Celebrated author, historian and former Telluride journalist Betsy Gaines Quammen will bring ghost stories to the monthly virtual meeting series, Bardic Trails, on Oct. 7th at 7 pm.
“I had the great good fortune to work as managing editor of the old Telluride Times-Journal back in the day,” said Talking Gourds director Art Goodtimes, “and for some of those years, Betsy worked as a reporter with me. I’m delighted she’s agreed to share some ghost stories with us as Halloween comes creeping up on us.”
Betsy received a PhD in History from Montana State University, a MS in Environmental Studies from University of Montana, and a BA in English from Colorado College. She is the author of American Zion: Cliven Bundy, God & Public Lands in the West (Torrey House Press, 2020) and True West (Torrey House Press, 2023).
Quammen collects stories to make sense of a place defined by colonization, extraction, rebellion, myth, beauty, and land. She lives in Bozeman, Montana, with her spouse, writer David Quammen.
For those that like prompts, this month’s will be (naturally) “Ghosts.” Virtual attendees are encouraged to bring a story or poem to share each month after the featured reader, their own work or someone else’s.
November Beth Franklin of Boulder who runs the Colorado Poets Center will read, and December will bring CMarie Fuhrman of Idaho (and currently heading up the poetry program at Western Colorado University in Gunnison).
The Telluride Institute’s Talking Gourds Poetry Program hosts the free Bardic Trails virtual zoom series on the first Tuesday of each month. The Wilkinson Public Library continues as our collaboration partner and fiscal agent, with town support from Commission for Community Assistance, Arts & Special Events.
No longer needing to register with the library, participants are encouraged to visit <https://www.tellurideinstitute.org/western-slope-calendar> to get the zoom link each month, if they aren’t already on our mailing list. Thanks to the Cantor Family, the Guttman Family Foundation, CCAASE and our Fischer and Cantor contest participants for supporting our program and projects.
