34th Annual Neihardt Conference to Focus on Letters

BANCROFT, Neb. (March 31, 2015)—The 34th annual Neihardt Spring Conference will be held April April 25, 2015, at the Neihardt State Historic Site in Bancroft, Neb. This year’s conference, “Correspondence on the Great Plains: Historic Letters from the 19th and 20th Century,” will focus on the role of letters in the lives of individuals with vastly different experiences living in the Great Plains region in the 19th and 20th century and will illuminate the role of letter writing in American history and in our personal lives. We will explore the correspondence of John Neihardt and Willa Cather and the collections of lesser known individuals whose letters bear witness to the struggles of frontier settlement or of displacement, as in the letters written by Dakota men imprisoned in Iowa after the Dakota Wars of 1862. Letters are often deeply personal, private exchanges that reflect the complex cultural norms of the time period and the life happenings, both tragic and celebratory, of the subjects who author them. Feature presenters include Dr. Pam Gossin, Co-Creator of Across the Spectrum: The Interdisciplinary Life and Letters of John G. Neihardt; Dr. Clifford Canku, author of The Dakota Prisoner of War Letters; Dr. Andrew Jewell, author of The Selected Letters of Willa Cather; Steve Kinsella, author of 900 Miles from Nowhere: Voices from the Homestead Frontier; and Cheryl Dyer, professional calligrapher from Omaha. We will also open an exhibit of postcard-inspired artwork by nationally recognized Impact Nebraska Artists. This “Postcards from the Plains” exhibit ranges from the traditional to the unusual in style and content, and these miniature gems—all works no larger than postcards—provide a big impact in a small space and create a perfect pairing with this year’s conference. Artwork will be available for sale. Come celebrate the art and act of letter writing! Registration can be made by mail, phone, or e-mail. Cost is $25 per person and $18 for students. Lunch reservations at $10 must be made by April 18th. The conference day begins at 8:30 a.m.; presentations start at 9:15 a.m. and end at 4:00 p.m. Funding has been provided by the Neihardt Foundation, Humanities Nebraska and the Nebraska Cultural Endowment, Cuming County Visitors Bureau, and Wayne State College School of Arts and Humanities. To register, call 402-648-3388 or toll free 1-888-777-4667; by mail: PO Box 344, Bancroft, NE 68004; by e-mail at Neihardt@gpcom.net ; or through the website at www.neihardtcenter.org . “Like” us on Facebook for more information about the presenters. The Neihardt State Historic Site is located at 306 West Elm Street, Bancroft, Nebraska and is a branch museum of the Nebraska State Historical Society.