Annual Willa Cather conference focuses on reading the author’s library and a star-gazing walk

The Willa Cather Childhood Home in Red Cloud, a National Historic Landmark, is expected to reopen later in 2023. (Photo courtesy of The National Willa Cather Center)

As a young girl growing up in Red Cloud, author Willa Cather created a “library” of her books in the back room of her father’s office.

Each book was meticulously labeled and sometimes numbered — her own Dewey Decimal System.

Next month, the 69th annual Willa Cather Spring Conference will focus on Cather’s love of reading and how she enjoyed sharing her favorite books with friends and hearing readers’ comments about her works.

The conference, “Cather and the Readerly Imagination,” will be held June 6 through 8 at the National Willa Cather Center in Red Cloud.

The conference opens with a discussion of her collection of short stories, “Obscure Destinies,” and features panel discussions related to conference themes, scholarship awards and essays.

The event will feature the premiere of the documentary, “Willa Cather: Breaking the Mold.” The short film uses archival imagery to chronicle Cather’s remarkable life through her own words and with observations from contemporary readers and scholars.

A star-gazing walk on the Willa Cather Memorial Prairie will also be held, as well as a reception with Travis Hencey, whose exhibit, “The Field, The Fire” opens May 15 at the Burlington Depot in Red Cloud.

The restored Willa Cather Childhood Home will be dedicated at 1:30 p.m. June 8. The public is invited.

For a full schedule and registration information, visit www.WillaCather.org/events/spring-conference.

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