ACTOR
Leaning into the Wind
Women Write from the Heart of the West
My mom, Beulah Donnell, gifted Leaning Into the Wind to me in Hot Springs, SD, Christmas 1997. It included her story Prayer and Fudge. This authentic compilation of experiences, written by women, is a regional anthology of short prose, poetry, memories, and recipes. The stories reveal western life on the High Plains, and are not Hollywood cowboy or cowgirl stereotypes. Leaning Into the Wind inspired me to lift from the page - to - the stage these authentic western stories and helped me discover my own personal high plains story. These adaptations for the stage are currently entitled Grass Widows and Wrinklebelly Women and Twisted at Birth.
Oregon’s Fifth Poet Laureate, Lawson Fusao Inada's comments have continued to propel me forward.
Lawson's Remarks:
“I am in awe. That was quite something. . .what she did! Jennie May took Leaning into the Wind, it’s a quiet book, you can read it, you can probably get it at the library, but she brought this book to life. She created these characters who have voices, a chorus, a trio, she added musicians and brought the stories to life. She had the vision, she gave it life; she gave it heart.”
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO HELP PRODUCE THIS PROJECT,
PLEASE CONTACT:
JennieMay@JennieMayDonnell.com
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Work In Progress
THANK YOU:
As we bring these stories to life in Grass Widows and Wrinklebelly Women, I want to thank all who have collaborated and given their love, talent and time:
Linda Hasselstrom, Gaydell Collier, Nancy Curtis, Menno Kraai, Lawson Fusao Inada, Andrea King, Maleagh Baker, Tim Wallace, Michelle Le Comte, Kent Fisher, Jean Robertson, Richard Heller, Jack Dwyer, Kelly Bembry-Hennings, Lonell Hennings, Barnie Sherman, Whitney Hensley, Mary Begley, Friends of Barbara Highstreet, (Lincoln, NE), and Ebba Stedille, Linda Stoval, Vickie Cawthra, Mary Kubichek, Carol Tarantola, Camille van Houten, Gale Alexander, and Gretchen Wheeler of the C-S Academy Book Group, Casper, Wyoming. Many thanks to Playwright Frances Ya Chew Cowhig for her guidance and support.
Jennie May Donnell
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