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P O W E L L, W y o. - There's a new way for Codyites to wind down after a long week - the Interdisciplinary Café.
On the second Friday of each month, Northwest College will host a cross-disciplinary exchange at 5 p.m.in the foyer of the Park County Complex at 1501 Stampede Ave. Hors d' oeuvres and entertainment are free for the sitting.
"This spring features four NWC faculty members who are published writers," said Bill Hoagland, an NWC associate professor of English, who organized the Interdisciplinary cafes. "The writers were encouraged to invite musicians to join them in what is sure to be a marvelous creative exchange. Each café will be designed in a collaboration between the writers and musicians; they will have the freedom to perform in any format they wish to design."
The first Interdisciplinary Café on Friday, Feb. 8, features the poetry of Burt Bradley, an associate professor of English at NWC, and a jazz combo known as A Cosmic Connection.
Bradley will read some of his most recently published poetry and some new poems as well. A Cosmic Connection is a professional jazz group comprised of NWC students who have played with Ronnie Bedford, notably Caleb Van Gelder (percussion) and Shawn Keblers (guitar). Calleb Mattis (bass) and Dillon Brannock (saxophone) complete the group. Van Gelder says they have been playing together since their middle school years. The group accompanied Bedford during the Lawson Inada poetry reading last year as part of the Northwest College Writers Series.
Upcoming cafes will feature Cody writers Rob Stothart and Bill Hoagland, plus Powell's Garry Wallace, whose book "Biography of a Bird Dog: a Labrador Retriever in Wyoming" was published in March of last year. Upcoming musical guests include pianist Megumi Yamazaki, the NWC Studio Singers and the Montana Coyotes.
The snacks and entertainment at each Interdisciplinary Cafe are free, but the aroma coming from the Northwest Coffee Cart might become irresistible and can be satiated for a few bucks.