Show OVAi gidiAM1m1 t1 t 4E The Salt Lake Tribune Sunday June 10 1990 Writers at Work opens today in Park City Montana writer recalls The Last Best Place Continued From lance) Ivan Doig (This House of Sky) and Richard Hugo's poetry But then when we really began digging we couldn't see an end to it We simply had no idea how much good writing was out there "We wanted representative manuscripts a balance of writing by and about women stories by and about Indians and new good contemporary authors too After we held a meeting or two the editorial board members had all kinds of suggestions on what to use Now we had too much and obviously each one of us want someone else to pare back In the end we just had to make some hard decisions We had written the grant which made the project possible so we accepted the responsibility for leaving material out Some writers just didn't get in — that famous old cowboy writer the one who wrote Smokey Will James People told us 'you can't leave out Will James' but we put it to the board and none of us liked his writing that much It was a tossup between James and Spike Van Cleve so Van Cleve is in and James is out" There also were problems with In dian sources The editors found that much of what they wanted to use was "sacred to the tribes" and permission to use a number of stories was denied For that reason Kittredge said some tribes could not be "adequately represented" in the book When all the research and cutting had been done a preliminary 3000- page manuscript was pruned to a more (but barely) manageable size — about half as big but still too much for one book "We had talked about two volumes but we thought the contemporary titers might sell better and we wanted all of the material to get a fair shake It was a consensus This was the kind of book we wanted to do one volume at an affordable price It was huge but in the end we got some subsidy money from several places that would cover a first printing And we thought we could sell 6000 copies of the anthology which now had reached 1160 pages It was priced at $2795" It was a monster book in more ways than one No coffee table volume this The Last Best Place was E-- 1 'Star Parties' this summer Members of the Salt Lake Astronomical Society and the Hansen Planetarium continuing a tradition will host a schedule of free evening "Star Parties" this summer Interested participants are invited to bring their own observing instruments or to look through telescopes provided for the occasion Knowledgeable members of the Astronomical Society and the Planetarium staff will be available to answer questions concerning telescopes and to help novice telescope owners assemble and operate the instruments Star parties already have been conducted at Little Mountain (in Emigration Canyon) and at Harmon's Family Center the next session on the schedule is Friday at Stansbury Park Observatory Complex SPOC is reached by taking west to the Stansbury Tooele exit ( 99) and following the signs first to Stansbury Park and then to the observatory The remaining schedule dates include: June 29 — Little Mountain June 30 — Harmon's Family Center July 13 — Stansbury Observatory July 27 — Little Mountain July 28 — Harmon's Family Center Aug 10 — Stansbury Observatory Aug 24 — Little Mountain Aug 25 — Harmon's Family Center Sept 14 — Stansbury Observatory Sept 18 — Little Mountain and Sept 29 — Harmon's Family Center All Star Parties begin at dusk and are contingent on the weather Additional information may be obtained from the Planetarium 19-ye- The sixth annual Writers at Work Conference in Park City on Sunday through Saturday will include some new faculty members as well as noted writers publishers editors and literary agents who have attended in previous years "There are some wonderful writers participating" said Writers at 'Work director Jennifer Kohler "We have asked each instructor to suggest the class size of their preference — it's a new and important feature at the confer- built like a Polk's City Directory To some it looks as if it ought to come h equipped with wheels and a tow-leas- But lo the book was released Nov 20 1988 and was sold out by Dec 10 "We thought we bad enough books in that printing to last two years but it turned out to barely carry us through two weeks!" ence" bought