When the first COVID-19 vaccines were first distributed in January 2021, I used a high-resolution thermal camera to document and track the body’s reaction to the COVID-19 vaccine. I have, to date, photographed the arms of 140 participants from Nevada at the site of each person’s injection.
Read MoreBy Lindsay Wilson
From the new collection The Day Gives Us so Many Ways to Eat
Frost took its last bite
a week back. Now you drive
out to wander the dry lake
in your old shirt. This wind
a cool sickle in the open
country the wild horses sweep
through. Out here you cairn
your thoughts and thoughts
and thoughts, so much sand
and salt to sift through,
By Kathleen Kuo
“What are the humanities?” As someone who just recently passed her three-year milestone of working at Nevada Humanities, you would think that by now I would have an answer ready for this question. But I like the spontaneity that comes with not having a canned elevator pitch—my answer is a genuine reflection of my beliefs and thoughts at the moment that shifts depending on who I am speaking to, just as my own lived understanding of the humanities continues to evolve over time.
Read MoreBy Nancy Brune
A trained social scientist, I have spent much of my professional life analyzing critical policy challenges facing our communities by collecting data, developing models, completing quantitative analyses, and quantifying outcomes.
When I joined the Nevada Humanities Board in 2019, I knew that the organization had celebrated local authors and provided grants to support public-facing organizations. But admittedly, I had a very limited view of how humanities programming might inform our understanding of some of the challenges facing our Nevada communities. However, I immediately discovered that under the tutelage of the Nevada Humanities’ talented team, the organization has provided innovative ways to learn about issues relevant to our communities.
Read MoreBy Kimberly J. Roberts
Part of the magic of vintage photographs is the historical information they contain, recording the intimate details of daily life that might otherwise be lost. This photograph, labeled Sparks Telephone exchange, c.1923, from the Sparks Museum and Cultural Center’s railroad collection, captures a moment in the history of the telephone that tells a story much larger than the image itself.
Read MoreBy Sean C. Jones
I was born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada. In the late 70s and early 80, when I was a pre-teen, the city had less than half the population it has now and vast areas of empty desert. The city was focused on entertaining adults, not the children who lived here. Unable to drive, I spent a lot of time in my room. We had no internet or cable, and my siblings and I shared one phone line. I spent most of my time in my room, reading books and listening to vinyl records or the radio. I often felt bored.
Read MorePoems by Shane Brant
Songbird
You’re a songbird! My precious songbird.
I am the revelation of the world, darling. Lingua franca.
In stupendous assembly something angelic and something
Nightmarish dictates me. All the energy of these lights
And all the power of these signs, their allure, their provocation,
Their desire to coax and annihilate dreams is mine,
Benissima cuore mia. I love you.
By Jen Nails
Who will clean out your desks?
A dirty penny that you can’t tell the year,
an invitation to Hudson’s bday in September,
math worksheets and one LEGO,
a red and yellow bouncy ball,
paper clips and a crumpled post-it that says “I love you!”
By Courtney Cliften
She reminds me of the desert,
and by that I mean, she reminds me
that sometimes we must demand
to survive. She says acrostics
have a way of figuring out exactly
what we want to say, closes books
if they don’t feel important.
Read MoreBy Linda Faiss
Growing up in Carson City, my three siblings and I often heard our mother say, “Go out and play!” Not just because we were in her way, but because it was healthy for us to be outside in nature exploring our sagebrush-dotted environment.
Read MoreBy Staff of Nevada Humanities
Spring is in the air, and there is a renewed enthusiasm blooming at Nevada Humanities. We are growing and need your help to continue to thrive. The humanities help ground us in the constantly changing world around us. The humanities help us understand, often with a fresh perspective, what life is about.
Read MoreBy Genevy Machuca
I want to start by apologizing to younger me
I head to college in a year,
And now it's starting to get pretty clear
I’m not going to be a princess
Wearing that shiny pink dress…
In fact I outgrew my tap shoe
Even got my license…
By Mo Lima Truong
i. Growing Pains
Escaping my mother’s womb has been my greatest feat in the name of individuality.
I cannot feel in simple
terms.
I shove my fingers into my veins and
pray I can begin
to map my skin.
I am exploding and
have exploded a
million times over.
By Dustin Howard
Many of my close friends are artists, and one of the most common topics of discussion amongst us is that of time—or the lack of it, to be precise. We often lament that there are not enough hours in the day for us to do the art we love to do. I know that this is a sentiment shared by artists the world over, and there’s some tiny solace in knowing that as individual artists we’re not alone in feeling this way.
By Nancy Cummings-Schmidt
In 2009, shortly after I retired from my position as Director of the Washoe County Library System, I got a call from then-Nevada Humanities Board Chair, Joe Crowley. He had decided I’d had enough of a rest, and it was time to consider volunteer opportunities. He just happened to have one in mind, which led to my appointment to the Nevada Humanities Board of Trustees. So, here it is 2023, and after serving for over 13 years, it seems an appropriate time for reflection.
By Nikki Corda
My first “big girl” book was Women of Courage by Dorothy Nathan (1964). This was a collection of biographies that introduced kids to the lives of Susan B. Anthony, Jane Addams, Mary Bethune, Amelia Earhart, Elizabeth Blackwell, Florence Nightingale, and Margaret Mead. My well-worn copy was a hand-me-down from my sisters, and my mother, Helen, was determined I begin reading the book as soon as possible. Helen’s fierce indignation about the historical injustice women suffered was contagious, and I devoured that book with mad love for these trailblazers.
By Anne M. Hoff and Daryl DePry
Upon moving to Las Vegas for my teaching position at the College of Southern Nevada, I was struck by the dynamic and intensely textured Mojave Desert, making it my constant creative muse. The outdoors also functions as my place of calm from the chaos of the city of Las Vegas. The energy of urban centers can be stimulating but mentally draining. The outdoor spaces allow me to have a sense of calm and inner reflection that I need.
By Gailmarie Pahmeier
In sixth grade I had a pen pal. I found her in the classified section of an Archie comic book. She lived in California, loved Veronica. I lived in Missouri, loved Betty. We loved our dogs. She had a poodle named Miss Tessa; I had a terrier mix named Gigi. We loved water, stories of sunbathing while sipping iced tea on a hot day. Our missives were declarations of our being alive, of shared experience. We wrote throughout the school year, closing our letters with “Write back when you can!” This relationship, made wholly out of words, was a light in my life.
By Todd Gilens
I am a writer and visual artist working with ecological themes. For several years, I helped researchers survey streams and meadows in the Sierra Nevada backcountry, and wondered how the dedication and insights of scientific inquiry could translate into everyday situations in the places we live.
By Deon Reynolds
This image was created while my wife Trish and I were participating in the Darwin Lambert Artists in Residence Program at Great Basin National Park in 2007. We started our day hiking the Baker Creek/Grey Cliffs trail, and it was a gray, dull overcast day, great for hiking but not the kind of light I was looking for photographically. Hiking along the trail we stopped at a clearing, looking up towards the weather happening on a totally obscured Wheeler Peak.
