Culture

  • The Poet’s Corner

    Stanley Kunitz

    Jo Anne Troxel reads poems and tells about one of her favorite poets, Stanley Kunitz. Kunitz became the tenth Poet Laureate of the United States in 2000 at the age of 95. Throughout his life, he was active in writing, publishing, and promoting poetry to several generations of readers. His book The Wild Braid is Jo Anne’s preferred gift to gardeners.

    World War I Poet, Wilfred Owen

    Wilfred Owen is one of the greatest poets of the First World War. He wrote about the trench warfare and gas attacks. He began writing poetry when he was ten years old, and died in action just before the end of the war.

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  • The Dirt on the Past

    The Story of Us with Kimberly Hogberg

    Join us as we talk with filmmaker, Kimberly Hogberg about her film, The Story of Us: The Women who Shaped Montana. This short film was a collaboration with The Extreme History Project, so we are so excited to talk about the film and its debut on Montana PBS! We discuss the film and what goes into creating a historical documentary including the fundraising, the filming, the editing, and the post-production processes. A big thank you to the the organizations that funded this film including The Greater Montana Foundation, the Montana History Foundation, Humanities Montana and the Montana Film Office.

    Yellowstone Revealed with Francesca Pine-Rodriguez

    Join us for a conversation with Francesca Pine-Rodriguez, the Director of the nonprofit, Mountain Time Arts (MTA) that is based in Bozeman, MT. We discuss a program led by MTA, Yellowstone Revealed, a series of place-based projects led by a group of inter-tribal Indigenous artists and scholars that happened in Yellowstone National Park during the summer of 2022. We also discuss Indigenous Peoples’ Day and the importance of this holiday, because everyone is indigenous to somewhere! For more information on Mountain Time Arts, visit their website at www.mountaintimearts.org.

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  • So Many Words

    Sunu P. Chandy: MY DEAR COMRADES, with KD, Jasmine James, Hazel Gonzalez

    On the evening of March 27th, 2024, The Country Bookshelf hosted a reading from Sunu P. Chandy’s poetry collection, MY DEAR COMRADES, with a reading and discussion by three of Bozeman’s own activists around poetry, activism and the intersection where they meet.
    Sunu P. Chandy is a social justice activist, including through her work as a poet and a civil rights attorney. She’s the daughter of immigrants from Kerala, India, a queer woman of color, and lives in Washington, D.C. with her family. Her award-winning collection of poems, My Dear Comrades, was published by Regal House in 2023. In it she includes stories about her experiences as a woman, civil rights attorney, parent, partner, and member of the LGBTQ+ community.
    KD lives and works with their family in Bozeman, MT. KD is a multidisciplinary artist and poet, whose work has appeared in shows from Turtle Island to Hawai’i, and in print in multiple locations. They are a queer indigenous neurodivergent parent, who spends most of their time engaging in the ideation of indigenous futures, solidarity, and freedom.
    Jasmine James is a graduate of MSU Bozeman in English Literature. They have lived in the Gallatin Valley since 2013, and have been managing the Bozeman Poetry Collective since 2017. You can hear their work in person regularly at the Steep Mtn. open mic.
    Hazel Gonzalez is a woman of trans experience, who grew up in Bozeman, having moved to town when she was five. Hazel has also worked at Erotique for many years, passionately learning about, and teaching, healthy sexuality and kink. She’s works to build community, and does her utmost to be a healthy and supportive elder queer role model and advocate for queer youth.

    The Country Bookshelf’s General Manager, Jamie Winter, introduced the panel.

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  • Science Matters

    Eric Bendick: Path of the Panther

    On April 20, 2023 The Bozeman Doc Series and Gallatin Valley Earth Day present the award winning, new documentary from Bozeman based Grizzly Creek Films and director, Eric Bendick, PATH OF THE PANTHER.

