Subtexts Students in the MFA creative writing program at the Institute of American Indian Arts read from their works; winners of the Willa Literary Awards are honored
Native and Western voices
Sample some student writing from the Institute of American Indian Arts MFA in creative writing program at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 13, when Barbara Robidoux (Eastern Tsalagi/Cherokee) and Collestipher Dodge Chatto (Diné) read from their work at the Library and Technology Center at IAIA (83 Avan Nu Po Road). Robidoux, who is earning her degree in fiction, has written two books of poetry and her work has appeared in several literary journals, including the Santa Fe Literary Review, American Tanka, and Yellow Medicine Review. Chatto earned his bachelor of fine arts in creative writing from IAIA and is now studying poetry in the MFA program. He is writing and illustrating a children’s book, MilqueToast, a story in poetic verse. Call 505-424-2397.
Outstanding books about women and girls that are set in the American West are honored each year by Women Writing the West with the Willa Literary Awards, named in honor of Willa Cather. Winners for 2015 are Point of Direction by Rachel Weaver (Ig Publishing), in the contemporary fiction category; A Quilt for Christmas by Sandra Dallas (St. Martin’s Press), for historical fiction; A Light in the Wilderness by Jane Kirkpatrick (Revel/Baker), for original softcover fiction; and Diary of a Citizen Scientist by Sharman Apt Russell (Oregon State University Press), for creative nonfiction. The winner for scholarly nonfiction is Quite Contrary: The Litigious Life of Mary Bennett Love, by David J. Langum Sr. (Texas Tech University Press), and the winner in the poetry category is The Secret Life of Us Kids, by Bonnie B. Maldonado (Far Country Press). In the children’s/young adult fiction and nonfiction category, the winner is Searching for Silver Heels, by Jeannie Mobley (Simon & Schuster). Winners, who were selected by librarians, historians, and university-affiliated educators, are honored at the association’s 21st Annual Conference in Redmond, Oregon, from Friday, Oct. 9, to Sunday, Oct. 11. — Jennifer Levin