Yeah Write · History on Paper and in Person
For years before Anchorage was founded, maps of Alaska showed McCarthy and Kennecott, but not Anchorage. While Anchorage eventually grew and grew into Alaska’s largest city, McCarthy’s size has ebbed and flowed. It hasn’t regained the size it had during the copper and gold mining era, but can still produce some impressive crowds, like the one that packed the charming, volunteer-run McCarthy-Kennicott Historical Museum for its grand opening this spring. The event featured Eagle River-based historian, professor, and author Dr. Katie Ringsmuth presenting her latest book, “At Work in the Wrangells: A Photographic History, 1895-1966”. Published by the National Park Service, it “aims to illustrate the interconnected work of humans and nature that together made history in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve.”
Yeah Write · Poetry Like Bread
Some pleasant déjà vu struck last Thursday, listening to Palmer-based Julie Hungiville LeMay read poems at Indigo Tea Lounge in Anchorage. I saw her read last month in Juneau, too. Her debut book of poetry, The Echo of Ice Letting Go, was published this year by University of Alaska Press in the Alaska Literary Series. Her Anchorage event closed out 49 Writers’ Reading and Craft Talk Series for the season. Poems, like songs, are meant to be heard (or read) more than once, and it was great to hear her again, and to hear her elaborate on the process of writing it.