Whistle Stop Film Festival screens two films at Mt. Sinai Synagogue on Nov. 3

Andi Jaspersen sends this news: Wyoming Community Media's Whistle Stop Film Festival makes its next stop in Cheyenne at Mt. Sinai Synagogue THIS SATURDAY! This FREE event is on November 3, at 7 p.m. WSFF will be featuring the films "Visas and Virtue" and "Shanghai Ghetto." Both films feature the crossing of two cultures -- World War II Jews and Asians (Japanese and Chinese). Free food and discussion to follow. Hope to see you all there!

Mt. Sinai Synagogue to screen two Holocaust documentaries on Nov. 3

Mt. Sinai Synagogue in Cheyenne will present a double feature of two short documentary films on Saturday, Nov. 3, 7 p.m.  The films are:

Shanghai Ghetto (95 minutes): A gentle, loving accounting of 20,000 mostly German Jews who were able to escape the Nazi's before World War II started and go to Shanghai, China, where the Japanese were in control of that city.

Visas and Virtues (30 minutes): 1997 Oscar-winning short by Chris Tashima. Haunted by the sight of hundreds of Jewish refugees outside the consulate gates, a Japanese diplomat and his wife, at the beginning of World War II, must decide how much they are willing to risk. Inspired by a true story, this Academy Award® winning portrait gracefully captured in period black and white by noted cinematographer Hiro Narita poignantly pays tribute to the rescuer of 6,000 Jews from the Holocaust.

The movies will be shown in the Social Hall at the Synagogue. For more information, go to
http://mtsinaicheyenne.org/special_events.asp, or contact Jaimee Sodosky, 303-503-1844

Author Brian Leung visits UW to speak about his novel based on 1885 "Chinese Massacre" in Rock Springs

From a UW press release:

Acclaimed author Brian Leung will visit the University of Wyoming Wednesday, Oct. 24, and Thursday, Oct. 25, for a reading of his work and campus visits.

His campus visit is sponsored by the UW MFA Program in Creative Writing, University Libraries, American Heritage Center and Multicultural Affairs.

Leung will give a free public reading at 7 p.m. Oct. 25, in William Robertson Coe Library, Room 506. A book sale and signing of his latest novel “Take Me Home” follows his presentation. A reception also is planned.

The book presents a fictionalized version of the “Chinese Massacre”-- the riot and killings of Chinese miners -- that occurred in Rock Springs in 1885. Leung conducted much of the research for his novel at the UW American Heritage Center and Coe Library.

Interested students and staff can meet with Leung Oct. 24, in the Wyoming Union’s Rainbow Resource Center (RRC) and the Multicultural Resource Center (MRC). The RRC will host an hour-long reception at 10:30 a.m. From noon- 1 p.m., the MRC will have a question-and-answer luncheon with Leung about his latest novel.

He also will visit with writing students in the MFA Program in Creative Writing at noon Oct. 25.

Leung was born and raised in California’s San Diego County -- a somewhat unlikely location, given that his mother was born in Battleground, Wash., and his father escaped from China in 1949. By coincidence, as a teenager in 1980, Leung took a train trip to visit relatives in Rock Springs -- the very town at the core of his “Take Me Home” novel, which won the Willa Award for Historical Fiction.

Leung’s other works of fiction, nonfiction and poetry have appeared in multiple magazines and reviews. His “World Famous Love Acts” won the Asian American Literary Award in 2005 and the Mary McCarthy Award for Short Fiction in 2002. He also has published another novel, “Lost Men.”

Leung’s short fiction, poetry and creative nonfiction have appeared in Indiana Review, Runes, Crazyhorse, The Connecticut Review, Gulf Stream, Mid-American Review and numerous other publications. Leung recently was the recipient of the Lambda Literary Foundation Mid-Career Novelist Award.

Since 2000, he has taught in Cincinnati and Los Angeles, and currently is a University of Louisville associate professor. Leung earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from California State University, and an M.F.A from Indiana University.

