The Gunnison Valley Literary Festival

A celebration of beautiful language, powerful stories and compelling ideas held annually in the Gunnison Valley.

Thursday, August 9 – Sunday, August 11

Co-sponsors:

The Gunnison Arts Center Crested Butte Center for the Arts The Graduate Program in Creative Writing Western Colorado University The Telluride Institute

1 Thursday, August 8

5:30 Kick off happy-hour, High Alpine Brewery, Gunnison Meet and mingle with other festival goers and enjoy locally crafted brews and bites.

Friday, August 9 – CRESTED BUTTE

8:00 – 10 a.m. “Rooting Into Place” Poetry Breakfast & Coffee Saunter Start the weekend in an inspired, relaxed, open and connected place! Register and pick up your name tag, breakfast and coffee and set out for the woods. We’ll initiate the day with a slow saunter in nature, sipping in the place, heightening our awareness and loosening up our creativity through readings of dreamy poetry and exploratory writing prompts. Root down in the forests and fields to discover this mountain environment’s both flagrant and nuanced personas. What is it trying to communicate? To teach? What metaphors lurk in its elements? Bring your coffee mug and small backpack to carry a journal, writing utensil, water, and jacket. Led by local writer Molly Murfee.

10:15 - 11:15 a.m. — Putting the “Creative” in Nonfiction Telling the wildest, funniest, or most captivating stories is all in the details. Learn how to construct a rich narrative that will lift your characters and setting off of the page. Create realistic dialogue, and practice bringing the five senses to life. Led by Colorado Book Award finalist, Susan Devan Harness. At the Center.

11:20 - 12:20 p.m. — Reading Like A Writer Learn to read like a writer. Best-selling author and journalist Helen Thorpe guides you through examples of great writing by authors such as Dave Eggers, Susan Orlean, and Alexis Okeowo, and works with you to unpack what was most effective in their work, and how the writer achieved the desired effects. At the Center.

12:30 - 1:15 p.m. — Shakespeare & Streetfood “Life ... consists of eating and drinking,” quips Twelfth Night's over-indulging Sir Andrew Aguecheek. Shakespeare's audiences felt the same and historically noshed on ready-made street food as they took in a play. Join us for an Elizabethan lunch-hour of Shakespearean monologues and local streetfood, featuring actor, director, playwright and Western Colorado Theater Director, Steven Cole Hughes, along with award-winning actress Heather Nicolson Hughes, and local thespians Sam & Jillian Liebl for a modernist take on some of the Bard’s most famous plays. At the Center courtyard. Free to attend, food for purchase from local vendors.

1:30 - 3:30 p.m. — Poetics of the Alpine Sublime The wonders of the natural world have been an inspiration to poets and writers from time immemorial. In this expansive workshop, learn the ways that poetry has developed over the centuries to help humans contemplate their place in the natural world, from ancient Greek philosophers to modern American poets. Learn how word choice and formal verse patterns can

2 be combined with observations in nature to create deep, meaningful poetry. Led by poet and writer Brian Calvert.

1:30 - 4:30 p.m. — Songwriting Workshop with Rachel VanSlyke Immerse yourself in the art of songwriting. For all level of songwriters (and complete novices) who wish to explore the unique process and magic of songwriting. Learn how to use imagery and specificity, lyric-focused techniques, effective song structure, and rhyming. Leave with the tools, techniques, and inspiration to unleash your own unique potential in songwriting. No prior experience or instruments required. Led by award-winning singer-songwriter, Rachel VanSlyke. At the Center.

4:00 - 5:30 p.m. — The Next Voice You Hear: A Voice-Shifting Workshop Poetry workshops often address the idea of finding your voice. Some writers deny it really exists while others insist on its recognizable presence. This fast-paced, creative session addresses how to lose it, or more correctly, how to set it loose and then pursue it. Participants will move through a series of writing and critical exercises meant to generate new work and new insight into extending and developing these initial drafts of poems. Led by this year’s winner of the Karen Chamberlain Award for Lifetime Achievement in Colorado Poetry, Chris Ransick. At the Center.

5:30 - 6:30 p.m. — Cocktail Hour & Music with Rachel VanSlyke & friends Commune with fellow writers and festival goers over drinks and bites and enjoy the musical stylings of Rachel VanSlyke and participants of her songwriting workshop. At the Center's Gamble Bar. Included in festival pass.

