Colorado inspires creativity. From its scenery and history to the unique personalities that reside in the state, writers find imagination and motivation everywhere. While on summer lecture at Colorado College in 1893, Katherine Lee Bates took a journey to the top of Pikes Peak. The beautiful scenery so astonished her, she wrote a poem. This poem became the classic "America the Beautiful."
Another woman inspired by the Rocky Mountains was Isabella Bird. The daughter of a clergyman, she was under doctor's orders to travel. She decided to explore the west on horseback, writing letters to her sister during her journey. Full of descriptions of the Colorado frontier's wilderness and wildlife in 1873, her letters were compiled into the popular book A Lady's Ride in the Rockies, later re-titled A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains.
Famed Western author Louis L'Amour brought his family to Durango every August for 10 years, beginning in 1966. When not writing in their room in the Strater Hotel over the Diamond Belle Saloon, he went hiking in the nearby mountains. The years he spent summering in Durango were some of the most prolific and successful of his long career.
Living Literature
Out on the Front Range region of Colorado lies Greeley. This quaint town is home to the University of North Colorado, where novelist James A. Michener studied and taught. Michener's historical novel Centennial told the stories of Colorado's land and its people, from Native Americans and chieftains to cowboys and ladies. Though the characters are fictitious, their situations are authentic, spanning centuries of Colorado's history. Travelers can visit the Pawnee National Grassland, made famous by Centennial. Sprawling alongside the Arapahoe and Roosevelt National Forests, this vast park is a sparse yet beautiful expanse of flat prairie broken by occasional rock formations. Michener fans may also want to peruse the James A. Michener Library at the University of Northern Colorado. This treasury of Michener's manuscripts, personal effects, and recordings is an amazing site. Or get a feel for pioneer life at the Centennial Village Museum, a living recreation of a Colorado frontier town.
Kristen Iversen, who received her Master's degree from the University of Denver, wrote Molly Brown: Unraveling the Myth. Molly Brown, a Missouri native, moved to Denver as a young woman and later became the most famous survivor of the Titanic tragedy. Many legends about Molly Brown sprung up over the years, no doubt aided by the play The Unsinkable Molly Brown and its movie adaptation. Iversen sets straight these legends in her book. Likewise, the Molly Brown House Museum in Denver's historic district seeks to separate fact from fiction in telling Molly's story, as well as preserving the house where Molly Brown resided for 18 years. The beautifully restored Victorian houses artifacts belonging to the Browns, items from the period they inhabited the house (1894 – 1912), and clothing in fashion during Molly's lifetime (1867 – 1932). Public teas with themes, such as Teddy Bear Cream Tea and Halloween Full Tea, take place occasionally, as well as a monthly Friday tea in the fall and winter. Visitors can also attend one of the museum's special events, and groups can schedule their own private Victorian-style tea, luncheon, or dinner.
In 1974, Stephen King decided to change the setting for his next book rather than writing another novel set in Maine. A random pick from his atlas prompted a temporary move to Boulder. For a quick vacation, King and his wife checked into the reputedly haunted Stanley Hotel in nearby Estes Park. Since the season was ending the next day, they were the only guests in the hotel that night. According to King, as he walked through the empty corridors, the "bones" of The Shining came to him. The novel used the Stanley Hotel as inspiration, as well as Grady, a bartender who served King that night. Truly one of the characters in the book, the majestic Stanley Hotel is surrounded by breathtaking views and the Rocky Mountain National Park. To stay in the same room as the Kings, request room 217, which has also received a number of reports of paranormal activity from guests. However, the fourth floor is generally regarded as the most haunted, especially rooms 401, 407, and 418. To learn more about the hotel's history and ghost lore, take one of its daily tours.
Poetry, Cowboy Style
During long and arduous cattle drives, cowboys created poetry about their lives, based largely in the storytelling traditions of the British Isles. Passed down orally, these poems live on today and inspire contemporary cowboy poetry. Colorado hosts a number of cowboy poetry events. The biggest get-together is the Colorado Cowboy Poetry Gathering, a four day annual event held in January at Denver's Arvada Center. Hear all the cowboy poetry you want during the day, plus cowboy ballads and yodeling at night. January also brings the Cowboy Poetry and Music Round-up to Estes Park.
In August, head to Collbran for the Gathering Under the Aspens Cowboy Poetry Event. This event features local professionals and amateurs in the beautiful Vega State Park. Other poetry gatherings include Wet Mountain Western Days in Westcliffe and the Annual Cowboy Poetry Reading in Gunnison, both held in September; then on the first weekend of October, the large, international Durango Cowboy Gathering takes place.
From its rugged frontier lands to majestic hotels, Colorado has enchanted many different writers over the years. All in all, Colorado is a great read.