More information about Leung can be found at http://www.readbrianleung.com/.

For more information about his campus visit, call the MFA Program in Creative Writing at (307) 766-6453.

Photo: Brian Leung

Matteo Pistono, author of "In the Shadow of the Buddha," returns to Wyoming April 5-8

Author Matteo Pistono was one of the speakers at the Casper College Humanities Festival in February. He’s returning to the state in April for presentations in Casper and Laramie. Here are the details:

Tuesday, April 5, 6 p.m., Casper

Casper College, Leik Auditorium, Physical Sciences 103

“Tibetan Pilgrimage: In the Shadow of the Buddha”

Slide show and Book Talk by Matteo Pistono

Thursday, April  7, 3:10 p.m., Laramie

International Studies Program, University of Wyoming

“China, Tibet, and the Human Rights Debate: Why Can¹t the Dalai Lama and China Find Common Ground?”

Lecture by Matteo Pistono followed by response by Jean Garrison, Tom Seitz and Michael Brose

Friday, April 8, 7-8 p.m., Laramie

Second Story Books, 105 East Ivinson

“Tibetan Pilgrimage: In the Shadow of the Buddha”

Slide show and Book Talk

Watch the video trailer for “In the Shadow of the Buddha: Secret Journeys, Sacred Histories, and Spiritual Discovery in Tibet” at http://www.matteopistono.com/disc.htm

Ucross Foundation resident composer Du Yun performs June 10 at Sheridan College

From a press release:

Du Yun, an internationally acclaimed composer who is currently in residence at the Ucross Foundation, will give a presentation on her music at Sheridan College on Thursday, June 10, from 2:00-3:00 p.m. The event will take place in the CTEL Auditorium and is open to the public at no charge.

Born in Shanghai, China, and now living in New York City, Du Yun was awarded a Ucross Fellowship as part of a new collaboration between the Ucross Foundation and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s Elaine Lebenbom Memorial Award for Female Composers. Du Yun was named the winner of this year’s award, which includes a commissioned piece that will be performed by the Detroit Symphony during the 2010-2011 season. Du Yun was also invited to spend time in residence at Ucross to work on her new commission.

The Elaine Lebenbom Award stands alone, internationally, as the only annual symphony-sponsored award competition exclusively for women composers. It was inspired by composer, teacher, poet, artist and lecturer Elaine Lebenbom, a resident of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, who died in 2002. Du Yun says of winning the award, “I am thrilled to work with the musicians of the DSO. I am indebted to all the people, men and women, before me who have worked hard to pave the way for my generation. Hopefully, I might play a role in this, helping, as other composers, musicians, and organizations have, to build a strong lineage within our time and for future generations of composers whose work is respected beyond their gender, race or creed.”

Du Yun is an alumna of the Shanghai Conservatory, Oberlin Conservatory and Harvard University. Since 2006, she has served on the composition faculty at the State University of New York, Purchase. She is currently involved in multiple composition projects, including a work for string quartet, a dance and multimedia project with Moving Theater at the Park Avenue Armory in New York, and a multimedia collaboration with visual artist David Michalek for flutist Clair Chase.

Highlights of recent seasons include premieres and performances of her compositions in Switzerland, Finland, Canada, Norway, Argentina, Mexico, Germany, The Netherlands, and China. Her scores for the silent films of Alice Guy-Blache were recently on view at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, and she has written a score for visual artist Shahzia Sikander’s film Interstitial, which will tour India, Laos, Pakistan and Japan in early 2011.

Du Yun is one of ten individuals who have been composers-in-residence at the Ucross Foundation this year. The Foundation provides work space, living accommodations and the gift of uninterrupted time to selected artists, writers and composers who are chosen in a competitive process by an outside jury of experts. Since opening its doors in 1983, Ucross has supported over 1,400 individuals with residencies. Eight to nine artists, writers and composers are in residence at any one time, with approximately 90 individuals supported each year.