6:45 p.m. — Evening Readings Join us for a delightfully engaging close to the day with a dream team lineup of writers reading their best. Colorado Book Award finalist, Susan Harness, High Country News Editor in Chief, Brian Calvert, and a keynote address from bestselling writer and journalist, Helen Thorpe. Cash bar available. At the Center.

7:30 — Dinner

9:00 — Open Mic Readings, location TBA

Saturday, August 10 - GUNNISON

9:00 – 9:30 a.m. — Breakfast bar by The Firebrand Delicatessen Enjoy breakfast and coffee at the Gunnison Arts Center and find inspiration while wandering its beautiful galleries filled with local art.

9:30 - 11:30 a.m. — Poetry & Storytelling Gourd Circle with Art Goodtimes A fun and engaging poetry and storytelling ritual led by Poet Laureate of the High Mountains, Art Goodtimes. Explore Dolores LaChapelle’s bardic poetry insights and her Way of the Mountain practice, as outlined in her book Sacred Land Sacred Sex Rapture of the Deep:

3 Concerning Deep Ecology and Celebrating Life. Bring along a short poem by someone you admire and a story or poem of your own. At the Gunnison Arts Center.

11:30 am - 1:00 p.m. — Lunch on your own Take in the views and explore Gunnison’s fine array of independent restaurants and coffee shops.

1:00 - 3:00 p.m. — Playwriting: Use Your Words Learn the basics of the art of dramatic storytelling. In two hours, participants will practice writing active dialogue. No experience necessary, just bring a sense of what it was like to want something as a child and have your parents tell you: "Use your words!". Led by Steven Cole Hughes. At the Gunnison Arts Center.

1:00 - 3:00 p.m. — Moving Through Nature What happens to our sense of place when we are in motion through it? How does movement affect our awareness of our environment, of ourselves, and of our relation to our environment? After a fun discussion of these questions and a look at great examples of writing about motion, participants will practice using writing to convey their most powerful experiences of moving through nature. This course is open to writers of all genres and styles; no prior writing experience required. Led by Tyson Hausdoerffer, Director of WCU’s Graduate Creative Writing Program. At the Gunnison Arts Center.

3:15 - 5:15 p.m. — Beating the Beast of Block: a workshop for creatives who need to nudge the Muse Writer and artist Winter Ross offers insights into the causes and cures of the Common Creative Block. There will be a talk; audience participation; and the opportunity to experience an unusual writing exercise. The two hour workshop includes a handout of resources for further inspiration. At the Gunnison Arts Center.

5:30 - 6:30 p.m. — Open Mic Readings Join us at Blackstock Bistro for cocktails, appetizers and poetry and prose readings in an open and supportive atmosphere. Bring a polished piece, or something you’ve crafted over the festival. Or just come and listen. Five to ten-minute limit.

6:45 p.m. —Evening Readings and Karen Chamberlain Award Ceremony Join us for an engaging close to the day with a dream team lineup of writers reading their best. Emceed by poet-laureate-of-the-high-mountains, Art Goodtimes, enjoy readings with short- story writer and essayist, Winter Ross; poet and Director of the Graduate Program in Creative Writing at Western Colorado University, Tyson Hausdoerffer; and poet and Karen Chamberlain Award winner Chris Ransick. At the Gunnison Arts Center. Cash bar available.

Sunday, August 11 – CRESTED BUTTE

9:30 - 2:00 p.m. Write in the Now

4 A liberating workshop centered on silencing your inner critic so your characters can speak freely. Write in the Now is an effective practice you can use every day to find deeper, more compelling stories - and enjoy the process. Discover emotionally rich new works and create surprisingly detailed stories that stand alone or produce source material for books, plays, movies or series. Unleash your potential as an artist by unlocking your storytelling power. You'll learn how to get out of your own way and into the flow that's so productive and feels so good! You'll be freed to tap into the deep well of universal creativity you may have thought was out of reach. When your characters come alive, their stories are natural and compelling.

