On September 17 and 18, Oglala Lakota College and Chadron State College (CSC) will co-host the 1999 Nebraska Literature Festival on the campus of Chadron State College. The theme, Crossing Borders: Geographical, Ethnic, and Literary Frontiers in Plains Literature, acknowledges and celebrates the interstate cooperation behind the 1999 Festival. Artists from several states, working in various formats and representing diverse cultures, will come together to read, act, discuss, and perform during the festivities.
The Festival will begin Friday morning with a series of writing workshops led by prominent regional poets, novelists, story writers, non-fiction writers, and playwrights. William Kloefkorn, Nebraska State Poet; Dan O’Brien, award-winning author of Spirit of the Hills and a new novel set at Fort Robinson; Peggy Adair; and Twyla Hansen will be featured, along with other experienced author-teachers. High school and college writers, as well as the general public, are encouraged to register early since enrollment in the workshops is limited. Concurrent poetry reading and storytelling sessions will be offered for those not participating in the workshops.
Friday afternoon will feature a variety of events, including poetry and prose readings, Mexican and Irish dancers, American Indian storytellers, a readers’ theater group, and a drum corps. A Cowboy Poetry Gathering, featuring Glen Ohrlin, Echo Roy, and Deb Carpenter, will start the activities for Friday evening in the CSC Ballroom. Country Oak, the premiere country and western band in the region, will conclude the evening with music and dancing at the historic Olde Main Street Inn in downtown Chadron.
On Saturday, a series of readings by poets, prose authors, and playwrights will give the audience a chance to hear authors read from their work and talk about their writing processes. Also scheduled for Saturday morning and afternoon are panels to discuss the works of various Plains writers, including Nebraska authors Willa Cather, Mari Sandoz, John Neihardt, Loren Eiseley, Bess Streeter Aldrich, and Wright Morris. In addition, participants will discuss music lyrics, environmental literature, Mari Sandoz archival material, history of the Nebraska Panhandle, the works of contemporary Plains playwrights, and the process of getting a collaborative publishing venture successfully into print. In the afternoon, a CSC readers’ theater group will perform a play by Nebraska dramatist Doug Marr. Saturday evening will conclude with an open mike reading and jam session at the Olde Main Street Inn.
On Sunday, those who want to enjoy the many natural and cultural attractions of the area on their own may venture off to tour Sandoz Country (maps will be available), or to visit nearby Ft. Robinson, the Museum of the Fur Trade, Toadstool Park, or Agate Fossil Beds. Guided tours of Mari Sandoz Country led by Sybil Berndt, Ft. Robinson and Lovers’ Leap led by Wilmer Mesteth and/or Tom Buecker, and American Indian and Crazy Horse sites near Hay Springs led by David and Mabell Kaddacek, are also planned.
The Festival is sponsored and funded by the Nebraska Center for the Book, the Nebraska Humanities Council, Chadron State College, Oglala Lakota College, and the Mari Sandoz Heritage Society, with additional funding from the Heartland Art Fund and the Nebraska Division of Travel and Tourism. The following local businesses and organizations have also contributed their support: the Best Western Motel, the Westerner Motel, the Roundup Motel, Microtel Inn and Suites, the Grand Westerner Motel, Olde Main Street Inn, Chadron State Park, and Ft. Robinson State Park. Special contributions to the Nebraska Center for the Book from the Best Western West Hills Inn in Chadron, Community First National Bank in Chadron, Media Productions and Marketing, Inc. in Lincoln, Pollak & Hicks Law, P.C. in Omaha and Houchen Bindery Ltd. in Utica helped make the Festival possible.
The Festival planning committee includes Deb Carpenter and Holly Boomer from Oglala Lakota College; Andrew Elkins, Kathy Agar, and Mary Ann Rudy from Chadron State College; Susan Vastine from Chadron High School; and Mary Ellen Elkins of Chadron.
Everyone is welcome and registration is free.
A Book Fair will run throughout the Festival in the CSC Student Center. Publishers, distributors, and organizations will sell books by Festival participants, as well as books on local and regional history, politics, and culture.
Participants will include: Chadron Book Shoppe, Sandhills Press (Mark Sanders), Nebraska Newspaper Project, University of Nebraska Press, Nebraska Humanities Council, Academic Freedom Coalition of Nebraska, Nebraska English Language Arts Council, Nebraska Literary Heritage Association, Wordsmith Books and Arts (Francis Moul), John G. Neihardt Center, Mari Sandoz Heritage Society, Friends of Loren Eiseley, Four Winds Indian Books, Prairie Schooner, Backwater Press (Greg Kosmicki), Logan House Press (Jim Reese), and a special table of festival participants’ books. The Chadron State College Eagle Pride Book Store in the Student Center will also be open.
Vendors and booksellers that wish to participate should contact Andrew Elkins, Dept of Language and Literature, 1000 Main St., Chadron State College, Chadron NE, 69337, 308-432-6307 or 308-432-2047.
All events in the Chadron State College Student Center, unless otherwise noted.
9:00-10:30
10:00-11:00
10:30-Noon
11:00-Noon
Noon-1:00
1:00-2:00
2:00-3:00
3:00-4:00
7:00-8:30
9:00
All events in the Chadron State College Student Center, unless otherwise noted.
9:00-10:00
10:00-11:00
11:00-Noon
Noon-1:00
1:00-2:00
2:00-3:00
3:00-4:00
Evening