Institute for Inquiry | Literature Alive

Literature Alive! was conceived by Joanna Robinson and Casey Walker as a reading series to bring fine local writers and readers together in Nevada City; and, to feature writers from all over Northern California and the West. Out of a passion for literature and for its value in a free-thinking and bioregionally-minded community, a constant stream of readings & events were held twice-monthly in church halls, art galleries, bookstores, and at the much-loved Nevada Theater and Miner's Foundry. Many writers and poets were intentionally interviewed & published in Wild Duck Review in advance of performances. The result was a "literary explosion."

LOCAL WRITERS & POETS: Gary Snyder, Utah Phillips, George Sessions, Leila Ward, Florence Armour, Dolores Freeman, David Haight, Doc Dachtler, Louis B. Jones, Emma Cornell, Nadine Vaughan-Kroeker, Judy Crowe, Jeff Kane, Ted Kendall, Joan Stockbridge, Mary Greer, Jeremiah Raven, Monte Schulz, Maureen Rumsey, Sandra Rockman, Barbara Larsen, Bill Larsen, Katie Goode, Sands Hall, Bill Maas, Susan Solinsky, Brian Jones, Carolyn Crane, Art Tishman, Michael Killigrew, Karla Arens, Jordan Fisher-Smith, John Barbato, Chris Vona, Iven Lourie, Donna Hanelin, Donna Saunders, Beata Moore, Andy Maconachie, Paul Jaffe, Will Staple, Steve Sanfield, Hank Meals, Susan Lamela, Charles Entrekin, Gail Entrekin, Moses Jones, Christian Kiefer, Chris Olander, Julie Lipson, Serge Aronow, Janaia Donaldson, Reinette Senum, Gregg Shiffner, & Scott McLean.

VISITING WRITERS & POETS: Jim Dodge, Jerry Martien, Jane Hirshfield, Terry Tempest Williams, William Kittredge, Annick Smith, Philip Levine, Joanna Macy, Anita Barrows, Will Baker, Sandra McPherson, Walter Pavlich, George Keithley, Linda Raymond, Francisco Alarcon, Elizabeth Herron, Gerald Haslam, Sean Swift, Jane Vandenburgh, Brenda Hillman, Molly Fisk, & Dan Bellm.

ANNUAL EVENTS: In addition to monthly readings, Literature Alive! and Wild Duck Review partnered with the South Yuba River Citizens League to produce LISTENING TO THE WILD, an enthusiastically received evening featuring readers of all ages on Earth Day weekend. Literature Alive! also initiated WORDSLINGERS, a weekend-long event partnered with independent Book Town booksellers, the Foothill Theater Company, and professionals in the book arts. Over the weekend, locals and visitors enjoyed a literary alphabet parade with giant puppets; well-known performers of Mark Twain, Jack London, Lola Montez, John Muir, & Mary Hallock Foote; readings and storytelling by Utah Phillips, Peter Collier, Joe McHugh, Jim Paul, Jim Houston, Al Young, Jeanne Wakatsuki, Susan Wooldridge, Mary Collier, Jeremy Fay, Pinky Zalkin, Steve Sanfield, George Keithley, Elizabeth Herron, Sands Hall, & Jerry Martien; a performance of Turgenev’s A Month in the Country; multiple workshops for those interested in the book arts of printing, binding, and illumination; a book fair; and, tours of a local print foundry.

In 1996, Joanna Robinson and Casey Walker formalized Literature Alive! as a nonprofit organization, then moved on to focus on writing, editing, and publishing. Our special thanks to all of the individuals who made so many events and gatherings possible, and successful. And, thanks to the folks at KVMR community-supported radio for broadcasting many a poet and writer by interview in constant outreach to the community. Finally, thanks to Grass Valley’s The Union newspaper with its supportive arts editors and Gary Clelan who managed the printing of Wild Duck Review with care.

Both "Listening to the Wild" and "Wordslingers" continue to this day in Nevada City, CA. More information is available at litalive.org and syrcl.org.

Many readings were funded in part by Poets & Writers, Inc. through grants from the
Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Fund and the James Irvine Foundation.

Public Events with Wild Duck Review
An Evening with Galway Kinnell & Casey Walker presented by the Wallace Stegner Environmental Center, San Francisco Public Library.
Press conferences & briefings: The Sierra Club, Population, & Carrying Capacity press conference, SF; Biotechology briefing to environmental leaders in Sacramento; Rapporteur for Living with the Genie conference at Columbia University, NYC.
Talks by Casey Walker: Women in Environmental Leadership Luncheon; American Association of University Women; Yuba River College Keynote; Happy Valley School Commencement.
Radio interviews: Deep Ecology for the 21st Century, New Dimensions; Population and Immigration, NPR; Made Not Born: The Troubling World of Biotechnology, NPR syndicates, Pacifica/KPFA, & NYC Live.

UTAH PHILLIPS
MASTER OF CEREMONIES

"Literature Alive! and Wild Duck Review are bringing the spoken and written word to an audience unserved by anyone else, and they are doing it with intelligence and inspiration. Every American community needs to be so enriched. I've never read to a more spirited and appreciative audience."
~ PHILIP LEVINE
Pulitzer Prize-winning Poet

WILD DUCK IN PARADE

"Much of the task before the Deep Ecology movement is to educate the public toward an ecocentric point of view. Wild Duck Review & Literature Alive! are in the process of doing that work and I give both my unqualified support."
~ GEORGE SESSIONS
Deep Ecology for the 21st Century

BROAD STREET
NEVADA CITY, CA

One of those rare endeavors of both heart and mind, Literature Alive! & Wild Duck Review are building a community of readers, writers, and artists who care about the quality of life throughout this region and in the life of each individual."
~ GEORGE KEITHLEY
Poet, The Donner Party

UTAH & MARK TWAIN

Photography by Hank Meals