Fee Structure General public, full-festival pass: $100 Day pass: $55 Evening readings: $10 Students: $25/day Presenter Biographies

Brian Calvert, is the Managing Editor of High Country News, the nation's leading source of reporting on the American west. A fourth-generation Wyoming native, he grew up in Pinedale and graduated from the University of Northern Colorado in 1994 with a BA in English liberal arts and minors in writing and media studies. He has worked as a foreign correspondent, writer, audio journalist, and most recently, a Ted Scripps Fellow in Environmental Journalism at the University of Colorado. He also earned an MFA in Poetry at Western Colorado University. After extensive time in Cambodia, China and Afghanistan, Brian has a new appreciation for the West and is thrilled to be back. When he's not working, you can find him outside, trying to regain his mountain hardiness.

Art Goodtimes of Norwood weaves non-traditional coil baskets, grows 25+ varieties of organic heirloom potatoes and recently completed his fifth term in San Miguel County as Colorado’s only Green Party county commissioner. Poet-in-residence of the Telluride Mushroom Festival since 1981 (www.telluridemushroomfest.org), founder and director of various Talking Gourds poetry events since 1989 (talkinggourds.weebly.com), poetry editor for the national mycological magazine Fungi (www.fungimag.com) and co-editor of an on-line poetry zine (sagegreenjournal.org), Art served as the first Poet Laureate of Colorado’s Western Slope (2011-13) and his most recent book is Looking South to Lone Cone: the Cloud Acre Poems (Western Eye Press, 2013).

Susan Devan Harness, M.A., author of Bitterroot: A Salish Memoir of Transracial Adoption, released by University of Nebraska Press October 1, 2018, is a member of the Confederated Salish Kootenai Tribes as well as an American

5 Indian transracial adoptee. Ms. Harness has written and presented extensively about American Indian assimilation policies, including child placement, both nationally and internationally. Her research in cultural anthropology at Colorado State University resulted in her first book, Mixing Cultural Identities Through Transracial Adoption: Outcomes of the Indian Adoption Project (1958-1967), which examined issues and outcomes of American Indian children who had been placed into Euro-American homes. Ms. Harness holds an M.A. in Cultural Anthropology as well as an M.A. in Creative Nonfiction Writing, both from Colorado State University. Ms. Harness is an affiliate with the Department of Anthropology at Colorado State University.

Heather Nicolson Hughes studied Communications Theatre with an emphasis in Acting and a minor in Sociology in the early 1990s. Since that time her career has ranged from acting in New York City to teaching with the Denver Center for Performing Arts. She thrives on the subjective nature of her craft, knowing there is no “correct” or defined way to express one’s self in theatre, thriving on telling a story more clearly, and finding bravery in that articulation. In teaching, she aims to offer her students the permission to jump into something they might think only a few people can do, and then be surprised at their success.

Steven Cole Hughes is an actor, director, playwright and theatre educator. He was a Visiting Professor of Theatre at Western Colorado University for the 2015-2016 academic year. He was the Playwriting Mentor at Regis University's Mile High MFA, and also Adjunct Professor of Acting at the University of Denver. His plays have been produced at the Bloomington Playwrights Project, the Coterie Theatre, Creede Repertory Theatre, Curious Theatre Company and the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. He is the winner of the 2008 Denver Post Ovation Award for Best New Work for Billy Hell, and the 2011 Ovation Award for Special Achievement for The Billy Triology. As an actor, he has appeared at theatres all over the country, on television's "Law & Order," and in the Denver Center for the Performing Art's production of Macbeth. He has a B.A. in Theatre from Indiana University and an MFA from the National Theatre Conservatory.

Tyson Hausdoerffer earned his PhD in Comparative Literature from UC Berkeley, where he specialized in the study of Classical and Renaissance literature through the lens of contemporary theory. He is currently the Director of the Graduate Program in Creative Writing at Western Colorado University, his alma mater, where he also teaches a wide range of subjects including philosophy, English, political science, history and creative writing.

Molly Murfee holds Bachelor and Master of Arts degrees in literature, creative writing and environmental writing specializing in the incorporation of outdoor experiential education into academic programs. She served as a faculty in field programs with Colorado College, Colorado State University, the Audubon Expedition Institute at Lesley University and Colorado Outward Bound teaching creative writing, environmental literature, environmental studies, environmental education, outdoor adventure skills and Leave No Trace ethics, across the United States, Mexico, Canada and the Bahamas. She has penned over 400 published articles locally, regionally and nationally.