    Drawn in by the haunting specter of the Florida panther, it follows a wildlife photographer, veterinarians, ranchers, conservationists, and indigenous people, who find themselves on the front lines of an accelerating battle between the forces of renewal and the forces of destruction that have pushed the Everglades to the brink of ecological collapse.


    Once ubiquitous in North and South America, but now perched on the edge of extinction, this perilously small, sole remaining population of the panther east of the Mississippi is an emblem of our once connected world. A vision of what could be again.
    We spoke with the Emmy Award winning director of Path of the Panther, Eric Bendick, about his work and this powerful new film, Path of the Panther.

    You can find out more by going to  https://www.gallatinvalleyearthday.org/ or http://www.bozemandocseries.org

    Rangelands Management

    Dr. Lance McNew, MSU Associate Professor of Wildlife Habitat Ecology, discusses how working rangelands can be managed to preserve grouse, songbirds, and other range-dependent wildlife.

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  • Music from Here

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  • Extreme History

    The North Coast Limited, the Nightcrawler, and the Skidoo

    Recently for the Extreme History Project, Professor Dale Martin from the History Department at Montana State University described the state of public transportation in Montana 100 years ago, when dozens of daily passenger trains reached almost every county in the state, carrying people, express, U.S. Mail, cans of milk, and money. His talk, entitled “The North Coast Limited, the Nightcrawler, and the Skidoo: A century of passenger trains and public transportation in Montana,” provides an overview and explanation of the many decades long decline of rail service, and intercity public transportation in general, since that time. Sponsored by the railroad enthusiasts of Montana Ntrak.

    Recorded at the Museum of the Rockies on February 20, 2020.

    Understanding the Intricacies of Identity and the Power of Imagery

    Apsaalooke/Tsistsistas (Crow/Northern Cheyenne) artist Ben Pease stands firmly upon the ideal of education via creativity as a contemporary storyteller. Pease’s work is well known for its unique and culturally relevant style using historic photographic references while also addressing current events and issues. In the contemporary art world, indigenous artists often confront issues like cultural appropriation, exotification, racism and stereotype disguised as appreciation and oblivion. In this talk, Pease touches on these issues through stories and learnings from his own life. Following the talk, with suggestions from the audience, Pease painted over a previously created painting of Christopher Columbus, using red paint, the same color as a statue on which audience members were asked to write words that came to mind when thinking of Indians.

    Recorded at the Museum of the Rockies on October 24, 2019.

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  • Monday’s Molecule

    Omega-3 Fatty Acid

    While looking at the nutrition labels on food products can be useful, it can also be confusing. Low fat, saturated fats, unsaturated fats, trans fats are typically listed on the labels of foods you may be shopping for. The food we eat is made up of proteins, carbohydrates and fats. Let’s look more closely at that fat category. Some fats, occurring in animals, are solids. Others, from plant sources, are usually in liquid form. Taken together solid fats and liquid fats (commonly called oils) are called lipids. Lipids in our bodies have many important functions such as stored energy sources, some are critical components in our cell membranes, some help dissolve critical vitamins while others are associated with health-related problems such as heart disease. Listen to learn more…

    Sugar

    Do you have what is commonly called a “sweet tooth?” Nearly everyone, including new born babies, has at least some desire for the sweet taste of sugar. Let’s take a closer look at a molecule of a type of sugar. The term sugar is a bit general. In ancient times the root word for ground sugar meant grit. There are many types of sugars but today let’s focus on the most commonly consumed one – sucrose. When you take a drink of a sweetened soda, taste the icing on that birthday cake, a lick of ice cream or enjoy the sweet taste of a breakfast cereal, you are eating some sucrose. Listen to learn more…

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  • 406 Creatives

    Finding the Right Guide

    Katie Smith spent her 20’s teaching people how to rock climb, cross-country ski, and horseback ride. Today she runs , a marketing coaching and strategy business, and applies the lessons and techniques she learned as a guide to help business owners tackle their own marketing goals and plans. In this talk for 406 Creatives, she breaks down how to apply guiding to teaching anything and what to look for in your own guide, no matter what you want to learn.

