UWs Saturday University Scheduled at Sheridan College Sept. 15

“Hunting and the Hemingway Code” is the theme for the opening fall semester of Saturday University -- the half day of college lectures and discussion offered by the University of Wyoming -- Saturday, Sept. 15, in Sheridan.

Hemingway, the famed American novelist, short story writer and journalist, had a connection to the Cowboy State, which will be explored at 9 a.m. at Sheridan College’s Whitney Academic Center. The program is free and open to the public.

The program begins with coffee and doughnuts at 8:30 a.m., followed by the program 30 minutes later.

Participants may attend one, two or all three lectures. A question-and-answer session will follow the program. A free lunch will be provided.

“During the fall and spring terms, Saturday University visits locations throughout Wyoming discussing today’s most captivating topics,” says Saturday University Coordinator Paul Flesher, a UW religious studies professor.

In its 11th year, Saturday University is a collaborative program that connects popular UW and Wyoming community college professors with lifelong learners. Offered nine times a year -- twice each in Jackson, Gillette and Sheridan, and once in Rock Springs, Pinedale and Cody -- Saturday U is sponsored by the university, Wyoming Humanities, Wyoming community colleges and local communities. The program is presented locally by UW, the Wyoming Humanities Council, Sheridan College and “Explore Hemingway: Along Wyoming Highways,” a statewide, multiyear initiative celebrating the life and writing of Hemingway.

“Enjoy three intriguing lectures delivered by UW professors at Sheridan College,” Flesher says. “Complimentary lunch is provided, giving participants an opportunity to engage with the speakers during a roundtable discussion following the three lectures.”

Listed below are program topic descriptions and professors lecturing:

-- 9 a.m.: “It’s a Good Country: Ernest Hemingway’s Hunting and Fishing in Wyoming,” Caskey Russell, UW Department of English associate professor.

Hemingway spent much of the 1930s in Wyoming, writing some of his most famous stories and novels, Russell says. While in Wyoming, when he wasn’t writing, Hemingway was often hunting and fishing. Russell’s lecture will explore what Hemingway hunted and fished for, where he hunted and fished, and how his Wyoming pastimes influenced his writing.

-- 10:15 a.m.: “Dodging Bulls and Bullets: Ernest Hemingway in Spain,” Joy Landeira, UW Department of Modern and Classical Languages professor and department chair.

Before and after Hemingway’s Wyoming residency, he made several visits to Spain, “the last great country,” that reveal his passion for Spanish life -- from tuna fishing to bullfighting -- and also as his talents as a war reporter during the Spanish Civil War.

“His experiences there became literary masterpieces that chronicle these adventures,” Landeira says.

-- 11:30 a.m.: “Ernest Hemingway: Style and Substance,” Jeanne Holland, UW Department of English associate professor.

As the story is told, Holland says, Hemingway won a bet with friends who did not believe he could produce a novel in six words. He quickly wrote “For Sale: Baby Shoes, Never Worn” and took the prize.

Holland’s talk examines how Hemingway’s economical writing style, his subject matter -- bullfighting, fishing, love, war, death and loss -- and his development of what came to be called “the Hemingway Code” for how to live an authentic life shaped and still influence American life and literature.

For more information about Sheridan’s Saturday University program, call Flesher at (307) 766-2616 or email pflesher@uwyo.edu.