Chris Ransick, this year’s winner of the Karen Chamberlain Award for Lifetime Achievement in Colorado Poetry was Denver poet laureate 2006- 2010. He is the author of six books, including Never Summer: Poems from Thin Air, which won a Colorado Book Award for poetry in 2003, and collection of short stories entitled A Return To Emptiness, a finalist for the 2005 Colorado Book Award in fiction. His new collection of poetry, mummer prisoner scavenger thief, is available from Bower House Books.

Chris was born and raised in New York, and has lived in Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, California, and Oregon, working variously as a journalist and professor. Since 2005 he has worked at Lighthouse Writers Workshop in Denver, where he taught the poetry master class and led the Poetry Book Project, and where he was recognized with the Beacon Award for Teaching Excellence in 2014. He has served as a member of PEN USA’s Freedom to Write Committee and closer to home, he spent eight years serving on his local public library board. His stories and poems have been presented on television, radio, and stage. Chris lives on the central coast of Oregon with his wife, Shannon Skaife.

Winter Ross's short stories, essays, and articles have been published in various art, environmental and literary journals. 4 Warnings: Shamanic Journeys, a chapbook of visionary prose, is her first book. Her work has appeared in: Pilgrimage: Story, Place, Spirit,Witness; Messages From Hidden Lake; EarthFirst! Journal; ArtWorks: a publication of the West Virginia Division of Arts and Humanities; Selki, an Alaskan feminist zine; The Gentle Traveler; EPIC Magazine; Messages From the Hidden Lake and the anthology What We Talk About When We Talk About Love, from Darkhouse Press. She was awarded first place in 2015 by both the New Mexico Press Women's Association, and the National Federation of Press Women for the short story Orienting Heaven. 4Warnings: Shamanic Journeys, her first book, is a prose chapbook illustrated with original etchings and may be found on Amazon or her website: www.CeremonialVisions.com. Bruce Nygren, President Emeritis of the Center for

7 Nondual Awareness says: "Through her visionary stories Ms. Ross leads us on a journey encompassing the spiritual and physical realms which lie hidden within our psyches, to truths we know but don't know we know and sometimes wish we didn't.”

Helen Thorpe, the keynote speaker for Friday’s evening program, was born in London to Irish parents. She is the author of three books, Just Like Us, Soldier Girls, and The Newcomers. Her books are works of narrative nonfiction that document in a human and intimate way the lives of immigrants, refugees, and veterans of foreign conflicts. The Newcomers was described by The New York Times as “a delicate and heartbreaking mystery story” about 22 immigrant and refugee teenagers who share one classroom while learning English together. That newspaper went on to say, “Thorpe’s book is a reminder that in an era of nativism, some Americans are still breaking down walls and nurturing newcomers, the seeds of the great American experiment.” Thorpe’s magazine journalism has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, Texas Monthly, Westword, Chalkbeat, and 5280. She lives in Denver, Colorado.

Rachel VanSlyke After receiving industry acclaim in the form of Clear Channels New Program, Rachel VanSlyke landed into a worldwide recording and publishing contract. After the completion of her debut album, VanSlyke did a Music tour on a bicycle from South Florida to Canada spanning 4,100 miles and performing in 26 cities. Many of the shows involved raising awareness and funds for community centers and bike coops. Her most recent release “Help is on the Way” has received 3 songwriting awards. Last year, she performed over 50 concerts, as well as signed publishing deals with 3 prestigious Music Libraries. She is currently working on her 4th studio album in Nashville TN. VanSlyke’s unique combination of accessible, highly listenable tunes with no holds barred lyrics and a refusal to be bound by conventional genres have garnered her a following who are at once enamored and empowered by her bold songwriting and gutsy performances. Succeeding on her own terms, her songs emotionally resonate with fans across the spectrum based upon their edgy intensity and genuine intimacy.

Daniel Will-Harris is a best-selling author, teacher, designer and performer. He has written eight books (selling over 300,000 copies), three feature film screenplays, and over 400 short stories. He created the Write in the Now technique and book (www.WriteInTheNow.com). He teaches writers and actors to discover endless ideas, eliminate writer’s block, find passion in their projects, and get to the very heart of their work.