TALKING GOURDS, April 23–27, 2008, Sheridan Opera House
Pull those dusty manuscripts out of the closet. Start practicing lyrics in front of the mirror. The Telluride Writers Guild and the Ah Haa School for the Arts in association with the  Wilkinson Library invite you to Colorado’s oldest poetry festival, held on the Western Slope since 1989, with its emphasis on performance and the bardic tradition – Talking Gourds, April 23-27, in Telluride. Celebrate National Poetry Month with singer/songwriter/poet Vanessa Boyd, fresh from New York City and Burning Man, as well as teacher/poet/ uthor of the internationally celebrated “Wage Peace,” Judyth Hill of Rockmirth, New Mexico.

Join regional wordslingers of multiple genres performing in the shadow of the Rockies at slams, on stage, over sidewalk mochas on main street. Featured poets and performers include Mark Todd’s WordHorde student poets of Western State College in Gunnison; the Verse-Converse All-Stars from Taos, Peter Anderson of Pilgrimage magazine in Crestone; North Beach legend Jack Mueller; Denver’s Roc ‘em Soc ‘em (made up of the amazing Day Acoli of the Mercury’s Café Nuba, slam ace Bianca Mikahn, and the incredible Oracle Speaks); Jude Janett of the much-mourned SPARROWS in Salida; zoEy bEnally, Tish Ramirez and JR Bluehouse from the Navajo Nation; writer/teachers Sue Ellen Campbell and John Calderazzo both of CSU/Fort Collins; Wendy Videlock , Luis Lopez and John Nizalowski of Grand Junction, Deb Brody of Santa Fe; Danny Rosen of Fruita, Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer of Placerville; Joe Lothamer and George Sibley of Gunnison; Haz Said of Durango; Gary Brower of Placitas; the Free Radical Railroad (Mike Adams of Lafayette; James Taylor III of Walsenburg, and Phil Woods of Denver); Julie Cummings and Kit Muldoon of Denver; Lindamarie Luna of Paonia; Harold Carr of Salt Lake City; Gary Chorré of Albuquerque; Hopi Logghe of Puebla; Elle Metrick and Sienna Huebner of Norwood; Dino Delano of Denver & more.

Plus, the Wilkinson Library will co-host a Telluride Slam on Wednesday night at 6 p.m., offering $500 in prize monies. Thursday noon there’s a memorial hike to Bear Creek honoring the late Way of the Mountain guru Dolores LaChapelle, whose ecological writings inspired Gourds. Thursday night the Wilkinson Library will show last year’s Tellus Award film, Committing Poetry in a Time of War with featured poet/activists from Albuquerque, Bill Nevins and Priscilla Candelaria y Baca, as well as this year’s Tellus Award winning film (to be announced).

Gourds will also be hosting the eleventh Mark Fischer Poetry Prize with hundreds of dollars in prizes and a first annual Pandora Award honoring a Colorado poetry publisher. Friday and Saturday feature lectures, performances, open mikes and workshops. The festival ends Sunday noon with a brunch and Talking Gourd circle in Placerville … For more info about Gourds or a detailed schedule contact Art Goodtimes at gourds@paleohippie.com.

Individual event tickets can be purchased at the door, or discounted full event tickets are available in advance through the Ah Haa School (ask for Paul), 970-728-3886 (credit card friendly). Full festival price for the five day event is $120. Some scholarships are available. For lodging or scholarship info, contact Elle Metrick at 970-327-4067.

Talking Gourds is produced by the Telluride Writers Guild and the Ah Haa School for the Arts together with the Wilkinson Library and made possible through the generosity of the Telluride Commission for Arts & Special Events;, the Telluride Watch newspapers, ResortQuest lodging, Marketing Telluride, Inc., the Sheridan Foundation, Stan & Toni Abrams, Elaine, Fred & Elise Fischer, Eric & Rosemerry Trommer.

For more info on other Writers Guild programs, call Director Amy Cannon at 970-728-6467.

*Walking Words
October 12 & 13, 2007

*Talking Gourds Spoken Word Festival
April 20 - 22, 2007

Write Here: Telluride’s Literary Mirror
May 8, 2007

Writing from the Imaginative Storm with James Navé
May 22, 2007

*10th Annual Mark Fischer Poetry Prize
2007 Fischer Prize competition closed.

Creating Something Out of Nothing: Storytelling Foundation Workshop
February 19, 2007

Non-Fiction Writing Workshop: Writing Like a Flood
January 30, 2007

Slide Show: Crossing a Sea of Dunes: Journeys in Mexico's Gran Desierto
January 29, 2007

Contest: Want to Get Paid to Write About Your Backyard?
January 2007

Poetry Out Loud*
October 2 - 16, 2006

Walking Words*
October 13 - 14, 2006

The Writing Salon
August 18 & 19, 2006
An appreciative inquirty into the creative writing process.

Story Telling Workshop with Joanne Greenberg
July 13, 2006

An Evening of Storytelling with Joanne Greenberg
July 12, 2006

Sould Finding, An Evening with Craig Childs
July 2, 2006

Nature Writing Workshop with Craig Childs
June 30 - July 2, 2006

Write Here, Telluride's Literary Mirror
May 30, 2006

Talking Gourds Spoken Word Festival*
April 21 - 23, 2006

*Annual Event