In the winter, in the dark hours, when others were asleep...

Hello Friends of Fishtrap,

The new year brings a full docket for Fishtrap. So let’s jump right in. But first, a note: Fishtrap now has a blog at http://fishtrapnews.blogspot.com, and a Facebook page. You can also access either from Fishtrap’s website. OK, on with it:

THE BIG READ

The Big Read, on the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, starts Monday, January 11, with 7 pm screenings of the film Capote in three Wallowa County venues: Mutiny Brewing in Joseph, Fishtrap’s Coffin House in Enterprise, and the Public Library in Wallowa. Admission by donation. Why Capote? Because Harper Lee grew up with Truman Capote, and they influenced each other’s work.

About the film: Capote (2005, R). 114 min. Truman Capote, played by Oscar nominated Phillip Seymore Hoffman, researches his book In Cold Blood. Nelle Harper Lee, a childhood friend of Capote’s, plays a major role in the film, accompanying him to the small Kansas town where a multiple homicide occurred.

Watching the film should warm people up for the Kick-Off event on the following evening. On Tuesday, January 12, 7 pm at the Odd Fellows Hall in Enterprise, we will feature Charles Shields, author of Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee. Shields will discuss Lee as described in his book, a New York Times bestseller. There will also be a free book raffle and refreshments. Admission by donation.

I’ll keep you all posted on a weekly basis about upcoming Big Read events. In the meantime ...

For the full calendar of Big Read events, go to www.fishtrap.org/tbr_calendar.shtml.
For an annotated list of recommended books, go to www.fishtrap.org/booklist.shtml
For an annotated list of recommended films, go to www.fishtrap.org/tbrfilms.shtml

Some other resources you may wish to consider:

Professor Quintard Taylor of the University of Washington recommends www.blackpast.org, “dedicated to providing information to the general public on African American history in the United States” and more.

And Portland lawyer Steven Goldberg, who will be speaking in Enterprise on February 10, suggests people read two New Yorker articles, one entitled “The Courthouse Ring: Atticus Finch and the limits of Southern liberalism,” and the other “State Secrets: A government misstep in a wiretapping case.” See them at

www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/08/10/090810fa_fact_gladwell
and www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/04/28/080428fa_fact_keefe

Finally, we’re seeking good Southern cuisine recipes for our Big Read potluck and finale event on February 28. Got a good one? Share it with us!

FELLOWSHIP SUBMISSION DEADLINE APPROACHING

We are accepting Fellowship submissions until February 1, 2010. The application process is free, and the judging is a blind and impartial process. Up to five winners will get a free ride to Summer Fishtrap. Go to www.fishtrap.org/fellows.shtml for full submission guidelines.

SUMMER FISHTRAP 2009 ANTHOLOGIES AVAILABLE

These lovely little books, which we’ve been producing since 1991, contain pieces by participants and faculty from last year’s Summer Fishtrap. $8 each plus shipping. People whose work appears in the anthology get up to two copies for $5 each including shipping. Go to www.fishtrap.org/store.shtml to order. Thanks, Janis, for the nice publishing job!

CELEBRATE WILLLIAM STAFFORD

“In winter, in the dark hours, when others / were asleep, I found these words and put them / together by their appetites and respect for / each other. In stillness, they jostled. They traded / meanings while pretending to have only one ...” – William Stafford

Fishtrap, like many other groups around the state, will be celebrating William Stafford in January. Our event will be on Sunday, January 17, at 3 pm here at the Fishtrap House. We will feature poets Pam Steele and Shaindel Beers. And y’all are welcome to come and pick out a Stafford poem to read as well. For a list of Stafford events throughout the state, go to www.williamstafford.org.

CATCH A TASTE OF WINTER FISHTRAP

Although Winter Fishtrap at Wallowa Lake Lodge, with Ursula Le Guin, Tony Vogt, and Molly Gloss, is sold out, we still have about 15 Saturday Night Only tickets available for a mere $10 apiece. The price includes your choice of a dessert or beverage, as well as admission to an evening program of comments and discussion led by the presenters, followed by live music with Janis Carper, Carolyn Lochert, and Simon Tucker across the street at Glacier Grill.

You must pay in advance to hold your reservation. Please go to the Fishtrap website, www.fishtrap.org, and choose "Make a Payment" (at the bottom left of the home page) to pay online. Or call us at 541-426-3623, or send a check to PO Box 38, Enterprise, OR 97828.

The ticket price does not include dinner at the Lodge, but you can make reservations for dinner beforehand at Glacier Grill. Smoked prime rib will be the special, with other entrees available. Reservations are required. Call 541-432-9292.

FISHTRAP FRIENDS

Congrats to Ruth Wineteer who, according to an anonymous source, won $100 in a recent writing contest. Ruth, you didn’t know you were being watched, did you?

The application period is now open, until March 1, for the 2011 and 2012 Margery Davis Boyden Wilderness Writing Residencies at Dutch Henry Homestead in the Rogue River Canyon. If you would like to spend six to seven months in backcountry solitude with bears and old growth trees for neighbors, with the support of a $5,000 stipend, go to these links: For a full residency description and application instructions: www.johndaniel-author.net/oddsandends.php#residency. For a brief residency description with photos: http://writersconf.org/memdir/members/PNW00019.php.

Poet Ed Skoog, who taught a workshop at Summer Fishtrap in 2009, will be reading from his new book of poems, Mister Skylight, at the University of Idaho on Wednesday, February 17, 7 pm.

The 8th annual Tcha Tee Man Wi Storytelling Festival will be held in Corvallis on February 18-21. Go to www.tchateemanwistorytelling.com for more info. Jana Z hinted something about “late night Bawdy Tales.” And it’s free.

That's it -- plenty! -- for now. Get out there and write something.

Rick Bombaci, Executive Director, Fishtrap