‘Rick O’Shay’ Collection Is A Keeper

Between the years 1958 and 1977, Montana cartoonist/writer Stan Lynde wrote and illustrated the Western comic strip “Rick O’Shay.”

Now, thanks to negotiations between Lynde, his business manager-wife Lynda and the wire service that originally distributed the strip, copies of the daily “Rick O’Shay” are available in collected form.

“Rick O’Shay, the Dailies: 1961-1962” is the second of the 10-volume series to be offered for sale. In a special “Friends of Rick O’Shay Pre-sale,” autographed issues will be offered for $20.

The sale ends April 15. Afterward, a $4 service charge will be tacked on.

To order: Send a check, money order or credit-card number to Cottonwood Publishing, 2340 Tumble Creek Road, Kalispell, MT 59901-6713. Or phone (800) 937-6343.

Taking up the PEN/Faulkner

Ursula Hegi, the Eastern Washington University writing professor who has been nominated for a PEN/Faulkner Award for her novel “Stones From the River,” has reason to celebrate. While not the most prestigious literary prize to be awarded annually, the PEN/Faulkner Award, which was founded in 1980, is this country’s largest annual juried prize.

Just for being one of five nominees, Hegi wins $5,000. If she is the ultimate winner, she earns $15,000.

Some 300 novels were considered by jurors Charles Johnson, William Kittredge and Lee Smith. The winner will be announced in April, and all five nominees will be honored in person on May 13 in a ceremony held at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C.

By the way, “Stones From the River” is a prequel of sorts to Hegi’s previous novel “Floating in My Mother’s Palm.” It involves a young woman’s life in Germany during the years surrounding World War I.

Fresh off the press

“Los Dos Mundos: Rural Mexican Americans, Another America” (Utah State University Press, 304 pages, $24.95) is a look at race relations in a small Idaho town. Written by Richard Baker, a professor of sociology at Boise State University, the book examines how Mexican Americans “seemingly live in a different world than the dominant Anglo population, and because of pervasive stereotypes and exclusive policies, their participation in the community’s social, economic and political life are continually impeded.”

Baker received a Ph.D. in sociology from Washington State University and has taught at Boise State for the past 18 years.

“Custer, Cody & the Last Indian Wars” (Corey/Stevens Publishing, $25) is a look at the last decades of the 19th century, a time of rapid change in which the native tribes were swallowed up, often with violent consequences, by the dominant culture. According to author Jay Kimmel, William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody started his Wild West show at the turn of the century and before long his version of the West became the operative one.

Kimmel, a 1960 graduate of North Central High School, graduated from Eastern Washington University in 1964. To order, contact Corey/ Stevens Publishing, 2111 E. Burnside, Portland, OR 97214.

“The Gold Seekers” by Pauline Battien (Statesman-Examiner, 265 pages, $21.45) is in its third edition. Originally published in 1989, the book is the product of 25 years and more of research into the mining habits of the prospectors who roamed the hills of western Montana, North Idaho, Lower British Columbia and the Colville area of Northeastern Washington.

To order, write to Pauline Battien at 251 N. Elm St., Colville, WA 99114.

The reader board

“Bukowski Redux,” a second reading of the poetry of Charles Bukowski, will be tonight at 7 p.m. at Anaconda Espresso and Poetry, 510 S. Freya. Spokane poet Terry Trueman will take on the character of Bukowski, a cult poet/novelist whose sentiments were on display most notably in the Mickey Rourke film “Barfly.”

Jerry Dolph, author of “Fire in the Hole: The Untold Story of Hardrock Miners,” will sign copies of his book from 5 to 7 p.m. Monday at the Coeur d’Alene Public Library, 201 Harrison. For further information, call (208) 769-2315.

Alan Kesselhelm, author of the outdoor books “Water and Sky” and “Going Inside,” will give a slide show/lecture based on the book at 7 p.m. Monday at Auntie’s Bookstore, Main and Washington.

Swami Durgananda, author of “Realities of the Dreaming Mind,” will present a slide show/reading from the book at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Auntie’s Bookstore.

Martha Manning, author of “Undercurrents: A Therapist’s Reckoning With Depression,” will read from her book at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Auntie’s Bookstore.