The Silver City Museum is hosting a poetry reading and book signing for It's Only Raven Laughing: Fifty Years in the Southwest, A Book of Narrative Poems by Bonnie Buckley Maldonado on Saturday, October 22^nd at 2pm at the Museum, 312 West Broadway Street in Silver City.

Bonnie Buckley Maldonado has resided in southwestern New Mexico since 1959. She currently lives in the mountains near Silver City with her husband, Librado, and a bevy of rescue animals. She is a professor and dean emeritus in education and counseling at Western New Mexico University (WNMU). It's Only Raven Laughing is her third volume of poetry, and explores the historical and cultural fabric of the region. She writes about life in the Southwest with both humor and sensitivity. "I'm really excited about having an opportunity to share my observations and perceptions of Silver City through the years," Maldonado says.

Maldonado has recently been named the WILLA Finalist in Poetry for It's Only Raven Laughing. The WILLA Literary Award honors the best in literature featuring women's stories set in the West published each year. Women Writing the West (WWW) underwrites and presents the nationally recognized award annually. The competition is open to women in the U.S. and Canada. The award-winning book is the third volume of poetry to be published by Maldonado since her retirement from WNMU in 1999. Her latest book, Too Personal for Words: The Invisible Path of Aging is scheduled for release in November 2011.

It's Only Raven Laughing: Fifty Years in the Southwest, A Book of Narrative Poems is available for sale at the Museum Store. The Silver City Museum creates opportunities for residents and visitors to explore, understand and celebrate the rich and diverse cultural heritage of southwestern New Mexico by collecting, preserving, researching and interpreting the region's unique history. For more information, please contact the Museum at (575) 538-5921, or go to the Museum's website www.silvercitymuseum.org.