol termed "photograph" and snapping the other in black and white as a "picture." The Photographic Legacy Program presents both kinds of images side by side, allowing viewers to move back and forth between moments of Warhol's "art," "work," and "life," inseparable parts of a fascinating whole," says Jenny Moore, curator of the program. "The true idiosyncrasies of his subjects were revealed through this process."

"Oystergrass" prepares for 2008 festival

We just received a promotional CD from the Oyster Ridge Music Festival in Kemmerer. It's a nifty five-minute overview of the festival and its many performers, including L'Angelus, Victor Barnes Insurgent Bluegrass, Trampled by Turtles, Lander, Crooked Kill, and Menage. As long-time performer Robin Kessinger says on the CD, festival attendance increases every year, with barely 75 people coming out the first year but now big crowds people Triangle Park every summer. "This festival is here to stay," he says. Oyster Ridge traces its origins to 1993 and, in 2005, it was a recipient of a Wyoming Governor's Arts Award.

The festival's 2008 dates are July 25-27.

See the video and find out more at http://www.oysterridgemusicfestival.com/.

Noted Wyoming sculptor dies in L.A.

On Saturday, the Casper Star-Tribune announced the death of Robert Russin, the renowned Wyoming sculptor and creator of the large bust of Abraham Lincoln located at the summit of I-80 between Laramie and Cheyenne. He died Thursday in Los Angeles.

Russin, 93, was an art professor at the University of Wyoming for almost four decades, beginning in 1947, and produced numerous pieces which are on display throughout Wyoming and the world.

Russin's Lincoln bust has been called "the largest such depiction of the nation's 16th president ever done." It was placed on the highest point of old U.S. Highway 30 in 1959 and was moved to its present location when I-80 was built. Russin also sculpted three pieces on display in Casper: the "Prometheus" at the county library, "Energy Man" at the Chamber of Commerce and "Fountainhead" at City Hall.

Another "Energy Man" piece is on display at the Department of Energy in Washington, D.C. A work called "Wyoming Crystal" is housed in the State Capitol in Cheyenne. Just recently, two bas reliefs he carved for the entrance of the old law school building on the UW campus were removed before the building's demolition. They will be placed inside an addition planned for the current law school on the east end of campus. He also did the "Wyoming Family" piece which graces the center of Prexy's Pasture and the Benjamin Franklin statute nearby.

Susan Moldenhauer, director of the UW Art Museum, said Russin was known "as a prolific artist and a dedicated professor." She said he did much figurative work, mostly in bronze, while his works in marble and other stone materials "were more abstract." Moldenhauer said she was at an international art fair in Miami just last Sunday when she mentioned to an elderly woman sitting next to her that she was from Wyoming. The woman asked whether Susan knew of a man named Robert Russin, a teacher of hers at Cooper Union in the '40s. "She was remembering him very fondly and said how sad the students were when he left for Wyoming," Moldenhauer said.

During his long career at UW, Russin was granted a Ford Foundation Fellowship to work in Italy, and he returned there frequently to work on projects. When one of his children was born at the old Ivinson Hospital in Laramie, Russin was inspired to make a sculpture called "Fulfillment," depicting mother and child. He held onto that work until 2006, when he donated it to the present Ivinson Memorial Hospital on 30th Street.

Russin's works are also in the collection of the U.S. Navy at Abbott Laboratories, the Hyde Park Museum and his alma mater in New York.

Jack Rosenthal of Casper told the Casper Star-Tribune that Russin "had great depth to him, beyond his art. I'd sit and talk to him while he was chipping away on a piece. He had strong feelings about the world and about people, a great sense of values. He knew what was truly important."

Rosenthal said Russin's last request to him was that his ashes be buried up on Sherman Hill near his favorite work, the Lincoln bust.

For full obituary, go to http://www.trib.com/news/wyoming/.

Read freely on Bill of Rights Day

The Bill of Rights Institute celebrates "Bill of Rights Day" each Dec. 15. Its web site has resources to help educators teach about the Bill of Rights in the classroom.

