Author Jane Smiley to keynote Cather conference
Description
A crowd gathered to photograph the bronze statue of author Willa Cather after a dedication ceremony in the U.S. Capitol Statuary Hall on Wednesday June 7, 2023. The Cather statue is Nebraska's second added to the National Statuary Hall Collection. (Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)
LINCOLN — Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jane Smiley will be the keynote speaker at the annual Willa Cather Spring Conference Friday and Saturday in Red Cloud.
Smiley, author of several novels including “A Thousand Acres,” which is set on an Iowa farm, will speak at 7:30 p.m. Friday, followed by a book signing. Her free address is entitled “Willa Cather, My Ántonia and the Life of a Writer.” The theme of the 70th annual conference is “Cather’s House: Examining Built & Natural Environments in Her Work.”
The event is also the culmination of the National Endowment for the Arts Big Read of “My Ántonia,” a grant-funded NEA program in partnership with Arts Midwest.
The conference began at 1:15 p.m. Thursday with a talk by Professor Ann Lundberg, “Cather at Mesa Verde.”
Other activities include a stargazing walk on the Willa Cather Memorial Prairie and an artist talk and reception with Steve Tamayo.
The event also includes an annual Saturday morning service at Grace Episcopal Church and “The Passing Show: What Makes a House a Home” panel discussion with scholars Claire Schmidt, John Swift, and Tamayo.
The conference concludes with an 8 p.m. Saturday performance by The Killbanes at the Red Cloud Opera House. The indie-folk music and storytelling duo will share excerpts from their forthcoming stage musical adaptation of “My Ántonia.”
More details about the gathering can be found on the website — WillaCather.org.
Lincoln, NE