Author Erica Olsen will present "Writing the Four Corners," a lecture beginning at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 11, at the Crow Canyon Archaeological Center, 23390 Road K in Cortez. The event is presented as part of the Four Corners Lecture Series and is free.

Four Corners resident Olsen is the author of Recapture, a collection of short fiction about the once and future West.

Her essays and stories have appeared in publications such as the High Country News and the High Desert Journal.

Olsen uses the subjects of place, landscape, and history to write fiction that reflects on the relationship between nature and culture.

Her work has received awards including the Barthelme Prize for Short Prose, a Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing fellowship at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a residency at the Center for Land Use Interpretation.

Olsen holds a Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing from the University of Montana. She has worked as an archivist at Edge of the Cedars State Park Museum in Blanding, Utah, and a museum technician at the Anasazi Heritage Center in Dolores. She is currently employed at the Crow Canyon Archaeological Center near Cortez.

During her presentation, Olsen will read from Recapture and talk about the role of archaeology, artifacts, national parks, and public lands in her stories.

Organized by a consortium of area organizations, the Four Corners Lecture Series features presentations by guest speakers from around the Southwest. This year's theme is "Knowing the Greater Southwest."

The location of the lectures rotates among the sponsoring organizations.

This year's sponsors are the Anasazi Heritage Center; the Bureau of Land Management; the Crow Canyon Archaeological Center; the Hisatsinom Chapter of the Colorado Archaeological Society; KSJD Dryland Community Radio; Mesa Verde National Park; the Mesa Verde Museum Association; and the Fort Lewis College Office of the President, department of anthropology and Center of Southwest Studies.

For more information, call (970) 564-4396 or (800) 422-8975, ext. 136.