Showing posts with label American Wildlife Art. Show all posts
Showing posts with label American Wildlife Art. Show all posts

Thursday, December 10, 2009

More on David J. Wagner's American Wildlife Art, now Rescheduled for Monday, December 14th, 7 PM

On Tuesday we were supposed to host David J. Wagner to talk about his edited collection American Wildlife Art, which looks at the history of wildlife art, focusing quite a bit on Audubon. I think it would be a very interesting talk for a very beautiful book (which, yes, we have been selling), but ugh, that weather.

The lakefront actually got rain and mush, compared to points north and west of us. But still, it's often just fear that keeps people away. Fear of blizzards. How does Dairy Queen overcome that phobia anyway?

That said, since Wagner is local, we rescheduled to next Monday, December 14th, 7 PM. I asked David to write a bit about how the book came to be. You can read it here.

Shortly after I earned my Ph.D., I was invited by the eminent ornithologist and creator of Houghton Mifflin's enormously successful field guides, Roger Tory Peterson, to conceptualize and orchestrate a world-wide conference about wildlife art at the Chautauqua Institution to inaugurate the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History in Jamestown, New York.

The conference took place in the fall of 1992. I specifically designed the conference to follow the chronology and themes of wildlife art history outlined in my Ph.D. dissertation. Thanks to Roger, funds were provided to attract speakers of the highest caliber. In session I, for example, speakers included Professor Roderick Nash (author, Wilderness and the American Mind, and Professor of Environmental Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara).

Attending the conference was Robb Reavill, Science Editor for Cornell University Press. She subsequently recommended my dissertation for publication. To assess what was needed to expand my dissertation into a book and support her recommendation for publication, she retained Professor Nash to read and critique my dissertation and book proposal.

In the meantime, William G. Kerr, founder of the National Wildlife Art Museum in Jackson Hole, WY, asked Carl Rungius historian, Professor Donald E. Crouch, to review them too. The Robert S. and Grayce B. Kerr Foundation consequently funded a postdoctoral fellowship that permitted me to conduct the additional research and writing that was needed to expand my dissertation into a book. The result was: american-wildlife-art.com.

15 years in the making, and it looks it. Beautiful!
Here's more about the Chautauqua Institution. At one time there were Chautauqua's all over the country, all promoting the arts and learning in pastoral settings. Now I think there are four--I stayed in one in Boulder, Colorado. My mom's friends in New York often go there for programming in the summer.

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Interview Today w/Mark Concannon on Fox 6 Wake-Up News; Snow Strategy is to Panic & Reschedule David Wagner's American Wildlife Art

This morning I was on Fox 6's Wake Up News, talking to Mark Concannon about some holiday ideas. Here's what I recommended:

1. Little Bee, by Chris Cleave (shocker!)
2. Ad Hoc at Home, by Thomas Keller
3. The Captain Frederick Pabst Mansion, by John C. Eastberg (reminder, our event is on Wednesday, December 16th, 7 PM)
4. Otis, by Loren Long
5. Raymond Carver, by Carol Sklenicka

A big thank you to Mark and WITI for having me on, particularly on a day when everyone is glued to their TV sets for updates on the big storm. Maybe some folks out there will get some ideas. And yes, the implication is that we have copies of Ad Hoc at Home; I know that many stores have sold out. If you got here by search engine, our phone number is (414) 332-1181. You can order on our web site, but you must "hold for pickup" and we will call you back to get your credit card number.

I should have had this totally set up. My apologies.

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Speaking of big storms, ours is predicted for late today and tomorrow. We'll probably stay open until the customers disappear, and we're planning to open a bit late tomorrow, around 11 AM. (Editor's Note: Milwaukee got slush, snow was further north and west. We'll probably open regular hours).

We're rescheduling our event for David Wagner's American Wildlife Art for next Monday, December 14th, at 7 PM. Read more about David's book here. (Editor's note: we did get a handful of people, all of whom were local and were happy to come back next Monday...I hope).

Meanwhile, we're probably a bit bored. Give us a call at (414) 332-1181 or use our general order email address at info@boswellbooks.com. You can also always email me at daniel@boswellbooks.com.

Yesterday I got an email back from Pat, who was a bit shocked that I replied to a note she sent me about my appearance on Susan Stamberg's book segment on NPR's Morning Edition. The only stops me from replying to all real (that is, all those that don't promise me a million dollars) emails is my disorganization.
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A big apology to Carol S., with whom I missed having coffee. In my panic, I showed up at Fox yesterday (!), having mixed up the two appointments. It had to happen eventually, and I'm shocked it's not more often. Anyway, thank you for understanding, particularly because it had to do with a service gaffe on our part. This turn of events doesn't exactly make things better.