Gering Civic Plaza Celebration of America’s 250th Anniversary (Read More)
The Gering Civic Plaza Sculpture Project Committee - Crystal Sandberg, Rita Stinner and Gretchen Peters, - installed a Littleton Alston sculpture of Nebraska author Willa Cather in Gering to celebrate the 250th Anniversary of American Independence and 50th Anniversary of Nebraska’s Interstate-80 sculptures. This free event helps celebrate the statue's installation. The event will feature: A reading of Nebraska Poet Jewel Rodgers’ “America 250” poem by Madelynn Battles A performance of “Beautiful Nebraska” by Jessica Schluter A short presentation about the cultural and historical significance of Willa Cather by Ashley Olson. A walk to the Gering Library, 1055 P St, for the Unveiling by Library Officers and Presentation of the Sculpture to Mayor Kent Ewing for the City of Gering A concert by the Back Porch Blue Grass Band on stage at the Plaza Bring your own picnic or Scott Free Brewery and Mixing Bowl food trucks will be on the premises for food and drink. Bring your lawn chair for a fun, patriotic, and historical evening!
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Really Big Willa Cather Book Club Event (Read More)
The Gering Civic Plaza Sculpture Project Committee - Crystal Sandberg, Rita Stinner and Gretchen Peters, - installed a Littleton Alston sculpture of Nebraska author Willa Cather in Gering to celebrate the 250th Anniversary of American Independence and 50th Anniversary of Nebraska’s Interstate-80 sculptures. This free event helps celebrate the statue's installation. Read Cather’s My Antonia and meet for interactive discussion with fellow readers. Ashley Olson will present her talk “My Antonia: The Story of an American Novel”. She will lead discussion and field questions. Scottsbluff and Gering Libraries have copies of My Antonia on hand for check out.
The Gering Civic Plaza Sculpture Project Committee - Crystal Sandberg, Rita Stinner and Gretchen Peters, - installed a Littleton Alston sculpture of Nebraska author Willa Cather in Gering to celebrate the 250th Anniversary of American Independence and 50th Anniversary of Nebraska’s Interstate-80 sculptures. This free event helps celebrate the statue's installation. The movie “O Pioneers” starring Jessica Lange and based on Cather’s book will be shown. Ashley Olson, Executive Director of the Cather Foundation in Red Cloud and Cather expert, will be on hand to discuss and answer questions about the movie and to lend depth to the project.
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Willa Cather, the Archival Chain, and the Making of a Literary Legacy (Read More)
This event is part of the 71st Annual Willa Cather Spring Conference on June 4-6, on the theme of "Memory, Myth, and Meaning: Cather in Dialogue with America 250." Click here for more information about the conference. Rebecca Romney's lecture on "Willa Cather, the Archival Chain, and the Making of a Literary Legacy" considers the effects of archival collections on the writing of literary history, with special emphasis on Cather’s posthumous legacy. Such collections are not formed accidentally. They exist through the efforts of individual people, archival agents who save material, become its long-term caretakers, and make it accessible for study. The decisions of archival agents, big and small, can cause ripple effects across the stories we tell. This event is free, but registration is strongly encouraged to reserve your spot and receive event updates by email! Click here for more information and to register. The talk will be broadcast live on YouTube and a recording will be available for two weeks after the event. Rebecca Romney is a rare book dealer and author of three books, Jane Austen’s Bookshelf, Printer’s Error: Irreverent Stories from Book History), and The Romance Novel in English: A Survey in Rare Books. As a generalist rare book dealer, Romney handles work in all fields, from first editions of Jane Austen to science fiction paperbacks to Shakespeare Folios. Since 2011, Romney has appeared on the HISTORY Channel’s television show Pawn Stars as the rare book specialist. Romney was also featured in The Booksellers, a documentary about the rare book trade in New York that premiered at the New York Film Festival. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, The Atlantic, Forbes, Variety, The Paris Review, and more. With a passion for discussing the enduring power of literature, the relevance of book collecting, and the preservation of history, Romney weaves together her experience and knowledge in captivating talks.
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“One of Ours” lecture with Charles Johanningsmeir (Read More)
Before the ticketed reading of One of Ours at on November 17 at 7:30 p.m., noted Cather scholar Dr. Charles Johanningsmeir will present a free lecture about "One of Ours" in the Joslyn Castle Music Room. Doors open at 5:45 p.m., and the lecture begins at 6 p.m. Doctor Charles Johanningsmeier is Professor of English and Isaacson Professor at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, where he teaches a wide range of courses on American literature and culture. His research primarily focuses on literary matters during the period between 1865 and 1940. He is the author of the books Reimagining Realism: A New Anthology of Late 19th- and Early 20th-Century American Short Fiction (Ohio University Press, 2022) and Fiction and the American Literary Marketplace: The Role of Newspaper Syndicates in America, 1860-1900 (Cambridge University Press, 1997). Most relevant for this presentation is that he has published a number of academic journal articles on Willa Cather and has delivered many presentations on Cather and her works at conferences and universities in the US and Europe. A long-time member of the Willa Cather Foundation Board of Governors, he regularly offers a graduate seminar on Cather at UNO, the highlight of which is an overnight trip to Cather’s hometown of Red Cloud to walk in her footsteps and thereby better understand her fictions.