Here are some of the web site's resources:

"You will find Founders Online, which includes audio clips, biographical essays, classroom activities, and videos on our nation's Founding Fathers; readings for your students on the Bill of Rights; free, complete lesson plans for middle and high school students; and enriching background information from Princeton University Professor Dr. Ken I. Kersch on First Amendment freedoms."

You can also subscribe to monthly e-lessons, such as "The Bill of Rights in the News" and "The Bill of Rights in Times of Crisis."

In October, the American Library Association named the Bill of Rights Institute the best free reference site of 2007. It was described as "an excellent resource for both teachers and high school students.”

Go to http://billofrightsinstitute.org/borday/.

Rousing concert series in Evanston in 2008

The 2008 Uinta County Concert Series begins Friday, January 25 and runs through Friday, May 23. The Young Musicians Festival, also held during this time on March 7 and 8, encourages musicians of all ages and abilities, from young beginners to adults and teachers to perform. Each performance is evaluated by visiting clinicians and open to the public. Some outstanding performers, high school age and younger, will be selected to perform that night at a formal Honors concert for the community.

Registration ffee ($15 by February 8, $20 February 9-22) includes the Molly's Revenge concert on March 7, the achievement day performance, and unlimited workshops. Workshops include Celtic Style session, piano technique, woodwind, voice and brass fundamentals, string workshop, and symphony orchestra workshop.

Dates and performers in the concert series:

Caboose -- Friday, January 25, 7:00 p.m. at Davis Middle School. A band that takes out all the stops, drives each tune home, with smooth, hot vocals, an insistent bass, catchy guitar, and a fiddle that won't quit!

Great Basin Street Band -- Friday, February, 22, 7:00 p.m. at Davis Middle School. Great Basin has created a solid reputation at a number of recognized jazz and music festivals including the Snowbird Jazz & Blues Festival. The band is entertaining and musically outstanding, promising and exciting experience for any audience.

Chris Proctor -- Thursday, March 6, 7:00 p.m. at Mountain View High School. Critics call Chris's acoustic guitar playing "breathtaking," "haunting," and "rich." Chris gives the guitar sole responsibility for a piece's rhythmic, melocic, and harmonic components.

Molly's Revenge -- Friday, March 7, 7:00 p.m. at Davis Middle School. Celebrate Irish with a classical combination of highland bagpipes, uilleann pipes, whistles, fiddle, mandolin, guitar and bouzouki, with an occasional rousing chorus song mixed in.

Fry Street Quartet -- Friday, April 4, 7:00 p.m. at Davis Middle School. Hailed as "a triumph of ensemble playing." This classical music group explores the medium of the string quartet and its life-affirming potential with "profound understanding."

Paul Rosenthal -- Friday, April 25, 7:00 p.m. at Davis Middle School. Mr. Rosenthal began playing the violin at age three. He has played with orchestras from Alaska to New York and overseas as well. He performs on a Joseph Guarnerius violin made in 1706.

6 Miles Ahead -- Friday, May 9, 7:00 p.m. at Davis Middle School. Molded in the tradition of other great vocal groups such as Manhattan Transfer, they perform music arranged for 4-6 part mixed voices with rhythm section accompaniment and some a cappella. They perform a wide range of muscial styles.

Blue 4 Trio -- Friday, May 23, 7:00 p.m. at Machine Shop in Evanston. This extra event is a 1930s theme dinner with live vintage jazz. Dinner begins at 6:30. Wear 1930s apparel and be served by Evanston "celebrities." New Deal era photo display presented by the Uinta County Museum. Blue 4 Trio performs music that swings. Its music from the '20s to the '60s, all happening at the same time, woven into a seamless, beautiful whole.

Season tickets are various prices and include all concerts except the extra event. FMI call (307) 679-2348 or go on-line at http://www.youngmusicians.net/. Can purchase tickets in person at the Evanston Chamber of Commerce, Mt. Music, Home Decor, and Maurices.

"The 'M' Word" selected as theatre finalist

From a UW press release:

The University of Wyoming's original production of "The 'M' Word" has been selected as one of five Region VII finalists for the 2008 Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF).

