by Laurie James In the early fall of 2000, driving back from a Talking Gourds poetry gathering at Windy Point on the Uncompahgre Plateau, poet Jude Janett proposed that she and I start a poetry festival in Salida. She led a writing circle I had been in for a couple of years and had gotten back to writing poetry after a long hiatus. I had no idea what she was proposing, as I had only participated in a couple of poetry open mikes. “Sure, why not? Could be fun,” I replied. As the fall rolled along, we started planning. She…