Articles > Missourians > Fascinating

Eight Seconds

By Jeremy Goldmeier

DUSTIN HALL EARNS his paycheck eight seconds at a time. Think that sounds easy? Ask his coworker: two thousand pounds of bucking, snorting rage. Making a living as a professional bull rider has its perks—plenty of downtime, exotic travel, and hearty prizes for placing at an event. But for those eight pivotal seconds, it’s the least desirable position in the world of sports: hanging on tight as a wild bea…... Read more >

Missouri's First Poet Laureate

By Scott Spilky   As the state’s first poet laureate, Ashland native Walter Bargen has crisscrossed the state speaking, reading his work, and championing the power of words to move the imagination.   “Poems are more relevant than they have ever been,” he says.   Walter, the award-winning author of eleven books, has been writing for nearly thirty years. His work has appeared in more than one hundre…... Read more >

Twain's Ammunition

By Roberta Moores   Missouri boasts movers and shakers in American political, literary, and cultural history. However, only one figure represents all three: Samuel Clemens, whose pen name, Mark Twain, has taken on mythical proportions. Columbia will be fortunate on April 29 to receive a return visit, of sorts, from Twain, in actor Hal Holbrook’s one-man show at a performance in the University Concert Series at Jesse Hall. In a 20…... Read more >

The Family That Plays Together

WHILE SOME TWELVE-YEAR-OLD GIRLS worried over boys and trips to the mall, Larita Martin of Versailles concentrated on playing the Dobro and traveling yearround with her family’s bluegrass band, The Martin Family.

Now fifteen, Larita plays with professionalism that belies her age, as do her three sibling band mates. Jeana plays the fiddle, Dale the guitar, and Janice handles the banjo. Their father, Elvin, plays the bass, and thei…... Read more >