Written by professor and playwright-in-residence William Missouri Downs (a 2005 Governor's Arts Awards recipient) and directed by professor Lee Hodgson, "The 'M' Word" is a darkly comic look at UW 10 years after Matthew Shepard's murder. The play examines the collision between perception and reality while also poking fun at campus politics.

"The 'M' Word was chosen as a KCACTF regional finalist from a pool of more than 30 productions. The regional event, which is part of the Kennedy Center's annual competition for student actors, directors and playwrights representing colleges and universities nationwide, is Feb. 18-22 at UW.

"Our selection for Region VII KCACTF is a nice recognition from our peers and colleagues," says Hodgson. "It's an honor to represent the University of Wyoming at the regional festival, especially since we will be hosting the festival. It will be wonderful to mount our production at home in such a supportive environment.

The winner of the regional competition will advance to the KCACTF National Festival in April at the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

Four UW student playwrights have also been selected as regional finalists and will compete for a bid to the national festival. Casper's Leean Torske Stellingwerf, "The Problem With Apples," Laramie's Anna Austin Brownsted, "Niagara Fell," and Laramie's Amy Hollon, "Backyard Gene Pool," are finalists in the one-act play division. Nicholas Gene Terpstra-Schwab of Colfax, Iowa, "Sharing This Room With You," is a finalist in the 10-minute play division.

Also, 14 UW student actors -- the most in school history -- will participate in the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship competition. They are: Caleb Clark, John Byron Hill, JP Jaramillo, Nick Linn, Claudine Mboligikpelani and Ken Stellingwerf of Laramie; Harlan Post, Jake Staley and Dominic Syracuse of Cheyenne; Chris Egging of Gurley, Neb.; Rachel Rosenfeld of Aurora, Colo.; Katrina DeSpain of Loveland, Colo.; Kira Galindo of Goodyear, Ariz.; and Katie Herbert of Granby, Colo.

Region VII of the KCACTF comprises Wyoming, Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, Montana and Washington.

FMI: Go to the Web site at http://www.kcactf.org/7/festival/2008index.htm.

Carbon County lectures continue into 2008

The lecture series, The Power of Place: Legacies of Carbon County continues January through March, 2008 at the Carbon County Higher Education Center, 705 Rodeo Street in Rawlins. The lectures are being recorded and archived at CCHEC and the Carbon County Museum. Soon they will be available as podcasts on the CCHEC website. Time for all lectures is 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Some (not all are listed) of the upcoming topics include:

• Weeds and Pests of Carbon County, Larry Justesen (1/8/08)
• The History and Future of Agriculture in Carbon County, Colleen Stratton (1/15/08)
• Mining the Stories with Maps and Interviews, Ebba Stedille (1/22/08)
• The Rich Heritage of the Platte River Valley, Dick Perue (1/29/08)
• The Vibrant Political History of Carbon County, Bill Vasey (2/5/08)
• The Rich Heritage of the Little Snake River Valley, Linda Fleming (2/12/08)
• Where History is Made, Nancy Anderson and Marv Cronberg (2/19/08)
• Strong Women of Carbon County, Margaret Brown (3/4/08)
• The Legacy of Native Americans in Carbon County, Ms. Merle Haas and Alonso Moss (3/18/08)
• Final presentation: The History of Carbon County: A Celebration of our local historians and the legacies they have preserved for our future. *Co-sponsored by the Carbon County Museum, with Candy Moulton, Rans Baker, Dan Kinnaman, Dick Perue, Nancy Anderson and Linda Fleming (3/28 and 3/29)

FMI please call (307) 328-9274

Gatchell Museum hosts Christmas open house

The Jim Gatchell Memorial Museum at 100 Fort Street in downtown Buffalo will host its Christmas Open House on Monday, Nov. 17, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. It's free and open to the public.

The museum "is dedicated to following the late Jim Gatchell's vision of preserving the history of Johnson County, Wyoming, with emphasis on its Frontier Era, through the collection and conservation of related art, archives and artifacts. In the interest of educating museum visitors, the staff will continue to develop projects including interpretive exhibits, publications and programs which focus on the Powder River Country of Johnson County."