FMI: www.ucrossfoundation.org

Copper Canyon to publish Chinese poets

The National Endowment for the Arts today announced that Copper Canyon Press, an internationally renowned nonprofit literary publisher, will be the U.S. publisher for its International Literary Exchange with the People's Republic of China. NEA International Literary Exchanges support U.S.-based presses in publishing and promoting contemporary anthologies in translation.

Based in Port Townsend, Washington, Copper Canyon will receive $117,000 to support the translation, publication, and promotion of a bilingual anthology of work by 30-40 Chinese poets born after 1945.

For the complete release, please visit
http://www.arts.gov/news/news09/china-anthology.html

Hong Chun Zhang visits UW April 29-30

From a UW press release:

Internationally acclaimed visual artist Hong Chun Zhang will visit the University of Wyoming in Laramie as part of the Department of Art's Visiting Artist Speaker Series.

She will give a public lecture on her work Thursday, April 30, at 7 p.m. in Room 111 of the Fine Arts Center. Hong will present an open portfolio of works for students and the public Wednesday, April 29, from 9-10:30 a.m. in Room 226 of the Fine Arts Center.

Born and raised in the People's Republic of China, Hong has received many honors, awards and residencies including the Skowhegan Artist Residency Scholarship in 2003, the Dedalus Foundation MFA Fellowship in 2004 and the Pollock Krasner Foundation grant in 2006. She was featured in "New American Paintings" in 2006.

Hong is recognized for her large meticulous charcoal drawings of hair, among other works. She has exhibited her work nationally and internationally since 2000, and is now represented by the Byron Cohen Gallery in Kansas City.

For additional information visit Hong's Web site at http://www.hongchunzhang.com./ For additional information on Hong's visit and the Visiting Artist Speaker Series at UW, contact Shelby Shadwell at (307) 761-0989 or e-mail sshadwel@uwyo.edu.

Photo:"My Parents" is among the works by artist Hong Chun Zhang.

Casper photographer's work in "ONWARD '09"

This comes from a story in the Jan. 8 Casper Star-Tribune:

Michael Flicek's photograph, "Waiting For Work, Wuhan," was accepted for the ONWARD '09 Exhibition at Project Basho Gallery in Philadelphia. The show opened Thursday and will run through Feb. 22.

According to the Project Basho Web site, "ONWARD is an annual juried photography exhibition presented by Project Basho exclusively featuring the work of emerging photographers with unique vision and talent." Peter Barberie, curator of photographs for the Alfred Stieglitz Center at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, juried the exhibition.

Flicek, of Casper, shot this photo last year as part of his "China Life 2008 Project," featuring photographic images of older neighborhoods in China cities."The kind of neighborhoods that are rapidly disappearing," Flicek said.

"Waiting For Work, Wuhan" is of a group of apparent laborers in Wuhan waiting for someone to hire them."One man appeared to be a bicycle courier while many of the others had bow saws. These saws were handy for cutting bamboo, which is commonly used for scaffolding and other construction purposes in Wuhan and
throughout China," he said.

Twenty-four images and an artist statement from this project were previously selected for an online exhibition on the portfolio page of Fotomission, a not-for-profit organization based out of South Beach, Florida. To see it, go to Fotomission.org.

This year's ONWARD competition attracted entries from 413 national and international photographers who submitted over 1600 photographs. Barberie picked
73 photographs from 69 emerging photographers.

To see more of Flicek's work, go to his Web site, www.michaelflicekgallery.com/.

Photo: "Waiting for Work, Wuhan," Michael Flicek, black-and-white photograph, 800 x 533 pixels

Amy Tan featured at Jackson library fund-raiser

Internationally acclaimed author Amy Tan will visit the valley for the Teton County Library and Library Foundation’s "Page to the Podium Literary Speakers Series" at 7 p.m. on Thursday, December 4 at the Jackson Hole High School Auditorium in Jackson. Don’t miss this great opportunity for your book group (or impromptu group) to read, discuss and attend a free presentation with Amy Tan.

