writers

Sports historians often call the 1960 Winter Olympics held at Squaw Valley “the last great games.” In an intimate, unspoiled setting, the best winter athletes from around the globe converged on the previously unheralded ski resort for 11 days. Television cameras (and Walter Cronkite) were there and Walt Disney choreographed the opening and closing ceremonies.

More beautiful weather is on its way. If I seem a little excited about a little bit of sunshine, its because I am, especially after this very long, gray, wet winter. Today we celebrate the Arts in Nevada at the Legislature and salute the painters, potters, makers, sculptors, singers, dancers, actors, writers, poets, and musicians that capture all that is Nevada in their work.

May is a month to celebrate historic preservation and archaeology in Nevada.

Nevada agencies and organizations have worked to spread awareness of archaeological and historic preservation efforts throughout the state, encouraging both residents and visitors to explore and learn about Nevada’s significant archaeological and historical treasures.

The following are scheduled events throughout Nevada:

The Carson City Arts Initiative (CCAI) is delighted to present High School Pic[ks] 2 in the Community Development Building (the Brick) at 108 East Proctor Street in Carson City with 50 pieces of art by 41 students from four high schools, including Carson and Pioneer high schools.

“I made a decision that incarceration would not be my last destination. God is not done with me yet.” — Anonymous

I remember when I first met Alyssa, along with a dozen other students, in my class. As they were reading aloud, and under her breath, Alyssa politely corrected the girl reading in the chair next to her. She was shy, wise, and well-spoken.

Silver City, Nevada - The Silver City Post Office, established in 1860, has a display case with changing collections that highlight local history as well as current programs.

Display of Work by Visiting Artists: For those who missed a December 2016 show featuring the artwork, essays, poems, assemblages, and photographs created by visiting artists at the Resident Artist Program in Silver City, some of the pieces are on display at the Silver City Post Office through March.

The Nevada State Museum in Carson City will host a Friday film series in February celebrating New York Fashion Week. Presented by the Carson City Visitors Bureau, the three-film series begins Friday, Feb. 3 and concludes Friday, Feb. 17.

Rural Nevada is the recipient of more than $500,000 in grants from the Nevada Commission on Tourism (NCOT) to aid in the marketing efforts of local tourism organizations, announced Lt. Gov. Mark Hutchison.

David Lee's 23rd book, "Bluebonnets, Firewheels, and Brown-Eyed Susans, Or, Poems New and Used from the Bandera Rag and Bone Shop," was published recently. He's been on tour, reading and teaching at the Cliff Notes Writing Conference in Utah and at poetry festivals in Ohio, among others.

Consort Canzona, a select group of instrumentalists and singers that specializes in early music, will present two “Lessons and Carols” concerts this Holiday Season: Friday, Dec. 2, 7 p.m., at Shepherd of the Sierra Lutheran Church, 3680 Highway 395 (just south of Best Buy) in Carson City, and Saturday, Dec. 3, 5 p.m., at the Carson Valley United Methodist Church, 1375 Centerville Lane in Gardnerville. Admission to both concerts is free, donations welcome.

Reading the creative works of famous science fiction writers was only half of the class requirements for Mary Gillespie’s English class students this fall semester at Western Nevada College. The other part of the class tapped into the artistic creativity of her students.


Ahhh… the quintessential question: “what do you do?” Some people can still provide a single title answer to that response. I’m a lawyer. I’m a doctor. I’m in retail. I’m a stay at home mom. Yet, in the new economy, the question isn’t so much “what do you do” it’s about doing what it takes.

The 29th annual Nevada Writers Hall of Fame event honors Nevada’s finest authors and recognizes emerging writers for their work. This year, the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame will welcome Gailmarie Pahmeier, Reno’s first poet laureate, and Willy Vlautin, song writer and author of four highly-recognized novels. Tod Goldberg, author of the comedic crime novel “Gangsterland,” is the 2016 Silver Pen Recipient.

Western Nevada College students and staff members celebrated the opening day of Hispanic-Latino Heritage Month and the beginning of Latin American Independence Days with music and savory cuisine this week at the Carson City campus.

I read an interesting article Wednesday written by Jerry Crasnick of ESPN. In this article I found the content and its title to not really mesh.

Desert Born Art Project Opens At Dayton Library

Dayton, Nv. The Desert Born Art Project opened on Monday, August 29 at the Dayton Valley Branch Library. Pamela Nesbit and Donna Nelson of Smith Valley, Nv. are two local area artists that have collaborated to create very unique art by combining old objects found on the desert and repurposing the objects into art. Their work will be on display through the month of September and the first couple weeks of October of this year. The exhibit is free at the Dayton Valley Branch Library.

In honor of Hispanic-Latino Heritage Month, Western Nevada College is honored to present dynamic spoken word poet, Gabriela Garcia Medina on Monday, Sept. 19, beginning at 6 p.m. in the Carson Nugget Hall in the Aspen Building, this event is free to students with a WNC ID and $3 without.

