Olsen to present ‘Willa Cather Writes the Immigrant Experience in Rural Nebraska’ at Hastings College

(Hastings, Nebraska) – Rachel Olsen, director of education and engagement at the Willa Cather Foundation, will present, “Willa Cather Writes the Immigrant Experience in Rural Nebraska,” on Wednesday, November 6 from 12:30 to 1:30pm in Wilson Auditorium (814 N. Turner Avenue). The event is free and open to the public. 

The talk, hosted by the Hastings College Department of Languages and Literatures, will examine the immigrant experience in rural Nebraska through the lens of Cather's distinct portrayals of foreign born individuals and the varying degrees to which communities welcomed or excluded them. 

In her 1923 essay "Nebraska: The End of the First Cycle," Cather wrote, "It is in that great cosmopolitan country known as the Middle West that we may hope to see the hard molds of American provincialism broken up." Many other Americans, however, worried that as a result of the 1862 Homestead Act, the influx of European immigrants to the United States would hurt the economy. Cather grew up around many different cultures and appreciated them. 

The event was spurred by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) announcing in October that Cather’s “My Ántonia” was among the 50 titles selected for their 2024 NEA Big Read, which has a theme of “Where We Live” for the year. An initiative of the NEA in partnership with Arts Midwest, the NEA Big Read supports community reading programs designed around a single NEA Big Read book. 

The aim of the program is to broaden the understanding of our world, communities and ourselves through the joy of sharing a good book. Managed by Arts Midwest, this initiative offers grants to support innovative community reading programs.

About Rachel Olsen
Rachel Olsen joined the Willa Cather Foundation as a tour guide in October 2017 and has since worked in a variety of educational roles before becoming the director of education and engagement in 2022. A former college English teacher, she enjoys developing activities and content designed to preserve Cather’s rich literary history. In addition to supervising a team of programming and visitor services staff, Olsen organizes the Teacher Institute and Author Series programs, oversees Opera House seasons of events, plans conferences and seminars and fosters relationships with educators from area schools, colleges and universities. 

Olsen has a master's degree in English from Kansas State University with a certificate in women’s studies and was a full-time faculty member and writing center director at Oklahoma City Community College before moving to Red Cloud, Nebraska. When she is not getting to know visitors or working on educator resources, Olsen enjoys community volunteer work, cooking and going to the movies, but she is happiest spending time with her husband and daughter.