City Poet Laureate Valerie Martinez's new book, This is How It All Began, published by the Press at the Palace of the Governors, is out. The limited edition (75 only at $100 each) is hand-bound and printed in two colors on a variety of warm-toned papers. It's her salute to Santa Fe's origins and history, up to the present time. She calls it her "gift to the many residents who have educated me, enlightened me, and deepened my love for Santa Fe."

She'll read from the book at her last public reading as Poet Laureate from noon-1 p.m. Wednesday at the Santa Fe Arts Commission Gallery, 201 W. Marcy St.

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No rest for the winners: Jeff Bridges, after his win for Best Actor at last week's Oscar ceremonies, told Oprah he didn't have long to celebrate. In his post-Oscar interview, he said, "From here I go to a plane with the Coen brothers. We will fly to Santa Fe, and we will start our movie True Grit."

The same is true for Ryan Bingham, who won an Oscar for his theme song. He's headed back on the road as one of the big names on the Country Throwdown tour, which kicks off May 14 in Tampa, Fla.

Both men won for the film, Crazy Heart, which was filmed in Santa Fe. Bingham also is a Hobbs native, bringing extra New Mexico flavor to the film.

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Speaking of True Grit, the new Coen Brothers film, has its star. Newcomer Hailee Stanfield has been selected to play the role of Mattie Ross, the young girl who hires an aging marshal to search for her father's killer. It's the key to the film, and Stanfield won the part over 15,000 unknowns who auditioned across the country. The film is on a fast track — it's destined for release on Christmas Day 2010. In addition to Bridges, the film also stars Matt Damon and Josh Brolin.

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Santa Fe artist/designer/writer Beth Surdut, described by NPR as a "creative polymath," was commissioned to create a painted silk bird of paradise shawl, which plays a mysterious role in the world premiere of Zelda at the Oasis. Playwright P.H. Lin's uniquely colored portrait of talent derailed opened Thursday and will run through April 14 at the award-winning Venus Theatre in the Washington, D.C. metro area.

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Randy Travis, Santa Fe's favorite country singer, is courteous to a fault. Recently, when doing a telephone interview with the Ocala, Fla., Star-Banner in advance of a concert there, he stretched 15 minutes into 48, giving a reporter plenty to write about.

Of modern times, Travis said, "It's no different for me than it was 20 years ago, because I don't deal with that mess. I don't own a cell phone. Never have. I'm not going to own a cell phone. I never go on to the computer. At this point, it's a principle."

You can read the interview at www.ocala.com/article/20100311/ARTICLES/3111003?p=1&tc=pg, where Travis expounds on his love for horses, Westerns and the realities of modern country music making.

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