February 2008
Montana Western Professor Edits "Norman Mclean Reader"
Friday, February 29 2008
“The Norman Maclean Reader”, edited by University of Montana Western English professor O. Alan Weltzien, will be published by the University of Chicago Press in November.
Weltzien worked closely with press editor Alan Thomas along with John N. Maclean and Jean Maclean Snyder on the project.
“The Norman Maclean Reader” contains essays, an interview and a selection of letters to individuals important to McLean’s work.
“The Norman Maclean Reader” also contains six pieces of Maclean’s never before published including five chapters of his uncompleted novel about Custer and the Battle of the Little Big Horn.
Mclean’s “A River Runs Through It and Other Stories” has become a classic in American Literature. His “Young Men and Fire” (published posthumously in 1992), won a National Book Critics Circle Award in 1992.
“The Norman Maclean Reader” represents the third and final book by one of Montana's best-known writers.
Norman Maclean died on August 2, 1990 in Chicago, at the age of 87 of natural causes.
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Public Meetings About Main Hall Renovation
Friday, February 29 2008
On Tuesday, Mar. 4th, the University of Montana Western will hold two open meetings regarding planning for the renovation of Main Hall.
The meetings will be at 1 and 3:30 p.m. in the Small Auditorium of Main Hall.
A Power Point presentation on "Old Main" by architect Richard Shanahan and historical expert Ken Seifert, will be followed by open discussion to ask questions and offer suggestions to aid the planning process.
Everyone is welcome to attend one of these sessions. Please call Cathi Love at 683-7031 for information.
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Grammy Nominated Group Performs at Montana Western
Thursday, February 21 2008
The Grammy nominated Pine Leaf Boys performed on the Montana Western campus.
The Pine Leaf Boys offer a young, fresh, energetic take on traditional Cajun and Creole dance music and songs. They have been hailed as the link between the old and the new, the finest young Cajun band playing today.
The concert was part of the Southwest Montana Arts Council Showcase Series and is co-sponsored by the Associated Students of the University of Montana Western, Douglas D. Cregar O.D., Sandra McIntyre & Eric Hammer and Bramlette & Co. Realtors.
The Pine Leaf Boys were voted Best Cajun Band of 2006 in the Big Easy Awards; have been featured in articles in the New York Times, Rolling Stone Magazine and USA Today.
The group was featured on National Public Radio’s Weekend America and was recently hailed as the standout performers at the 2007 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.
The Pine Leaf Boys have released two critically acclaimed CDs, Blues de Musicien and La Musique, the latter of which has been nominated for a Grammy Award in the newly established Best Zydeco or Cajun Music Album Category.
The variety and energy they release evolves through their shows, bringing multi-faceted angles to Cajun, Creole, and Zydeco. They present their music in multiple configurations such a twin fiddle, duo accordion/fiddle, bass, drum, and foot-stomping jurés.
Their antics, onstage and off, are more reminiscent of a group of fratboys than a band of serious musicians. However, when it comes time to play, there's no mistaking: this is the real deal.
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Madagascar Topic of Free Speaker Presentation on Thursday, Feb. 26
Thursday, February 21 2008
Although many people are familiar with the environmental loss of Madagascar’s forest, very few realize the loss of cultural identity faced by the Malagasy people as their forests disappear.
Linda Lyon and Dinesh Badouraly will take a journey through the southeastern portion of the island and look at the intricate and delicate link between cultural memory and biodiversity.
The presentation will be held Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2008 in the Swysgood Technology Center in Room 005 from 7-8:30 p.m.
Lyon is an associate professor of environmental sciences at Montana Western. She received her masters and Ph.D from Washington State University. Lyon completed the Peace Corps Masters Internationalist Program as part of her masters program.
Badouraly, a native of Madagascar, is a systems administrator at Barrett Memorial Hospital.
For more information, please call the Montana Western School of Outreach at 683-7537.
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Award Winning Montana Author Featured at "Dances With Words"
Friday, February 15 2008
Award winning Montana author Judy Blunt was the featured writer at Montana Western's acclaimed “Dances with Words” series.
Blunt read Thursday, Feb. 21, 2008 in “The Cup,” the university's coffee shop located on the lower level of the Swysgood Technology Center.
Blunt spent more than thirty years on wheat and cattle ranches in northeastern Montana, before leaving in 1986 to attend the University of Montana where she received her Master of Fine Arts.
She is the recipient of a Jacob K. Javits Graduate Fellowship and a Montana Arts Council Individual Artist Fellowship. Her poems and essays have appeared in numerous journals and anthologies.
Her first novel “Breaking Clean” was called "powerful" by The New York Times Book Review and "profound, and profoundly moving," by Kirkus Reviews. It was featured on NBC's "Today" show and National Public Radio. The book earned a 1997 PEN/Jerard Fund Award a 2001 Whiting Writers' Award.
“Breaking Clean” was written in 10 years of stolen moments between mothering, studying and working, "Breaking Clean" is a series of 13 linked essays that explore the rewards and challenges of her former life.
With vivid detail and unflinching language, "Breaking Clean" chronicles the first 30 years of Blunt's life on isolated ranches near Malta, and her subsequent move across the Continental Divide to Missoula
Montana Western's English department sponsors “Dances With Words” which features visiting writers and poets. The university and local patrons fund the series.
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Montana Western Student Senate Sponsors Country Concert
Tuesday, February 5 2008
Charley Jenkins, a rising star in the world of country music, showed why he is a 'rising star' when he performed in concert at the University of Montana Western, Friday, Feb. 15.
The concert was sponsored by the Montana Western Student Senate.
Jenkins was raised on a ranch in Eastern Utah where he learned how to rope, ride and work hard. He made his public singing debut when he was only five, and the rest they say is history.
He recorded his first album, “Greatest Hours” while attending BYU-Idaho. After college, he moved to Nashville, Tenn. and quickly got a job on Nashville’s Music Row.
While in Nashville, Jenkins sat back and watched and learned. He realized he had a lot to learn and do before he was ready for a music career. Jenkins knew he needed to get better at writing, singing and playing. He used his farm-boy mentality and went to work.
He played and sang at writer's shows and bars on the famous Broadway Street in downtown Nashville including an appearance at the Wild Horse Salon with Tim McGraw's band.
His latest album is titled “Round Here”. The title "'Round Here" is so fitting. Charley is proud of where he is from and the people who have influenced his life.
To learn more about Charley Jenkins, go to his web site: http://charleyjenkins.com/index.php
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