On September 15, 16, and 17, Beatrice Public Library and Lincoln City Libraries co-host the Nebraska Center for the Book’s 2000 Nebraska Literature Festival. The theme of the Ninth Nebraska Literature Festival “Prairie Visions: Nebraska Authors and Their Art” reflects the artist in two realms—the written word and the visual image.
At the Homestead National Monument of America near Beatrice, State Poet William Kloefkorn conducts a writing workshop for Nebraska high school students. The prairie setting at the Homestead National Monument is a unique visual image because the prairie is surrounded by development. The students’ writings from this workshop will be assembled into a spiral-bound volume, and each student will receive a copy. High school students and their teachers are encouraged to register soon because enrollment is limited to ninety. Contact Laureen Riedesel, Beatrice Public Library, 402-223-3584, for student registration information. There is a fee of $5 to cover the cost of lunch.
The opening festivities begin on Friday evening in Lincoln at the Lincoln Station Great Hall in the Historic Haymarket. Two short programs feature Ricardo Garcia on The Art and Practice of Hispano Storytelling and a Celebration of Language, featuring Lora Black. These programs focus on recognizing some of the languages through which Nebraska literature and stories are communicated to the world. The Mildred Bennett Award and the Nebraska Book Awards will be announced that evening.
Programs and panels are held at the Cornhusker Hotel in Lincoln from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. CDT with registration beginning at 8:30 a.m. Some programs feature Nebraska authors and illustrators such as Willa Cather, Loren Eiseley, Wright Morris, Mari Sandoz, Bess Streeter Aldrich, and Ruth Rosekrans Hoffman. Other programs feature experiences of an author who recently moved to Nebraska; book design; Aaron Douglas as illustrator; and readings from Plains Song Review. Throughout the day eighteen different poets and prose authors perform short readings, concluding with State Poet Bill Kloefkorn. Lois Poppe will conduct a biographical writing workshop, “Your Life is a Story, Capture it in Writing” from 9:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. in the Jane Pope Geske Heritage Room of Nebraska Authors at the Bennett Martin Public Library. Pre-registration is required for this workshop and participation is limited to twenty.
Saturday’s activities also include a literary tour of Lincoln, “Classic Nebraska” from 1:00‚3:00 p.m. The tour departs from The Cornhusker Hotel. Pre-registration and a fee of $10 are required.
Guided tours conclude the festival.
Weldon Kees, a native of Beatrice, is best known as a poet but also wrote prose. He was an artist, art critic, filmmaker, and photographer. “The Weldon Kees Tour” in Beatrice visits sites related to Weldon Kees’ life, and sites that are related to his works. The tour is conducted from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m., leaving from the Gage County Historical Society Museum, 2nd & Court Streets, Beatrice.
In Lincoln, the Archives and Special Collections at University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UN-L) Love Library is open to the public from 1:30 to 3:00 p.m., featuring exhibits and information related to Nebraska authors. Love Library is located on the UN-L campus at 13th & R Streets. Lincoln.
A tour of the Jane Pope Geske Heritage Room of Nebraska Authors is conducted from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. at the Bennett Martin Public Library, 14th & N Streets in Lincoln. The Heritage Room collection consists of 11,000 volumes representing 3,400 Nebraska authors.
On Saturday at the Cornhusker Hotel, booksellers and Nebraska author organizations present displays and books for sale.
The Nebraska Literature Festival is sponsored and funded by the Nebraska Center for the Book and the Nebraska Humanities Council. Lincoln City Libraries and Beatrice Public Library are co-hosting the festival.
Registration is free unless otherwise noted.
9:00-3:00
6:30-9:00
7:00-7:45
7:45-8:30
Cornhusker Hotel, 333 So. 13th Street, Lincoln.
9:00-9:50
9:15-12:15
10:00-10:50
11:00-11:50
Noon-1:00
1:00-1:50
1:00-3:00
2:00-2:50
3:00-3:50
1:30-3:00
1:30-4:30
2:30-3:30