Public Reading By Park Artist-In-Residence Wendy Call

Joshua Tree National Park announces a reading on Tuesday, December 11 at the Red Arrow Gallery in Joshua Tree by Wendy Call of Seattle, Washington. Wendy is a writer participating in the park's Artist-in-Residence program and will be presenting some of the work she has created during her month-long stay. The reading will begin at 6 pm at the Red Arrow Gallery, 61597 Twentynine Palms Highway, between Hillview and Sunset on the south side of the highway.

Wendy has been Writer-in-Residence at universities, other national parks, public high schools, visual art centers, and a public hospital. She co-edited Telling True Stories: A Nonfiction Writers' Guide (Penguin, 2007) and wrote No Word for Welcome (Nebraska, 2011), winner of Grub Street's National Book Prize for Nonfiction.

The Joshua Tree National Park Artist-in-Residence program is operated in partnership with the Joshua Tree National Park Association. The program encourages artists to explore content related to Joshua Tree National Park and create a body of art that inspires interest in the park and builds better understanding and dialogue about our national parks, natural and cultural resources, the environment, and desert issues. The reading is free to the public.

The story of America's national parks has long been told through the sensitive eyes of artists. The watercolors of Thomas Moran played an important role in convincing the U.S. Congress to set aside Yellowstone as the nation's first national park in 1872. National parks are now called "America's best idea." Since that time artists continue to be inspired by national park landscapes and cultural and historic themes to create works that share their unique vision with the American public visiting our national parks.

More information about the Artist-in-Residence program can be obtained by calling the park's AIR liaison, Caryn Davidson, at 760-367-3012, or by email at [e-mail].