FMI: 307-684-9331, jmuseum@vcn.com

Audition for the Kirov Academy of Ballet

Soon to be holding auditions for its 2008 summer program and 2008-2009 school year program, the Kirov Academy of Ballet's audition tour will visit cities throughout the U. S. Students unable to attend a scheduled audition site may also audition by submitting a video or photographs, or by scheduling a private audition at their facilities in Washington, D. C.

KAB's 17-year old ballet boarding school program is one of the first in the U. S. to integrate the classic Baganova curriculum with academics and a rich resident life experience. Many of KAB's graduates have gone on to professional careers with companies such as San Francisco Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, The Joffrey, Royal Swedish Ballet, Boston Ballet, Tulsa Ballet, Colorado Ballet, and many others. Artistic Director Oleg Vinogradov, former artistic director of The Kirov Ballet, has assembled a team of ballet instructors who have danced and taught in the world's leading companies and schools. Summer students receive the same professional-level training as our year-round students; all of the summer ballet classes are taught by our acclaimed year-round instructors.

Cities included in the audition include Denver. Audition site is at the Colorado Ballet Academy at 1278 Lincoln Street from 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. for 10-13 age group and 12:45 p.m.-2:00 p.m. for the 14-18 age group. Registration begins 30 minutes prior to each audition.

FMI go to http://www.kirovacademydc.org/ or call (202) 832-1087.

At the Nic through December

The exhibit EVERYDAY PLACES: Life in Ritual is a collaborative installation with dance, visual art and video. The following artists' work is included in the display: Judy Bejarano, Choreographer and Artistic Director of IMPACT Dance; Lisa Morgan, choreographer; John Giarrizzo, visual artist; Kaidi Dunstan, visual artist; Adam Brandon, new media; Erick-Howrey clark, textile artist.

The Plains of Sweet Regret by Mary Lucier is an exhibit that was commissioned by the North Dakota Museum of Art. It combines photos and video of abandoned structures in the Western landscape.

Writers: plan now for summer 2008

Wyoming Writers, Inc., has announced that its 34th annual conference will be held June 6-8, 2008, in Casper. Conference planner Jeanne Rogers is now booking the list of presenters which will include several literary agents. Deadline for sending in submissions for the writing contest is Jan. 31. For more info, go to http://www.wyowriters.org.

The sixteenth annual Jackson Hole Writers Conference will be held June 26-29 in Jackson. The workshops and presentations are scheduled for the Jackson Hole Center for the Arts. Novelist Tim Sandlin and JHWC staffer Juli Smith are rounding out the line-up of writers and agents. FMI: http://www.jacksonholewritersconference.com.

Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum

In 1908, the Cheyenne Daily Leader announced the pending arrival of future CFD Hall of Fame inductee Ikua Purdy and a group of Hawaiian cowboys (Paniolos) to compete at Cheyenne Frontier Days. 100 years later, the City of Cheyenne and the City of Waimea, Hawaii, have established a sister city bond. This partnership will be celebrated through a new exhibit at the museum commemorating the day that champion roper of the Hawaiian Islands, Ikua Purdy, secured the 1908 title of World Champion Steer Roper at Cheyenne Frontier Days. Ikua's victory in Cheyenne is memorialized in a Hawaiian folk song (see below). In Waimea, there is a sculpture dedicated to Purdy. A smaller version of this bronze will donated to the CFD Museum by the Paniolo Society.


Waiomina (Wyoming) - by Helen Parker

Kaulana Ikuwa me Ka`au`a, lä
Na `eu kïpuka `ili
Na äiwaiwa `o Eulopa, lä
Waimea e ka `eu
Ka ua Kïpu`upu`u
Kahua Waiomina

`Olua nä moho puna ke ao, lä
Na `eu kipuka `ili`
A`ohe kupu`eu nanä e a`e, lä
Waimea e ka `eu
Ka ua Kïpu`upu`u
Meke anu a`o Kaleponi

Na ke kelekalapa i ha`i mai, lä
Na `eu kïpuka `ili
Ikuwa e ka moho puni ke ao, lä
Waimea e ka `eu
Ka ua Kïpu`upu`u
Na kuahiwi `ekolu

