James Castle More recently, I have focused my research on James Castle. Self-taught Idaho artist and bookmaker Castle was born (1899) and raised in Garden Valley, then moved to Treasure Valley in southwestern Idaho in 1924. He died in obscurity in Boise in 1977. In his lifetime, Castle was thought to be deaf, mute, illiterate and mentally challenged. Since 1993, I have devoted my energies to learning more about and appreciating the work of this Idaho genius. As Castle’s official biographer, I have written articles in Biblio, Raw Vision, Folk Art, and The Idaho Review and am currently at work on a book-length biography of the artist. Dr. Peter Lutze, of the BSU Department of Communication and I directed and wrote, respectively, the video documentary Dreamhouse: The Art & Life of James Castle for Painted Smiles Press. In 2000, Dreamhouse premiered on Idaho Public Television. Later this year, in New York City, I will curate Reputedly Illiterate: The Art Books of James Castle, a national, travelling exhibition sponsored by the American Institute of Graphic Arts and the Idaho Center for the Book.