{"id":12802,"date":"2025-09-09T13:58:27","date_gmt":"2025-09-09T13:58:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/artsmidwest.org\/?p=12802"},"modified":"2025-09-10T20:00:46","modified_gmt":"2025-09-10T20:00:46","slug":"walking-into-willa-cathers-world-with-the-nea-big-read","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artsmidwest.org\/stories\/walking-into-willa-cathers-world-with-the-nea-big-read\/","title":{"rendered":"Walking Into Willa Cather\u2019s World with the NEA Big Read"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Willa Cather is one of the most important Midwestern authors, seen as a peer to writers like Hemingway, Faulkner and Wharton. But many readers remain unfamiliar with the Pulitzer Prize\u2013winner, who published twelve novels and dozens of short stories in the 1900s.  <\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\n
\n \"Black-and-white\n\n
\n
\n \n\n\n\n<\/g>\n\n\n\n<\/clipPath>\n<\/defs>\n<\/svg> Photo Credit: National Willa Cather Center<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n
\n Early 1920s studio portrait of Willa Cather.\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n \n \n <\/figure>\n\n
\n

That\u2019s what the Willa Cather Center<\/a> in Red Cloud, Nebraska, is working to change. They seek to turn a rural community of 938 into a literary destination celebrating Cather\u2019s legacy.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

In recent years, the Center has restored five historic sites connected to Cather\u2019s life and writing and opened a boutique hotel<\/a>. Visitors can walk through Cather\u2019s childhood home, look at stained glass windows she commissioned in the local church, or visit the family farmstead that appears in one of her novels.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of those sites help people understand Cather\u2019s life and contextualize her words,\u201d says the Center\u2019s executive director, Ashley Olson. \u201cThey can actually step into her childhood room, or \u00a0sit on a bench in the train depot and think about what it would’ve been like when there were seven passenger trains a day coming through Red Cloud\u2026 It\u2019s an act of literary pilgrimage.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

But for those who can\u2019t visit Red Cloud in person, don\u2019t despair. The Center works nationwide to connect people with Cather\u2019s catalogue<\/a>. Most recently, the Center took part in the 2024-25 NEA Big Read, leading a community reading program centered on one of her most famous books, My \u00c1ntonia<\/em>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

My \u00c1ntonia<\/em> follows Jim Burden, an orphan who moves to Nebraska, and his lifelong friendship with \u00c1ntonia Shimerda, a young immigrant girl. Its themes of friendship, resilience, and frontier life remain as powerful today as when Cather wrote it more than a century ago.<\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n\n

As part of their NEA Big Read programming, the Center distributed books to schools, created traveling exhibits, and organized lectures. The response was enthusiastic: they received 33 requests for programs across seven states, including 14 communities in Nebraska alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I in fact do judge a book by its cover, and My \u00c1ntonia<\/em> looked wordy and plain,\u201d said one senior in Rhode Island whose school participated. \u201cBut I found myself going to sleep wondering what would happen next and why things happened as they did. There were many times where I would wish that Cather were alive today to answer all my annoying questions\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\n
\n \"Man\n\n
\n
\n \n\n\n\n<\/g>\n\n\n\n<\/clipPath>\n<\/defs>\n<\/svg> Photo Credit: National Willa Cather Center<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n
\n Guests take part in a writing workshop led by the Ames Writers Collective at the Pavelka Farmstead, a setting from the final scenes of Cather’s My \u00c1ntonia.\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n \n \n <\/figure>\n\n <\/div>\n\n\n\n

For Olson, the work is about honoring Cather, but also about investing in her town\u2019s future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like a lot of kids who grow up in small rural communities, when I left for college, I thought there\u2019s no way I could come back because of a lack of careeropportunities,\u201d she says. \u201cNow tourism and the arts are a meaningful part of the economy; we\u2019ve added jobs, rehabilitated downtown buildings, and received designation from the Nebraska Arts Council as a certified Creative District.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their NEA Big Read programming wrapped up at the annual Willa Cather Conference, which drew nearly 150 participants for scholarship, art, and performance\u2014including a preview of a brand-new musical adaptation of My \u00c1ntonia<\/em> by Minneapolis\u2019s Theater Latt\u00e9 Da<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think it’s really a testament to Cather\u2019s power,\u201d says Olson. \u201cShe isn\u2019t as recognizable in popular culture as we\u2019d like her to be yet, but her star is definitely shining bright.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n
\n\n
\n\n
\n
\n
\n \"Exterior\n
\n
\n \n\n\n\n<\/g>\n\n\n\n<\/clipPath>\n<\/defs>\n<\/svg> Photo Credit: National Willa Cather Center<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n The Red Cloud Burlington Depot, a restored site on the guided seven-building Cather tour.\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n
\n
\n \"Two\n
\n
\n \n\n\n\n<\/g>\n\n\n\n<\/clipPath>\n<\/defs>\n<\/svg> Photo Credit: National Willa Cather Center<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n A standing ovation for The Kilbanes after a concert featuring selections from their musical adaptation of Cather’s My \u00c1ntonia.\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n
\n
\n \"Visitors\n
\n
\n \n\n\n\n<\/g>\n\n\n\n<\/clipPath>\n<\/defs>\n<\/svg> Photo Credit: National Willa Cather Center<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n Visitors tour the recently restored Willa Cather Childhood Home, a National Historic Landmark.\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n
\n
\n \"Group\n
\n
\n \n\n\n\n<\/g>\n\n\n\n<\/clipPath>\n<\/defs>\n<\/svg> Photo Credit: National Willa Cather Center<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n Conference goers discuss Cather’s literature at the 70th annual Willa Cather Spring Conference.\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n
\n
\n \"Three\n
\n
\n \n\n\n\n<\/g>\n\n\n\n<\/clipPath>\n<\/defs>\n<\/svg> Photo Credit: National Willa Cather Center<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n Visitors explore downtown Red Cloud, the childhood hometown of author Willa Cather.\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n
\n