Piha hau`oli ou mau kini, lä
Na `eu kïpuka `ili
Kaulana ka ua Kïpu`upu`u, lä
Waimea e ka `eu
Na kuahiwi `ekolu
Kahua Waiomina

Ha`ina hou mai ka puana, lä
Na `eu kïpuka `ili
Ke kaula `ili a`o kani ka uwepa, lä
Waimea e ka `eu
Na kuahiwi `ekolu
Waimea e ka `eu

English translation:

Famous are Ikuwa and Ka`au`a
Both mischievous with the lariat
Both experts in Europe
Waimea full of gusto
The hard rain named Kipu`upu`u
To the stadium of Wyoming

Both are delegates to the world championship
Both mischievous with the lariat
No expert to excel you
Waimea full of gusto
The hard rain named Kipu`upu`u
To the cold of California

A telegraph brought us the word
Of your mischievous lariats
Ikuwa is the champion of the world
Waimea full of gusto
The hard rain named Kipu`upu`u
And the three mountains

Your people are full of happiness
Of your mischievous lariats
Famous is the Kipu`upu`u rain
Waimea full of gusto
The three mountains
The stadium of Wyoming
Tell the refrain
Of your mischievous lariats
The sound of the lariats
Waimea full of gusto
The three mountains
Waimea full of life

Governor's Arts Awards' winners announced

Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal has announced the recipients of the 2007 Governor’s Arts Awards:

• Lander Community Concerts Association, Lander
• Tucker Smith, Pinedale
• Neil E. Hansen, Powell
• Michael McClure, Lander
  

The winners will be celebrated at the annual Governor’s Arts Awards ceremony on Feb. 22, 2008, in Cheyenne. For more information, call the WAC at 307-777-7742 or go to the web site at http://wyoarts.state.wy.us.

Look for profiles of the Governor's Arts Awards winners in the winter issue of WAC's Artscapes newsletter.

McEwin's work wins ASU "purchase award"

Florence Alfano McEwin has received the "purchase award" prize for a visual arts competition conducted by Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, Ark. Judge was Marjorie Devon, director of the Tamarind Institute in Albuquerque.

Florence teaches art at Western Wyoming Community College in Rock Springs. Her winning entry was #1 Cupcake (shown at right), from the series "Secrets of Little Red Riding Hood." It's chine colle, solar etch, 12" x 8.5".

The work will be part of the exhibition, 2008 Delta National Small Prints, held Jan. 17-Feb. 17 in the Bradbury Gallery at the ASU Fowler Art Center.

"Scrooge!" hits the stage Dec. 13

"Scrooge!" will be presented Thursday Dec. 13, through Sunday Dec. 23 by the Off Square Theater Company in Jackson. You may purchase tickets at the Center Box Office (307-733-4900) or at the Off Square Theater Company website at http://www.offsquare.org/.

Location will be the Center Theater, 265 S. Cache Street, Jackson. Click Here To Get Tickets. Performances are at 7 p.m. in the evening, 2 pm. matinees; 3 p.m. on Sundays.

Here's a short description:

Off Square Theater presents "Scrooge!" This is a musical adaptation of the Dicken's classical Christmas tale of Ebenezer Scrooge and the three ghosts of Christmas Past, Christmas Present and Christmas Yet to Come. Don't be a Scrooge - take your whole family!

Deadline extended for Poetry Out Loud

The sign-up deadline for Wyoming Poetry Out Loud has been moved to Jan. 4, 2008.

The National Endowment for the Arts, the nation’s largest annual funder of the arts, and the Poetry Foundation, the nation’s largest literary organization, have partnered together with the Wyoming Arts Council to bring Poetry Out Loud to high schools across America.

Poetry Out Loud builds on the recent resurgence of poetry as an oral art form, as demonstrated by the slam poetry movement and the immense popularity of rap music among our youth. The program encourages the nation’s youth to learn about great poetry through memorization and performance, which help students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and internalize our rich literary heritage.

