Annual Willa Cather Spring Conference

Stargazing on the Willa Cather Memorial Prairie (Read More)

This event is weather-permitting and depends on partly cloudy or clear skies. Join author and tour guide Garrett Peck as he leads a special stargazing program at the Willa Cather Memorial Prairie for our second year! As you prepare to participate in this nighttime prairie event, please do the following: Download the Skyview app on your phone Bring camping chairs and blankets (optional) Bring your own binoculars (optional) Bring bug spray and wear closed-toe shoes Upon arrival at the prairie, park as far away as you can from the turn out Participants must shut off car headlights There will be a trail of glow sticks illuminating the walking path to our star-gazing spot from the parking area Participants must turn their phones to "dark mode" to reduce light interference This event is free to attend thanks to the generosity of Humanities Nebraska and the Nebraska Cultural Endowment. Garrett Peck is an author, historian, and tour guide in Santa Fe, New Mexico, specializing in adventure travel, historic and cultural interpretation, and Prohibition. He leads the Willa Cather's Santa Fe tour, among others, and teaches stargazing in New Mexico's dark skies. His book, The Bright Edges of the World: Willa Cather and Her Archbishop, will be published in early 2026.

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Opening Plenary Session: Ann Lundberg (Read More)

Kick off the 70th Annual Willa Cather Spring Conference with a talk from Ann Lundberg, English professor and longtime interpretive ranger, about Cather at Mesa Verde. As a professor of American Literature, Ann studies the literature of geological and archeological exploration of the American West in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, and how it works to define national identity. She's presented and published essays on topics including John Muir's glacial geology, "Ancient America at the World's Fair," and the mystique surrounding Casa Grande in Arizona, "The Ruin of Expectations." Her teaching resume includes both environmental literature and eco-composition in addition to Native American Literature and other topics. Alongside her academic career, Ann has served as an interpretive Ranger at eight different National Park Service units, including three seasons at Mesa Verde. She has long maintained an interest in Willa Cather and her depiction of place, both the prairies of Nebraska and the canyons and cliff dwellings of the Southwest. This event is free to attend thanks to the generosity of Humanities Nebraska and the Nebraska Cultural Endowment.

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Ollie Webb Center’s Short Film Screening & Panel Discussion (Read More)

The Ollie Webb Center, Inc.'s Art of Imagination program, in collaboration with University of Nebraska Omaha professor and screenwriter Todd Richardson, has created two short films based on excerpts from two Willa Cather novels. The first film, “Tom Outland's Story,“ is from Cather’s novel The Professor‘s House and is about discovering an ancient cliff city. The other is excerpted from My Ántonia. This film chronicles the difficulties living through Nebraska winters in the 19th century. Made in partnership with WhyArts, the films are co-directed by Ollie Webb Center, Inc.'s education director David Ackermann and artistic director, Jim Hoggatt, with director of cinematography Matt Bross. Individuals enrolled in Ollie Webb Center Inc. courses act in the films and served as the film crew on the project. Located in Omaha, the Ollie Webb Center, Inc.'s mission is to enrich the lives individuals with developmental disabilities and their families through collaboration, advocacy, relationships, and education. The center's Art of Imagination program works to empower develop and encourage self expression in adults with disabilities through professional opportunities in the visual and performing arts. Classes offer artistic opportunities in traditional art forms such as painting, writing, drawing, photography, and more. Theater classes include improvisation play writing, scripted pieces and radio drama culminating in rehearsals and public performances. This event is free to attend thanks to the generosity of Humanities Nebraska and the Nebraska Cultural Endowment. 

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Creative Panel: The Kilbanes in Conversation with Peter Cipkowski (Read More)

Join Peter Cipkowski for a conversation with Kate Kilbane and Dan Moses of The Kilbanes, the acclaimed musical duo currently adapting Willa Cather's My Ántonia into an original stage musical. Commissioned by Theater Latté Da in Minneapolis, their adaptation reimagines Cather's masterpiece through their distinctive blend of storytelling and music. The panel will explore the Kilbanes' creative process, their decision to bring My Ántonia to the stage, and how their musical style shapes the emotional and narrative contours of the work. The discussion will also consider the creative challenge of adaptation itself: what it means to transform a beloved literary classic into a new form, and what questions arise when a masterpiece known as one thing becomes something entirely new. This event is free to attend thanks to the generosity of Humanities Nebraska and the Nebraska Cultural Endowment. The Kilbanes (Kate Kilbane and Dan Moses) are a married composing and performing team and recipients of the 2024 Jonathan Larson Grant. Their rock musical Weightless (WP Theater, A.C.T., Public Theater's Under the Radar) was nominated for Lucille Lortel (Best Musical, Drama Desk (Best Music), and Off-Broadway Alliance (Best New Musical) awards in 2023. Other works include A Whynot Christmas Carol (A.C.T., Pam McKinnon dir.), The Code (A.C.T.), My Ántonia (Next Generation Commission, Theatre Latte Da in Minneapolis - upcoming), As You Like It (San Francisco Shakespeare Festival), and Eddie the Marvelous (American Music Theater Project (AMTP) O'Neill National Music Theater Conference; Berkeley Repertory Theater's Ground Floor).