In honor of Hispanic-Latino Heritage Month, Western Nevada Colleges is honored to present dynamic spoken word poet, Gabriela Garcia Medina on Monday, Sept. 19. Beginning at 6 p.m. in the Carson Nugget Hall in the Aspen Building, this event is free to students with a WNC ID and $3 without.

Join Us for An Unforgettable Night of Truckee History

​Truckee’s Haunted Historic Tour
Thursday, Oct. 13 and 14

Tickets available for this fun and rowdy tour, over 21+, featuring engaging tales performed by talented characters at six interesting historic sites. Purchase your tickets today- It’s always a sold out event!

Each year the highly anticipated performances take place in new featured haunts. Our writers skillfully weave together dramatic, downright haunting and funny stories inspired by times of yore, this Tour is complete with treats and tricks.

SILVER CITY — While he's in Nevada teaching a graduate level course on poetry at University of Nevada, Reno, acclaimed poet David Lee will also offer poetry readings on the Comstock in historic Silver City (dates to be determined).

Teachers and students at Carson High School are teaming up to accomplish some amazing community projects throughout Carson City and beyond. One of Carson High School’s own counselors, Nicki Hendee, along with CHS teacher Angila Golik and her honors government class, and a host of local businesses offering support, are collecting anything and everything to do with, of all things, diapers.

Silver City, Nevada - Narrative, story-telling visual artist Frances Melhop, voted “One of the World's 200 Best Advertising Photographers 2009/2010″ by Luerzers Archive, will bring her skills and talents to the Resident Artist Program in Silver City this summer. She'll set up a temporary studio at the Silver City School House during August 2016, photographing some of the Comstock’s longtime residents for a 2017 exhibition at the Haldan Art Gallery at Tahoe.

A celebration of life for Marilee Swirczek, a Western Nevada College English professor and founder of the nationally acclaimed “Always Lost: A Meditation on War” photo exhibition, will be held Thursday, July 28, 2016 at the WNC Art Gallery as part of the final exhibit reception.

Funeral services will be held on Saturday, July 23, 2016, 9 a.m. at St. Teresa Of Avila on Lompa Lane.

A celebration of life for Marilee Swirczek, a Western Nevada College English professor and founder of the nationally acclaimed “Always Lost: A Meditation on War” photo exhibition, will be held Thursday, July 28, 2016 at the WNC Art Gallery as part of the final exhibit reception.

Funeral services will be held on Saturday, July 23, 2016, 9 a.m. at St. Teresa Of Avila on Lompa Lane.

Marilee Swirczek, a writer, professor of English, faculty member at Western Nevada College, and a driving force behind the highly acclaimed “Always Lost: A Meditation on War” photo exhibition, died Sunday.

Swirczek was project director for the “Always Lost: A Meditation on War” exhibition that originated in her creative writing class. The exhibition received nationwide recognition, with a national tour that began in 2010 and ends this July 29, 2016. Marilee was a former Carson City Supervisor from 1987 to 1989 and wife of Ron Swirczek, a member of the Carson City School Board. She was 68.

Western Nevada College invites the public to a reception for the final display of its nationally acclaimed traveling arts and humanities exhibition, “Always Lost: A Meditation on War.” The exhibition is in the main art gallery at the WNC Carson City campus, through July 29. WNC is located at 2201 West College Parkway in Carson City.

Western Nevada College will host the final display of its acclaimed traveling arts and humanities exhibition, “Always Lost: A Meditation on War,” in the main gallery of the Carson City campus this summer.

Entries are open now for the second annual Lake Tahoe WordWave One-Act Play Competition. “WordWave, A Festival of Story at Lake Tahoe,” will return Oct. 21-23 to the Tallac Historic Site in South Lake Tahoe, Calif. Winners of the play competition receive a $500 cash prize and the chance to see their work directed and produced as a staged reading on the historic Boathouse Theatre stage.

Tourism brings millions of dollars to American Indian tribes each year. Sustaining growth and promoting cultural heritage help build successful Nevada tribal communities. Coming to Carson City this Wednesday and Thursday, the 8th Annual Nevada Tribal Tourism Conference is an opportunity for tribal leadership, artists, grant writers, vendors and museum curators to hear from presenters who can help them build local tourism and economies.

Benjamin Busch served 16 years as an infantry and reconnaissance officer in the US Marine Corps, deploying to Iraq in 2003 and 2005. His memoir Dust to Dust ranges from a boyhood of fort building and exploration in rural New York to deployment during the worst of the war in Iraq.

He is also an actor, director and photographer, who portrayed Officer Anthony Colicchio in The Wire and is the writer/director of the film BRIGHT. He has been a contributor to Harper’s, The New York Times Magazine, NPR’s All Things Considered and The Daily Beast.