The program materials are available now from the Wyoming Arts Council. The school contests will take place during the spring semester of this school year, culminating in the state finals in Cheyenne March 10-11. Many of the program materials are also available on the website at http://www.poetryoutloud.org/.

Last year, eight schools from across Wyoming participated in the program. Josh Schaberg from Buffalo High School, a second-time school winner, won the state finals and represented Wyoming at the national finals in Washington, D.C. In 2006, our first Wyoming POL winner was Kamaria Stephens of Cheyenne East High School.

This information may be shared with drama, speech and language arts teachers teaching grades 9-12. Please respond by Jan. 4, 2008. If a school is interested in participating in Wyoming’s Poetry Out Loud competition, or needs further information, please contact Mike Shay at (307) 777-5234 or mshay@state.wy.us or Marcia Dunsmore, project coordinator, at poetryoutloud@rushmore.com.

Guidebooks & maps: literature programs at other state arts agencies

One of the great things about attending national conferences is hearing about what other state arts agencies are doing, especially in regards to individual artists. It may come as no surprise that state literature programs are publishing maps and guidebooks to highlight their writers, as well as how-to manuals to assist their careers. Wyomingarts readers may remember our 2003 anthology, "Deep West: A Literary Tour of Wyoming." It was a project of the Wyo. Center for the Book, but I served as one of the co-editors. It featured excerpts and original essays from 19 of the state's writers (14 were WAC fellowship winners) as well as a literary map.

The North Carolina Arts Council has teamed up with the University of North Carolina Press on a three-volume series, “Literary Trails of North Carolina.” The first one covers the mountain region, and was edited by Georgann Eubanks, one of the founders of the North Carolina Writers’ Network. It features 18 one-day tours (maps included) of the western part of the state that places you “in the middle of the communities, historic sites, and hangouts of notable writers of fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction and plays.”

I went right to the index to look up Thomas Wolfe, one of my favorites. His fellow citizens in Asheville didn’t take kindly to his thinly-veiled portraits of them in “Look Homeward, Angel.” His mother’s rooming house, referred to as “Dixieland” in the novel, was falling apart until a local group renovated it and opened it as the Thomas Wolfe Memorial. Wolfe’s mother, Julia, once told F. Scott Fitzgerald that she didn’t rent her rooms to drunks referring, we can assume, to F. Scott himself.

Another Wolfe in the book is contemporary writer Tom Wolfe, best known for “The Right Stuff” and “The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test.” This native of Virginia wrote about a character from Alleghany County in the remote western edge of N.C. in his latest novel, “I am Charlotte Simmons.”

Other writers in this volume: Anne Tyler, Romulus Linney, Sequoyah, Gail Godwin, Elizabeth Spencer, Nina Simone, and many others. For more info, go to http://www.uncpress.unc.edu. Or you can contact literature coordinator Debbie McGill at the N.C. Arts Council. We can look forward to the companion volumes, featuring the central part of the state and the coast.

The New York State Council on the Arts and Bright Hill Press teamed up for the state’s literary map. New York, of course, has a rich literary history. The color map includes Mark Twain, who lived for a time in his wife’s home town of Elmira; Willa Cather, who left Nebraska for Greenwich Village; James Baldwin of Harlem and Greenwich Village; Agha Shahid Ali, who taught in Binghampton, N.Y., and once was a judge for the WAC writing fellowships; and Herman Melville from, as they say here, upstate. On the flip side of the map is an index of the state’s “literary lives.” It includes county-by-county lists of writers, and a whole section of authors from New York City. There’s also a guide to literary sites. You can read more at the N.Y. State Literary Website at http://www.nyslittree.org.

The Illinois Arts Council, in cooperation with the Neighborhood Writing Alliance in Chicago, has compiled a booklet on “How to Get Published.” It’s a basic how-to guide for writers. Topics include “editing tips” (proofread!), “writing programs, conferences, workshops, and readings,” and “copyrights.” It’s very good for beginners but also has some reminders for established writers. Example: “Always investigate a contest’s reputation before sending money.”

The Illinois Arts Council may send you a copy if you ask nice. Contact the IAC at iac.info@illinois.gov.