them in Corporations First-tim- e faculty writers include: Ted Conover journalist and author of Rolling Nowhere and Coyotes: A Journey Throwjh the Secret World of America's Illegal Aliens Paul Fleischman 1989 Newbery Medal recipient for his book Jaen! Noise: Poems for Two Voice' who has written short stories historical novels and children's poetry Edward Hirsch poet and instructor at the University of Houston whose books in- elude for the Sleepwalkers Wild Gratitude (winner of the 1986 National Critics' Circle Book Award) and The Night Parade and Pamela Houston a local fiction writer whose first collection of short stories Cowboys Are My Weakness will be published next year Other new faculty members are poet Jack Myers National Endowment for the Arts fellow and win blocks and Montanans snapped them up as fast as dealers stocked them g in Bill"One time at a ings this rancher showed up with a pickup truck full of them He must have had 200 copies He was giving them for Christmas presents" Kittredge remembered And because of the way the books were packaged (individually sealed in clear plastic because of their bulk) Kittredge voiced a complaint which any author would have loved to experience: "We played hell" he said "getting those things unwrapped so we could sign them" There was to be a second printing (10000 copies) and a third (17000 copies) but with the subsidy long gone The Last Best Place now sells for $40 in hard covers and a paperback will soon be off the presses for book-signin- $2250 Continued From E-- 1 including The Paris Review Antaeus and The Southern Review His first book The Deer Pasture was well received — followed by the publications Wild to the Heart (a 1987 collection of essays that explore the beauty power and freedom of nature) Oil Notes (a 1989 account of his experiences as a petroleum geologist in Mississippi) and the critically-praised The Watch "Writing is art — the theory of art" Bass stated "All I know for sure is that art makes you feel things more strongly than you did before Art makes you looked at the art you forget your troubles — it's an escape a suspension of reality That's all you can ask from writing" In addition to his literary success Bass received the PENNelson Algren Award Special Citation in 1988 for his "magical realism" and ability to write "a tale that is larger than itself" He is the recipient of a Mississippi Arts Council grant for fiction and was nominated for the 1987 General Electric Award for Young Writers Bass' works were selected for Best American Short Stories 1988 New Stories from the South 1988 New American Short Stories 1989: The Editors' Choices and O Henry Prize Stories 1989 These achievements encouraged Bass to discuss the theory of success to Writers at Work participants: 4111 As 1011 itliAniti I P1''1rTIP i1 ilir( k hi) I ' 1 f Aoli wsovot Celebrate 45 1 1 ik I11 Ysatrsins 41500 off with Attend our free seminar "What's new for the 90's" Receive new 901s Decorating Packet ri m pi 1 gtoCkviri95:r Ivillti CALL FOR FREE 1356 EAST 3300 ESTIMATE SOLTITI MON-FR- 486-710- 10-- 6 L 1 SAT KSOP AM-F- Mi present itt e Re ' 10-- 5 SPECIAL GUESTS THE KENTUCKY HEADHUNTERS SALT PALACE ARENA d SEMI-ANNUA- 8:00 PM FRIDAY $1650 Thursday — Writers at Work Volunteer Staff in the Yarrow at 4 pm Rick Bass and Ted Conover in the Yarrow at 8 pm Friday — Writers at Work Volunteer Staff in the Yarrow at 4 pm William KittredgeArtand Jack Center Myers in the Kimball at 8 pm Saturday — Writers at Work Fellowship Winners in the Yarrow at 4 pm Edward Hirsch and Sharon Sheehe Stark in the Kimball Art Center at 8 pm For more information about conference seminars and workshops contact Writers at Work PO Box 58857 Salt Lake City Utah 84158 — Scott Rivers It JUNE Advance 1 a) SALE L r INCLUDING 1 FOR MEN & WOMEN SIZES SELECTED SPRING MERCHANDISE TALL & PETITE PLUS M lowAsidvyqt4 sH4b4:”1" Cottonwood j Mall 272-540- 4835 So Highland Dr Mon-F- 1110 Get a Free Children 1 ook a -- rl 2 Sat 10-- 9 10-- 7 Sun 12-- 5 Ok "SOraiN tg" I NIA Olt When you purchase five books from the Hook a Book reading list you'll receive a free children's book from that list Prices range from $195 to $595 Otter good June 1 to September 1 1990 at all Deseret Book locations AURIOR AGES 10 to 12 Judith Viorst The Fairy Rebel Lucky