Rocky Mountain Writers' Festival
WRITING FESTIVAL FOR THE INTERMOUNTAIN WEST
April 2nd–7th, 2007
Festival Recap
HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE 2007 ROCKY MOUNTAIN WRITERS' FESTIVAL
The 17th annual Rocky Mountain Writers' Festival was held the week of April 2 – April 7, 2007.
The venues included: Piccolo Gallery, The College Market, Mocha Madness, Main Street Coffee & News, The Old
Town Pocatello Building, and The Portneuf Valley Brewery.
Monday the festival introduced a brand new venue: the fabulous Piccolo Gallery.
We were honored to have award winning author
Judy Doenges fly in from Ft. Collins, Colorado, for a
one-night-only reading to kick off the festival. Judy read from her new novel The Most Beautiful Girl
in the World, which was recently published by University of Michigan Press. She was gracious enough
to visit a feminist thought class at ISU the next morning, discussing views on feminism and sharing with
eager students the inner thoughts of publishing and writing fiction.
On Tuesday an energetic audience gathered at The College Market (a key venue this year) for an evening mixed with poetry, prose, and non-fiction. Readers: Michael Corrigan, Joan Juskie, Leslie Leek, Stephen Mead, Amil Quayle, Anne Vest, and Bill Woodhouse.
On Wednesday audience members were treated to a reading featuring poets from Fort Hall. Ron Snake Edmo premiered an outstanding 15-minute movie, expanding the definition of how to read poetry. "Damme Newe Sogobia' (Our Homeland)" featured several poems set to images of Southeast Idaho. Raders: Ron Snake Edmo and Ron Braman.
Thursday was a wildly humorous evening featuring six rapid-fire readers. After some banter about dog poems, the room was rolling with laughter. Not to mention a reading of Laure-Anne Bosselaar's poem: "In Pocatello" in Pocatello! Readers: Robin Dudley, Erin Gray, Brandon Hall, Jessica Jensen, Anne Merkley, and Jeff Pearson.
On Friday writers met for the traditional Friday night reading featuring
local favorites complete with poem recitations. Readers: Margaret Aho, Ray Obermayr, Cathy Peppers, Will Peterson,
Susan Swetnam, and Harald Wyndham.
On Saturday, five poets made the trek up from Utah and read at another new venue for this year: The Old Town Pocatello Building. Readers: Sandy Anderson, Star Coulbrooke, Susan Goslee, Ely Shipley, and Jennifer Tonge.
That evening outstanding guest artist, Jonathan Johnson, read several poems and excerpts from his latest memoir (set in northern Idaho) upstairs at the Portneuf Valley Brewery.
The 2007 festival was one of a kind. Two visiting writers and six days of non-stop poetry, fiction, and non-fiction. Thank you to everyone who came out and supported the festival and the writing community in Pocatello!
Updated 04/08/07