Best Self-Published Book by a Coloradan 2015 | Behind the Lines | Best of Denver® | Best Restaurants, Bars, Clubs, Music and Stores in Denver | Westword
Navigation
Support Us
Search

Best Self-Published Book by a Coloradan

Behind the Lines

Jeff Miller's grandfather never talked much about how he happened to meet Jeff's grandmother while he was assisting civilian relief efforts in German-occupied Belgium during the Great War. That reticence stirred Miller's writerly curiosity about the little-known exploits of the American-led Commission for Relief in Belgium, which went to ingenious and extraordinary lengths to prevent the starvation of millions trapped behind enemy lines during the long, bloody conflict. Thirty years ago, Miller inherited many of his grandfather's CRB papers and his grandmother's diary, which offered fresh insights into that grim struggle. That led to a sprawling historical novel, a project that Miller eventually shelved, and now to something even more ambitious: a three-volume nonfiction account detailing the biggest relief effort the world had ever seen, self-published through Millbrown Press. The first volume, Behind the Lines, showed up in bookstores just in time to celebrate the hundredth anniversary of the founding of the CRB on October 22, 1914. Hungry for a good read? Miller delivers.

Best Poet Laureate

Jovan Mays

Aurora isn't messing around when it comes to the arts, something it proved a year ago by naming Slam Nuba veteran (and a member of the group's 2011 National Poetry Slam champion team) Jovan Mays as its first civic poet laureate. Mays grew up in Aurora with a mind for the power of community; as a performer, he's electric, and his enthusiasm for spoken word is easily shared with others on a human level that cuts through the barriers of poetic hogwash. He'll hold the post through December 2016, and one thing's for sure: He'll be hard to replace when his time is up.

Best Environmental Poetry

Ndewo, Colorado

Uche Ogbuji won a 2014 Colorado Book Award for the poetry he penned in Ndewo, Colorado. Born in Nigeria, Ogbuji traveled the planet before landing in Boulder to work as a computer engineer and raise a family. In his poetry, he blends his love for the environment and the Rocky Mountain region, his scientific know-how and his passion for language, telling concise stories that delight both the left and right sides of the brain.

Best Alternative Poetry Slam

ASL Slam

Slam poetry is often spoken in tones that reflect the meaning of the words being recited, and competition judges take delivery and enunciation into consideration. ASL Slam isn't audible, however, because it's in American Sign Language. Every month, the local chapter of this national group hosts a slam at Hamburger Mary's as a way for literary artists in the deaf community to perform and promote their work. Competitors slam, rap and rhapsodize with their hands, taking the art of slamming to a whole new level.

Best Page-to-Stage Adaptation

Benediction

Author Kent Haruf, author of luminous novels about life on Colorado's eastern plains, died last fall, and this year, the Denver Center presented Benediction, dramatized by Eric Schmiedl, the third of Haruf's novels the company has staged. Set in the fictional town of Holt, it tells the story of Dad Lewis, an old man dying with unresolved wrongs and griefs on his conscience. It didn't hurt that the estimable Mike Hartman returned to town to play the role with his customary guts, talent and integrity. A web of ancillary characters brought the small, fictional town of Holt to life, and the result was a sense of tribute, peace and, yes, benediction.

Best Comedy

Naughty Bits, Buntport Theater

An original piece created by the company itself, Naughty Bits sets up three stories, all involving the famed Roman statue of Hercules — the one that was lovingly restored in the eighteenth century except for one teeny part: his penis. There's a wealthy mansion owner and his sexy, satiric mistress, an eccentric art historian, and a romance novelist who has some problems with real men but is working on a book in which a Lady Louisa falls in love with the statue. These characters all inhabit different time spheres, but their worlds eventually intersect, to insanely comic effect. No one can be as smart, inventive, entertaining and original as Buntport at its best — and the company is at its best here.

Best Drama

Ambition Facing West, BETC

With its complex set requirements, numerous characters and thoughtful plot, Ambition Facing West is an ambitious choice for a small company, and BETC did it proud. The play deals with three generations of an immigrant family: Stipan, who leaves Croatia for the States before World War I and marries a fellow immigrant from Italy; his daughter Alma, who changes before our eyes from an idealistic youngster to a no-nonsense businesswoman; and Alma's bored and very American teenage son. The play touched your emotions even as it made you think.

Best Musical

Fiddler on the Roof

Tarnished by a thousand mediocre high-school and community productions, Fiddler on the Roof seemed a lazy choice for BDT, but under Michael J. Duran's direction, this version was revelatory. You remember Tevye, the poor milkman with five daughters who struggles to keep afloat, the guy who sings "If I Were a Rich Man"? And who all too often comes across like a twinkly-eyed Jewish Santa Claus? This Tevye had depth. And so did everyone else in the talented cast. The staging was great and the songs so well sung that you remembered just how brilliant they are. Best of all, this Fiddler managed to be funny and entertaining while still acknowledging the sorrowful historical currents beneath the folktale.

Best Actress in a Drama

Kate Berry Mann in Charles Ives Take Me Home

The daughter of a professional violinist, Laura is a talented basketball player, all jock and uninterested in music. Needless to say, her dad doesn't appreciate her talent. As Laura, Kate Berry Mann looked like an athlete and had all the sports moves down pat, including a complicated sequence in which her thumping basketball illustrated the musical terms by which her father lives: She dribbled, bounced and passed as he called out: Pizzicato. Arco. Fortissimo. Mann was called on to grow up during the course of the show; she was completely convincing as a gangly teenager and just as convincing as a hard-voiced, take-no-prisoners high-school coach, all the while doing justice to Laura's inner life — the defiance and resignation, the baffled longing for her father's approval.

Best Supporting Actress in a Drama

Karen LaMoureaux in Ambition Facing West

After creating many luminous roles, Karen LaMoureaux vanished from local stages for several years. So it was a delight to see her back for the role of Josephina, an Italian immigrant trying to raise her daughter and support her husband in a country whose culture she found baffling, in Ambition Facing West. LaMoureaux gave this relatively small role a sad, bitter power that made it memorable.

Best Of Denver®

Best Of

Use of this website constitutes acceptance of our terms of use, our cookies policy, and our privacy policy Westword may earn a portion of sales from products & services purchased through links on our site from our affiliate partners. ©2024 Denver Westword, LLC. All rights reserved.
Do Not Sell or Share My Information
Powered By Foundation