Crash Landing Way Breaks Loose Making the Team Big Base Hit to 6 H A Rey Kent Jack Stone Soup Lynd Ward Ann McGovern Crickle Crack Imogene 's Antlers B Bears & Too Much Vacation The Runaway Bunny Serendipity David Small Stan Berenstain Margaret Wise Brown The Boxcar Children Sarah's Unicorn Cookies & Crutches The Kid Next Door & Other Headaches More Stories Julian Tells Teachers Pet Soccer Talent Surprise Island Hello Mrs Piggle Wiggle Gertrude Warner Bruce Coville Judy De Iton Janice Smith Ann Cameron Johanna Hurwitz Sport Mites Gertrude Warner Betty McDonald Sam Lois Lowry Ursula ItGuin Catwings Theresa Boy in the Girls Bathroom Matilda The BFG BSC SS Summer Vacation BSIS Karen's Worst Day Charlie & the Chocolate Factory The Velveteen Rabbit IGrsten Saves the Day Samantha Saves the Day Molly Saves the Day Soccer Halfback Henry Huggins (Camelot Pigs Are Flying 5TH $17" he explained "And the air is clean — it does not have the dangerous smell of dead meat It is alive and I'm in- terested in staying alive" 0FF AGES 8 to 10 CONE WOLF TOUR eJ!w pm I All About 1 'I WASATCH PENDLETON SHOP AGES 6 to 8 a Tuesday — Lynn Thorsen in the Yarrow at 4 pm Paul Fleischman and David Kranes in the Yarrow at 8 pm Wednesday — Janet Sylvester and Pamela Houston in the Yarrow at 4 pm Ron Carlson and Carole Oles in the Yarrow at 8 MENIIME lation between the degree of success In your writing and the loss of freedom You become increasingly a slave to writing as you learn more of it" he added Bass also discussed a "slightly messier subject" — the dangers of being a writer He offered this advice to authors: "Take care of each other now and later Don't cross other writers — each has the soul of a piranha yourSave your fury self included your energy for the rest of the wretched world Please don't let envy rot your soul or your ability — always be inspired by great works Never confuse the writer's personality with the writer's work" Though he prefers the isolated solitude and privacy of his remote ranch in northern Montana Bass occasionally leaves his natural surroundings to teach a creative writing class and visit Writers at Work Hay Alexander & the TerribleDay Curious George There's No Such Thing as a Dragon The Biggest Bear IN 11r am IS & 4 pm lug attended the conference on an annual basis since 1986 Bass enjoys returning to Park City "There is none of this envy stuff" "It's not too much to shoot for to try to learn how to live and enjoy life in addition to trying to learn how to write The odds however are against you It's almost certain that you're going to have to give up some aspect some area of your life regularly in exchange for your writing "As far as theory pas I'll offer a good hard scientific equation on this account: there will be a direct corre- AGES 4 FAIRNION 31711V7 CREDIT air writer-in-residen- TITLE AL WitiOCIV ti sheers laces embroideries talet I Choice Award and is currently at Sweet Briar College: Sharon Sheehe Stark author of The Dealers' Hard and A Wrestling Season a recent Guggenheim fellow whose works have been included in Best American Short Stories and local fiction writer Janet Sylvester recipient of a Utah Arts Council Award the Grolier Poetry Prize and an Academy of American Poets Award whose first book is That Mulberry Wine Returning faculty writers are Ron Carlson author of the novels Truants and Betrayed by F Scott Fitzgerald and instructor of writing at Arizona State University playwright fiction author and Sundance Institute Playwrights' Lab director David Kranes whose most recent novel is Keno Runner Sandy Kroopf screenwriter of director Alan Parker's "Birdy" who wrote the film adaptation of Edward Abbey's The Monkey Wrench Gang and Edmond Stevens screenwriter who scripted "Blind Witness" for ABC The publishing faculty is comprised of Gerald Marzorati senior editor of Harper's and a regular contributor to The New York 'I Rick Bass returns to place he was 'discovered' nt Ptc13 Pushcart Prize and Writers' an- thology is history They each received a flat fee (some $500 plus meals and mileage to and from meetings) for the three years they devoted to the project Each living author represented in the book also was paid a nominal sum: $250 perhaps to someone with a lot of pages $50 to others But every living writer received