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Art & Literary Festival “One of Ours” reading – Red Cloud Opera House (Read More)
Last year marked the 150th anniversary of Willa Cather's birth. The year also marked the 100th anniversary of her Pulitzer Prize for her acclaimed novel One of Ours. A dramatic reading of excerpts from One of Ours will be presented during the Art & Literary Festival presented by the Castle & Cathedral District, Metropolitan Community College, and the National Willa Cather Center. An ensemble of seven will give voice to Claude Wheeler and the array of characters he encounters on his journey from farm boy to Doughboy. After the dramatic readings, attendees are invited to stay after for a talk-back conversation with the cast and crew of One of Ours. Tickets $20 general admission, free for students with reservation. Visit the festival website for more information and to purchase tickets.
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Art & Literary Festival “One of Ours” reading – Joslyn Castle (Read More)
Last year marked the 150th anniversary of Willa Cather's birth. The year also marked the 100th anniversary of her Pulitzer Prize for her acclaimed novel One of Ours. A dramatic reading of excerpts from One of Ours will be presented during the Art & Literary Festival presented by the Castle & Cathedral District, Metropolitan Community College, and the National Willa Cather Center. An ensemble of seven will give voice to Claude Wheeler and the array of characters he encounters on his journey from farm boy to Doughboy. After the dramatic readings, attendees are invited to stay after for a talk-back conversation with the cast and crew of One of Ours. Tickets $20 general admission, free for teachers and students. Visit the festival website for more information and to purchase tickets. The reading will be presented on November 15 and 17 at the Joslyn Castle in Omaha and on November 16 at the Red Cloud Opera House. Before the presentation on November 17, will be a free scholarly lecture in the Joslyn Castle Music Room.
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Virtual Author Series: David McKay Powell (Read More)
The National Willa Cather Center is hosting an author series as a way to connect Cather to contemporary writers as well as provide an accessible and inclusive space where readers can talk directly with writers about their work. Participating authors discuss how they create their work, thematic connections within and outside of their texts, and and how our shared experiences inform the work. This virtual event is free, but registration is required. Click here for more information and to register. Throughout her fiction, Willa Cather mentioned forty-seven operas. References to opera appear in all but three of her twelve novels and in roughly half of her short stories. Despite a dearth of musical education, Cather produced astute writing about the genre beginning in her earliest criticism and continuing throughout her career. She counted opera stars among her close friends, and according to Edith Lewis, her companion throughout adulthood, the two women frequently visited the theater, even in the early days, when purchasing tickets to attend performances proved a financial sacrifice. Melding cultural history with thoughtful readings of her works and discussions of opera’s complex place in turn-of-the-century America, David McKay Powell’s Cather and Opera offers the first book-length study of what drew the writer so powerfully and repeatedly to the art form. David McKay Powell is associate professor of English at Union College in Barbourville, Kentucky, where his research focuses on the intersections of classical music and American literature.
Enjoyed by viewers across the state for its feature-based, character-driven storytelling, “Nebraska Stories” covers art, science, history, sports, performance, nature and more. New episodes air Thursdays at 8 p.m., repeating at 9 p.m. Mondays on Nebraska Public Media and at 8:30 a.m. Fridays on World, and are also viewable online at https://nebraskastories.org/. The March 30 episode tells the stories of notable Nebraskans. First, learn more about the real-life woman who inspired Willa Cather’s novel “My Antonia.” There are also stories about African American photographer John Johnson, whose early 1900s images of Black families could have been lost to the ages; General “Black Jack” Pershing’s history with the cadet training program at the University of Nebraska and Marion Crandell, who supported American and French troops and became the first American woman to die in combat in WWI.
Enjoyed by viewers across the state for its feature-based, character-driven storytelling, “Nebraska Stories” covers art, science, history, sports, performance, nature and more. New episodes air Thursdays at 8 p.m., repeating at 9 p.m. Mondays on Nebraska Public Media and at 8:30 a.m. Fridays on World, and are also viewable online at https://nebraskastories.org/. The March 30 episode tells the stories of notable Nebraskans. First, learn more about the real-life woman who inspired Willa Cather’s novel “My Antonia.” There are also stories about African American photographer John Johnson, whose early 1900s images of Black families could have been lost to the ages; General “Black Jack” Pershing’s history with the cadet training program at the University of Nebraska and Marion Crandell, who supported American and French troops and became the first American woman to die in combat in WWI.
Enjoyed by viewers across the state for its feature-based, character-driven storytelling, “Nebraska Stories” covers art, science, history, sports, performance, nature and more. New episodes air Thursdays at 8 p.m., repeating at 9 p.m. Mondays on Nebraska Public Media and at 8:30 a.m. Fridays on World, and are also viewable online at https://nebraskastories.org/. The March 30 episode tells the stories of notable Nebraskans. First, learn more about the real-life woman who inspired Willa Cather’s novel “My Antonia.” There are also stories about African American photographer John Johnson, whose early 1900s images of Black families could have been lost to the ages; General “Black Jack” Pershing’s history with the cadet training program at the University of Nebraska and Marion Crandell, who supported American and French troops and became the first American woman to die in combat in WWI.
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Willa on Wheels: Cather’s Characters Travel from Page to Stage (Read More)
Rachel Olsen, director of education and engagement at the National Willa Cather Center, will give a talk about a selection of Willa Cather’s novels and short stories featured in the play, “Henrietta Solway,” adapted by Animal Engine Theatre Company.