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The Passing Show: What Makes a House a Home? (Read More)

Book cover image showing title The Professor's House author Willa Cather and an abstracted illustration of a southwest scene of landscape formations and a couple of pieces of Native American pottery.
Architectural and interior styles, powerful landscapes, and domestic scenes all feature prominently in Willa Cather’s writing. These important backdrops to her novels were illuminated through her gift for idyllic description and acute observation. Join Claire Schmidt, John Swift, and Steve Tamayo for this popular and engaging panel discussion that focuses on the theme of the 70th annual Willa Cather Spring Conference. This event is free to attend thanks to the generosity of Humanities Nebraska and the Nebraska Cultural Endowment. Clarie Smith is a folklorist and associate professor of English. John Swift taught English at Occidental College in Los Angeles from 1981 until his retirement in 2019. Steve Tamayo draws upon his family history as a member of the Sicangu Lakota tribe.

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Willa Cather, My Ántonia and the Life of a Writer with Author Jane Smiley (Read More)

Jane Smiley's talk on Willa Cather, My Ántonia and the Life of a Writer will mark the conclusion of a year-long celebration of Cather's 1918 novel as a title selected by the National Endowment for the Arts' 2024-2025 Big Read program. Jane Smiley is the author of numerous novels, including A Thousand Acres, which was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, and other novels, most recently Lucky. She is also the author of several works of nonfiction and books for young adults. A member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Smiley has also received the PEN Center USA Lifetime Achievement Award for Literature. She resides in Northern California. This event, part of the 70th annual Willa Cather Spring Conference, is free to attend thanks to the generosity of Humanities Nebraska and the Nebraska Cultural Endowment. The talk will be broadcast live on YouTube, and a recording will be available for two weeks.

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68th Annual Willa Cather Spring Conference (Read More)

Complex and Brilliant: Cather at 150 The 68th annual Willa Cather Spring Conference, held during Willa Cather's sesquicentennial year, provides an opportunity to pay homage to the author's life and legacy here in Nebraska. Just as Cather wrote about the "certain qualities of feeling and imagination" possessed by Nebraska's early immigrant homesteaders in her essay, "Nebraska: The End of the First Cycle," Cather's 150th birthday will will commemorated by examining the evolution of her own writerly imagination. This conference will also examine Cather's novel A Lost Lady, which celebrates its publication centenary in 2023, and other texts that Cather published in 1923, such as her revised book of poetry, April Twilights and Other Poems. The conference will begin the morning of Thursday, June 1, and conclude on the evening of Saturday, June 3. Please see the conference website for the schedule of events. Registration is required. In-person registration ($150 / $75 student) includes the full schedule, with a separate ticket needed for the Saturday evening banquet. Online-only registration ($100 / $50 student) includes access to all paper panels, the scholarship ceremony, the Passing Show, and invited speaker events.

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68th Annual Willa Cather Spring Conference (Read More)

Complex and Brilliant: Cather at 150 The 68th annual Willa Cather Spring Conference, held during Willa Cather's sesquicentennial year, provides an opportunity to pay homage to the author's life and legacy here in Nebraska. Just as Cather wrote about the "certain qualities of feeling and imagination" possessed by Nebraska's early immigrant homesteaders in her essay, "Nebraska: The End of the First Cycle," Cather's 150th birthday will will commemorated by examining the evolution of her own writerly imagination. This conference will also examine Cather's novel A Lost Lady, which celebrates its publication centenary in 2023, and other texts that Cather published in 1923, such as her revised book of poetry, April Twilights and Other Poems. The conference will begin the morning of Thursday, June 1, and conclude on the evening of Saturday, June 3. Please see the conference website for the schedule of events. Registration is required. In-person registration ($150 / $75 student) includes the full schedule, with a separate ticket needed for the Saturday evening banquet. Online-only registration ($100 / $50 student) includes access to all paper panels, the scholarship ceremony, the Passing Show, and invited speaker events.

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68th Annual Willa Cather Spring Conference (Read More)

Complex and Brilliant: Cather at 150 The 68th annual Willa Cather Spring Conference, held during Willa Cather's sesquicentennial year, provides an opportunity to pay homage to the author's life and legacy here in Nebraska. Just as Cather wrote about the "certain qualities of feeling and imagination" possessed by Nebraska's early immigrant homesteaders in her essay, "Nebraska: The End of the First Cycle," Cather's 150th birthday will will commemorated by examining the evolution of her own writerly imagination. This conference will also examine Cather's novel A Lost Lady, which celebrates its publication centenary in 2023, and other texts that Cather published in 1923, such as her revised book of poetry, April Twilights and Other Poems. The conference will begin the morning of Thursday, June 1, and conclude on the evening of Saturday, June 3. Please see the conference website for the schedule of events. Registration is required. In-person registration ($150 / $75 student) includes the full schedule, with a separate ticket needed for the Saturday evening banquet. Online-only registration ($100 / $50 student) includes access to all paper panels, the scholarship ceremony, the Passing Show, and invited speaker events.

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