NOVEMBER 21, 2004 For additional information contact:
Dave Landis 466-9352

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Blue River Art Barn will present a staged reading of U. S. Poet Laureate Ted Kooser’s “Blizzard Voices” and a mixed media art show entitled, “Traveling the Healing Hub” by local artist Tom Hart. Show date is Sunday, November 21st.

Nebraska poet, Ted Kooser was recently named the 13th Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress. The notice of appointment stated, “Ted Kooser is a major poetic voice for rural and small town America and the first Poet Laureate chosen from the Great Plains. His verse reaches beyond his native region to touch on universal themes in accessible ways.” Though some have held that poetry is for the elite, Ted Kooser has spent 45 years trying to write with clarity and dispel the notion that poetry is something to fear.

“The Blizzard Voices” is based on the reminiscences of those who witnessed the great blizzard of January 12, 1888. Organized as a series of poems from the point of view of various men, women and children, “The Blizzard Voices” dramatically captures the storm and its aftermath in the words of those who experienced it first hand. A cast of local actors including Virginia Smith, Joel Story Chet Kinkaid and Dave Landis will present the work as a staged reading.

Tom Hart’s artwork has taken a new turn with this exhibit, using mixed media to link the genocide of the American Indians with his own Viet Nam experience and the social context of today. Native Americans believe you travel the circle of the Medicine Web to find balance and harmony. Believing that the physical environment of plants, animals, rock and sky is closer to the origins of life than man, they build connections with the Earth to learn that what is around you is within you. The more you experience the hub of connection with the Earth, the more you see the infinity of life as the center of your own personal being.

Date and time for the show are: Sunday, Nov. 21st, 2pm for the art show, 7pm for the staged reading.

The Art Barn is located 2 miles north of Crete, NE. Call Dave Landis at 466-9352 or point your web browser to: http://www.landisarts.com/map/brlodge1.html for a detailed map and driving instructions.