Voyages of Discovery
presents
Humorist
Writer
Storyteller
Down Home Missouri:
When Girls Were Scary
and Basketball Was King
Saturday, April 30, 2005, 8:00 p.m.
Cedar Street Center for the Arts
Seventh & Cedar Streets – Rolla, MO
Stay for “Meet the Artist” reception
Tickets - Kent Jewelry, 110 W. 8th or
reserve at 364-5539 /
$7 - General Admission $5 - Arts Rolla! members $4 - Students
/ Arts Rolla! gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency,and the National Endowment for the Arts, whose support makes our program possible. /
Writer and humorist Joel Vance will be in Rolla, in person, on Saturday, April 30, 2005. Arts Rolla! has included his appearance as part of its Voyages of Discovery series. The presentation will begin at 8 pm at Cedar Street Center for the Arts at the corner of 7th and Cedar Streets in Rolla.
Vance will begin his program by presenting brilliantly detailed, humorous stories based on one of his books, DOWN HOME MISSOURI: When Girls Were Scary and Basketball Was King. Following intermission, he will discuss the problems and rewards inherent in outdoor writing. While of interest to professional and amateur writers, his subject matter has very general appeal, and is family-appropriate for ages 12 and older. If you haven’t lived these “youthful disasters” growing up, you’ve experienced others and know well the keen feelings his tales evoke. There will be an opportunity for Q & A, and the audience is invited to a “Meet the Artist” reception following his presentation.
General admission tickets range from $7 to $4. Seating is limited; get your tickets early. Purchase your tickets at Kent Jewelry at 110 West 8th Street, Rolla, or contact Arts Rolla! for ticket reservations at
573-364-5539 or <
Popular author of books of Missouri humor and articles for prestigious journals and magazines, Joel Vance has published seven books, and hundreds of columns, articles and essays on Missouri wildlife and outdoor living. Considered a national treasure, he is known for his sensitive perception of the rewards and trials that outdoor experiences provide for the human spirit, for his scholarship about his subjects, for his generosity, and most of all, for his great good humor. A past president of the 2000-member Outdoor Writers Association of America,
he is one of only three writers in its 70-year history to have won all three of the national organization’s most prestigious awards, including the Excellence in Craft Award, the Jade of Chiefs Award, and the coveted
J. Hammond Brown Memorial Award.
Vance was a news and magazine writer for the Missouri Conservation Department for 22 years. The reader may have enjoyed his scholarly or humorous articles in Missouri Conservationist. He may be the only writer around who has written by-line columns for both The Audubon Society and the National Rifle Association, but he's most proud of having written an often-controversial conservation column for Gun Dog Magazine for more than 20 years. A fulltime freelance writer for about 13 years, he has maintained four magazine columns and has published many articles in outdoor journals including Pennsylvania Angler and Boater, Field & Stream, Wing & Shot, and NWTF: Turkey Call Magazine. Look for Vance as a frequent contributor to the nation’s best outdoor journal, Wyoming Wildlife Magazine.
Vance is published in non-outdoor journals and magazines as well, and has published seven print books. Several of his books are collections of humorous short stories, reflective of his own experiences, often concluding with a twist of the heart. Some are instructional, but always delivered with humor. He has recorded one book-on-tape.
Titles of his books reveal the tenor of their contents: GRANDMAAND THE BUCK DEER and Other Tales of Youthful Disaster; BILLY BARNSTORM, the Birch Lake Bomber; BOBS, BRUSH and BRITTANIES: A Long Love Affair with Quail Hunting; TAILS I LOSE: Coping With Bird Dog; Upland Bird Hunting; Confessions of an Outdoor Maladroit; AUTUMN SHADOWS: The Invincible Grouse Hunter & Other Stories and the book which will be the basis for part of the evening’s entertainment, DOWN HOME MISSOURI: When Girls Were Scary and Basketball Was King.
Vance is a sought-after keynote speaker for a variety of groups on a variety of subjects, including travel and humor, as well as the outdoors. He lives in Russelville, Missouri, with his patient wife Marty and his six French Brittanies. He serves annually on the resident faculty of the outdoor/nature/environmental writing workshop at Sterling College in northern Vermont.
Reserve your tickets early - the hall is small. Plan on an evening of laughter and warmth, irony and promise, and a reminder of how resilient we really are.