something The job of acquiring publishers' releases Kittredge recalled was a nightmare Whatever profit the book brings will be used by the Montana Historical Society Press to republish some works of Montana long history and lore The Last Best Place now has sold some 35000 copies and is a trailblazer No other book is quite like it and it may have been a turnaround of sorts for readers — no more "come East and let us show you the Old West" Now the West speaks for itself Said Kittredge "Oregon is planning to do one and so is Wyoming And I understand that Utah under the auspices of the Utah Endowment for the Humanities is already under way on a similar project" The author of numerous short stories and articles in national magazines and journals Kittredge's books include The Van Gogh Field (1979) which won the St Lawrence Fiction Prize We Are Not In This Together (1984) and Owning It A11(1986) He currently is working on an autobiographical "polemic" Hole In The Sky to be published by Simon and Schuster ""' series which is free to the public is as follows: Sunday — Franklin Fisher and G Barnes in the Yarrow at 4 pm Larry Levis and Phyllis Barber in the Yarrow at 8 pm Monday — Debra Monroe and Scott Cairns in the Yarrow at 4 and Darpm Francoisin Camoin the Yarrow at 8 rell Spencer Times Magazine Michael Moore an editor with Chelsea Green Publishing Company Esquire and Rolling Stone Bonnie Nadell a literary agent and of Frederick Hill Associates Irene Skolnick a literary agent with Curtis Brown Ltd in New York and former managing editor of The Hudson Review Carol and Houck Smith editor at WW Norton Gibbs M Smith Peregrine Smith Books founder and president and author of the Joe Hill biography James Thomas Quarterly West founding director editor of the annual Best of the West anthology and author of the short story collection Pictures Moving and Bruce Weber a former Esquire editor who is currently an editor at The New York Times Magazine Session one of Writers at Work will include workshops on creative nonfiction short story and novel writing poetry and screenplay writing — sponsored by the University of Utah's Division of Continuing Education — running Sunday through Wednesday session two on Wednesday through Sunday will include seminars writing and publishing discussions and manuscript consultations Lodging is available at the Yarrow where this year's conference will be held The Writers at Work reading who teaches creative writing at Southern Methodist University Carole Oles poetry author who has received an NEA grant a Srith and the But for Kittredge rest of the editorial board the 1111111Y-t-'141- ner of the National Poetry Series ed) Louis Sachar Roald Dahl Roald Dahl Ann Martin Ann Martin Roald Dahl Marjory Williams American Girls American Girls American Girls Matt Christopher Beverly Cleary Emily Rodda t Mandy The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles The Little House on the Prairie A Girl of the limberiost All of a Kind Family Calico Captive This Island Isn't Big Enough for the Four of Us Thirteen Ways to Sink a Sub Julie Edwards Laura Gene I Wilder Stratton-Port- er Sydney Taylor Elizabeth Speare Gety Greer Jamie Gilson AGES 12 to 15 Flame Colored Taffeta Racing the Sun The Seventeenth Swap Hatchet Here at the Scenic ‘ki Motel Izzy Willy Nilly No Way Out The Other Side of Dark The Do It Yourself Genius Kit Gom on Windy Mountain The Crystal Stair The Riddle & the Rune Starstone Johnny 'Remain Jane of Lantern Sunfire Hill 13 Victoria Escape from Warsaw Rosemary Sutcliffe Paul Pitts Eloise McGraw Gary Paulsen Thelma Wyss Cynthia Voigt Ivy Ruckman Joan Nixon Gyles Brandreth Grace Chetwin Grace Chetwin Grace Chetwin Grace Chetwin Esther Forbes L M Montgomery Who D Roberts Ian Serra flier AGES 15 to 11 After the Dancing Days After the Rain Probably Still Nick Swanson The Romantic Obsessions & Humiliations of Annie Sehlmeier Ruby in the Smoke To Kill a Mockingbird A Lantern in Her Hand DAY OF Lynne Banks Dean Hughes Dean Hughes Dean Hughes Dean Hughes Julie Edwards Beauty Margaret Rostkowski Norma Mazer Virginia Wolff Louise Plummer Phillip Pullman Harper Lee Bess Aldrich Robin McKinley RESERVED antillIMI PRODUCED BY SEATS ON SALE AT: SMIM'S TIX OUTLETS SALT PALACE KSOP ALL Deseret Book® UNITIONCERTS k THIS FRIDAY vAlOad |