Authors to celebrate publication, Sandoz's birthday

The book is “Crazy Woman Creek: Women Rewrite the American West.” It is the third installment in a series of anthologies by women, in which they tell stories of their joys and tribulations, in the same spirit of many women who settled in the West during the 19th century.

The compilation was edited by Linda Hasselstrom of Hermosa, S.D., Gaydell Collier of Sundance, Wyo., and Nancy Curtis of Glendo, Wyo. It includes the stories of 153 women selected from hundreds of entries. The writers represent 22 states, most of them west of the Mississippi River. Twenty-seven of the book’s contributors are from Wyoming and 23 are from Nebraska.

The editors and about 50 of the book’s contributors plan to be in attendance. Similar events have been scheduled at other locations, but Hasselstrom says Chadron is an excellent location for the publication party.

“For many -- especially for those from Nebraska, South Dakota and eastern Wyoming – this is the best location, with the added attraction of the possibility that these women are, or should be, fans of Mari Sandoz,” Hasselstrom said.

The event will be open to the public Saturday. Sandoz’s birthday, which was May 11, 1896, will be celebrated Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon. Sandoz, who died March 10, 1966, would have been 108 years old this year. That session will be in the facility named for the author – the Mari Sandoz High Plains Heritage Center.

Readings from contributors and the book sale will be 2-5 p.m. Saturday in the CSC Student Center.

Contributors from the other two books in the series, “Leaning Into the Wind” and “Woven on the Wind,” also plan to take part in the celebration.

More information about the event may be obtained by contacting Sarah Polak, director of the Sandoz Center, at (308) 432-6401 or spolak@csc.edu.