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Arizona History Convention, April 10-12, 2014 in Prescott

Arizona History Convention, April 10-12, 2014 in Prescott

I’ll be chairing a great panel on Saturday morning, April 12, at this year’s Arizona History Convention, to be held at the Prescott Resort and Conference Center.  The panel title is “Turning Lives into Legends: Wyatt Earp, Pearl Hart, and Curly Bill.” Each of our speakers will examine how it is that three memorable Arizona residents–one lawman and two criminals–did or did not pass from their allotted fifteen minutes of fame or notoriety to legendary or even iconic status. Our speakers (and their topics) are:

* Anne Collier: “Stuart Lake’s Wyatt Earp”

* Jean E. Smith: “Pearl Hart: A Legend in Her Own Time”

* Paul Cool: “Curly Bill: Arizona’s All-in-One Robin Hood, Black Knight, and Byronic Hero”

Was Curly Bill Brocius an “outlaw hero”? I’ll be looking into how his contemporaries and Old West mythmakers drew upon legendary, mythical, and literary characters and character types to describe his personality and his brief but memorable time in Arizona Territory. Can only touch the high points in 20 minutes, but I hope the talk will induce you to grab me during the conference for more leisurely chats about this fascinating bad man.

The convention boasts over twenty panels, tours, and special events over three days, with pre- and post-conference special events on the 9th and 13th. For a look at the complete program and hotel information, see http://www.arizonahistory.org/2014%20conv/13-1678-01_PGM_LoRes.pdf