To encourage book groups to read an Amy Tan book before the author’s visit, selected Tan books are 30% off at Jackson's Valley Bookstore through December 4, thanks to a partnership between the Bookstore and Library Foundation.

“Tan’s books are filled with characters who face struggles many of us can relate to…how to deal with an aging parent, how much of life’s harsh realities to share with our children, what it means to be a ‘good’ parent or child. The choices Tan’s characters make provide rich, fertile ground for great book group discussions,” says Towers-Dykeman.

Born in the U.S. to immigrant parents from China, Tan rejected her mother’s expectations that she become a doctor and concert pianist. She chose to write fiction instead. Her novels are The Joy Luck Club, The Kitchen God’s Wife, The Hundred Secret Senses, The Bonesetter’s Daughter, and Saving Fish from Drowning, all New York Times bestsellers and the recipients of awards.

She is also the author of a memoir, The Opposite of Fate, two children’s books, The Moon Lady and Sagwa, and numerous articles for magazines, including The New Yorker, Harper’s Bazaar and National Geographic. Her work has been translated into 35 languages, from Spanish, French, and Finnish to Chinese, Arabic, and Hebrew. You can read more about Tan and her work at http://www.amytan.net/

Tickets for Tan’s free presentation will be available at 10 a.m. on Monday, November 17 at the library’s Front Desk with the presentation of a current Teton County Library card. For more information about Tan’s upcoming presentation and related events, call Pauline Towers-Dykeman, Library Foundation Associate Director at 733-2164 ext. 217.

Author & researcher Robert Ross to explore U.S.-China relations at UW symposium

From a UW press release:

The University of Wyoming International Studies Scholars Lecture Series will sponsor a lecture and panel discussion on "Critical Issues in U.S.-China Relations 2008 and Beyond" Thursday, Oct. 16, from 3-5 p.m. in Room 129 of the UW Classroom Building.

Boston College Professor Robert Ross, an associate with Harvard University's John King Fairbank Center for East Asian Research, will be the keynote speaker. His current research focuses on Chinese security policy, with a focus on Chinese use of force and deterrence in East Asia and U.S.-China relations. Among his recent publications are "Normalization of U.S.-China Relations: An International History, Re-Examining the Cold War: U.S.-China Diplomacy, 1954-1973," and New Directions in the Study of Chinese Foreign Policy."

Ross's books and articles have been translated in China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan and various European countries. He is on the editorial board of numerous scholarly journals and a member of the Academic Advisory Group, U.S.-China Working Group, United States Congress, the Council on Foreign Relations, the National Committee for U.S.-China Relations and the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

Panel members include Jean A. Garrison, director of International Studies and UW associate professor of political science whose expertise focuses on U.S.-China relations and energy security; Yan Quan from Shanghai University, whose expertise focuses on China-Taiwan relations and China government policy; and Winberg Chai, UW political science professor and expert on China, East Asia and U.S.-China Relations.

"U.S.-China relations remain volatile with highs represented by the post 9/11 partnership in the global war on terror to lows represented by ongoing trade disputes and a creeping 'Cold Warism' emerging over the competition for resources," Garrison says. "No bilateral relationship is more important to the U.S., but the relationship with China seems rife with misunderstanding."

She says the program and panel will examine the implications of China's rising power and a range of policy issues: Taiwan, energy security, and trade issues important to U.S. foreign policy. The opportunities and challenges the next administration will face as it forges its China policy will be explored.

This program is part of the International Studies Institute of Global Affairs initiative, co-sponsored by International Programs and the Milward L. Simpson Fund in Political Science. For more information, contact Garrison, (307) 766-6119, e-mail garrison@uwyo.edu.