Panel: The Politics of Illusion

Panel moderated by Laurel Reuter.

Reading: Virginia Martinez

Reading: Carolyn Forché

In this footage from the 36th Annual UND Writers Conference, “Hope/Illusion,” recorded on March 30, 2005, Presidential Lecturer Carolyn Forché reads “The Visitor,” “The Colonel,” “The Memory of Elena,” “Goodbye” (by Robert Creeley), “Curfew,” “Writing Kept Hidden,” “In the Place des Martyrs,” “Fisherman,” “Deathbed,” a portion of “On Earth,” and an excerpt from The Angel of History. She ends by answering questions from the audience.

Panel: Spirituality, Culture, and Hope

Panel moderated by Dr. Anne Kelsh.

Reading: Jane Urquhart

Reading: Charles Johnson

Panel: Hope and Illusion in Writing

Panel moderated by Larry Woiwode

Performance: Chris Belden

Reading: Marilyn Nelson

In this footage from the 36th Annual UND Writers Conference, “Hope/Illusion,” recorded on April 1, 2005, Marilyn Nelson reads “I Imagine Driving Across Country,” “Lonely Eagles,” “Star Fix,” “Four a.m. in the Woods,” “Bedside Reading,” “The Dimensions of the Milky Way,” “Mineralogy,” “Dinah’s Lament,” “Not My Bones,” and A Wreath for Emmett Till. She ends by answering questions from the audience. (Note, there is no sound for the first 80 seconds of this recording.)

Panel: Landscapes

Panel moderated by Dr. Jim McKenzie.

Reading: Jane Varley

In this footage from the 36th Annual UND Writers Conference, “Hope/Illusion,” recorded on April 2, 2005, Jane Varley reads from Flood Stage and Rising, as well as the poem “Ask Me” (by William Stafford). She also reads from her essay “Two Pines.” She ends by answering questions from the audience.

Reading: Kathleen Norris

In this footage from the 36th Annual UND Writers Conference, “Hope/Illusion,” recorded on April 2, 2005, Kathleen Norris reads “The Middle of the World,” “The Middle of Nowhere” (by David Dwyer), “Pommes de Terre,” “Baling Wheat Straw on my 33rd Birthday” (by David Dwyer), “Gold of Ophir,” “[The sky is full of blue],” “Body and Blood,” “The Higher Arithmetic” (by David Dwyer), “Naming the Living God,” and “Nicht Wahr” (by David Dwyer). She also reads an excerpt from Acedia & Me: A Marriage, Monks, and a Writer’s Life. She ends by answering questions from the audience.