    Recorded on February 8, 2019 at the Bozeman Public Library. To view a video recording of the talk, visit the 406 Creatives archive.

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  • Local Literati

    Bozeman from the Heart Ellen Theater Event 2-11-19

    On Feb. 11, 2019 The Ellen Theater hosted a celebration of the publication of Bozeman from the Heart.

    Paula Beswick MC’d the event, introducing June Safford, her co-editor, and the following contributors:  Steve Kirchoff; Chrysti Smith (aka Chrysti the Wordsmith); Greg Keeler; Carolyn Pinet; Valerie Hemingway; Keith McCafferty; Al Kesselheim and John Ludin.

    The Eric Funk Quintet, featuring Jeni Fleming (vocals), Jake Fleming (saxaphone), Eddie T. (bass) and Michael Gillan (percussion) could not be included in this edition, due to copyright/royalty regulations. Their music was greatly appreciated by those in attendance.

    Bozeman From the Heart – Country Bookshelf reading 1-30-19

    On the evening of January 30, 2019 an enthusiastic audience of Bozemanites gathered at The Country Bookshelf to celebrate the publication of the book, BOZEMAN FROM THE HEART, edited by June Safford and Paula Beswick. Four contributors shared their stories: Valery Hemingway, Glenn Chamberlain, Mark Sullivan and Jo Anne Troxel. They were introduced by The Country Bookshelf’s Jessica Hahl.

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  • Word of Mouth

    Chapter 8: Happy Trails

    We say goodbye to Jason and welcome Anne and Weston. Here the latest books we’re reading and games we’re playing.

    Off Road at the Library

    Hang on to your hats, it’s going to be a bumpy ride! Learn all about our summer reading program for children, teens, and adults. What shows are we watching, what books are we reading, and where did we go all winter? Childish Gambino This is America John Mayer New Light Mark Morrison Return of the Mac

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  • Early Listening

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  • Crossroads

    The Buffalo Commons

    On March 27, 2024, The Ivan Doig Center for the Study of the Lands and People of the North American West at Montana State University hosted at talk at the Museum of the Rockies entitled: “The Buffalo Commons: A National History, A Regional History, A Family History.” Deborah and Frank Popper saw the rural decline in Great Plains states and suggested replacing economically struggling agriculture with a vast, restored grassland populated by buffalo. This idea they called the Buffalo Commons. 37 years later, they reflect on that vision, its modern relevancy, and its consequences for Montanans and themselves.

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  • Art Talk

    Josh DeWeese: A Life in Clay

    Josh DeWeese is a potter. Not a Bozeman potter or a Montana potter, but a world potter. In a lecture for the Bozeman Art Museum entitled “A Life in Clay,” he tells about his history, his influences, his materials and techniques. He talks about his pots and about building kilns, each unique in what he calls the “compressed geology” of the firing process. His love for the medium animates every sentence. If you know Josh’s work, the absence of images in this recording is no impediment. If not, or you would like to see more, you can view Josh’s work online at joshdeweese.com.

    Recorded at the Museum of the Rockies on November 6, 2019.

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  • Gallatin History Series

    Montana’s Women Veterans of World War I

    Ed Saunders is a retired lieutenant colonel, U.S. Army, and combat veteran who lives in Laurel, Montana. On the centennial year of America’s victory in World War I, he tells some of the epic true stories of intrepid Montana women who served in uniform in that terrible upheaval, mostly as nurses in the Army Nurse Corps. Over 200 of these women served stateside in crowded, understaffed, diseased-filled base hospitals, and overseas in war-torn France, enduring terrible and deadly battlefield conditions. They served an indifferent federal government denying them equality with men. After the war, the women came home alone, unheralded, and mostly forgotten. They faced another battle—a battle for recognition.

    Recorded on March 6, 2019 at the Museum of the Rockies as part of the Gallatin History Museum series.

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