8 days, 8 books: building to Wonderlandscape's pub date
To kick off the week before publication of my book Wonderlandscape: Yellowstone National Park and the Evolution of an
American Cultural Icon, I’m celebrating some other great books that are
currently on my mind.
First is the war novel Brave
Deeds by my friend David Abrams. David has lots of friends, because
he's a hard-working “book evangelist” and incredibly insightful reviewer. His
previous novel, Fobbit, got
well-deserved praise for being one of the first novels to tackle the Iraq war
on a comic level. "Fobbits" were the employees of forward operating bases
(FOBs), and David’s tale of their travails was a 21st century
combination of Catch-22 and Office Space. Brave Deeds covers more-conventional soldiering--six AWOL combatants
crossing war-torn Baghdad. Although I haven’t yet had a chance to read it
(because its pub date is one week before mine: August 1!), the reviews are coming in very
favorably.
At a journalism conference back in 2001, I met a smart,
talented writer named Jessica DuLong--also one of the world's
only female fireboat engineers. A few years later I was excited to see
the New Yorker writing up her memoir
of that experience, My River Chronicles. Now
she's got a follow-up, Dust to
Deliverance: Untold Stories from the Maritime Evacuation on September 11.
Giving it a great blurb--"A waterborne evacuation larger than Dunkirk--in New York Harbor?
How come we barely noticed this at the time, and have largely forgotten about
it since?"--is Adam Hochschild, the magnificent author who was
addressing the conference when she and I met.
Just
before Montana's special Congressional election in May, a BuzzFeed article
previewing the election was all over my social media. Unlike so many national
journalists, Anne Helen Petersen painted a picture of the real state I actually
know. She captured what Montana voters wanted—in my opinion, far better
than either party did! So I went out and bought her just-released book, Too Fat, Too Slutty, Too Loud, and wow.
It’s smart, of-the-moment, easy to read, and informative. Most surprising to me
was its similarity to my book: ten chapters, each exploring an aspect of
Yellowstone/celebrity as a representation of wider cultural values.
Todd
Wilkinson's Last Stand, about the
environmentalist billionaire Ted Turner, has been on my to-read-soon list since
it came out a few years ago. Finally this summer became “soon.” Was I surprised
that a hard-hitting journalist could do an independent investigation of a
billionaire, and end up liking him? No, as a longtime fan of Todd's work, that’s
what I expected. What really surprised me was learning how Turner applied his
business smarts--building the brand of "bison"--to his ranching/environmental work.
I had just reached a point of no return on Wonderlandscape when I learned that
noted journalist and author George Black was about to publish Empire of Shadows: The Epic Story of
Yellowstone. It made me nervous. Luckily I can report that Empire of Shadows is both a very
different book than mine, and a complementary one. Black really wants to talk about
the Indian wars that preceded the founding of Yellowstone, the ones that made
Montana "safe" enough for the world’s first national park. Sadly, they involved
less-well-known versions of the same types of atrocities that have been
condemned elsewhere in the Indian wars--which were committed by some of the same
people we now laud as Yellowstone’s founders.
Among my initial hesitations in writing Wonderlandscape was that my good friend Gary Ferguson has already
written so many great books about Yellowstone. How could I compete? Eventually
I came up with what I see as a unique angle on Yellowstone’s history, and of
course Gary was very supportive. Meanwhile his new book Land on Fire provides easy-to-understand explanations of a key issue that my final
chapter could only briefly address: why wildfires have gotten so much bigger in
recent years.
Jordan Fisher Smith's Engineering
Eden was a valuable source for me, a deep exploration of federal wildlife
policies wrapped inside a dramatic wrongful-death lawsuit that I’d already
identified as a key moment in Yellowstone history. Recently I went back to
enjoy Smith's previous book, Nature Noir,
an amiable memoir of his career as a ranger at an obscure, violent, and doomed
park in California. Smith has a great knack for shining light on our
relationship to nature from unexpected angles.
I still remember the moment when I started the actual
writing of Wonderlandscape. I was
reading Philip Fradkin's Sagebrush
Country, and I suddenly set it down and started scrawling what I knew would
be the opening lines of my book. What's left of that text is now buried toward
the end of chapter 4, but I had indeed found my voice. It was a powerful
moment, and some of the credit should go to the often-underappreciated,
now-deceased Fradkin, whose smooth, informed prose did so much to unlock my
own.
Labels: history, narrative, Wonderlandscape
New book Wonderlandscape and coming events
New book Wonderlandscape looks at the history and changing fame of Yellowstone National Park
Author John Clayton schedules Montana events
On August 8, 2017, Pegasus Books will release Wonderlandscape: Yellowstone National Park and the Evolution of an American Cultural Icon, a nonfiction book by Montana author John Clayton. In the following several weeks, the author will speak about the book at events in Billings, Red Lodge, and Missoula, Montana.
“The question that drove me was, ‘Why is Yellowstone famous?’” Clayton says. “When I asked people, they would cite different qualities: the geysers, the grizzlies, the bison, the ecosystem as a whole, the fact that it was the first national park—and even Yogi Bear. What really fascinated me was when I realized how these qualities took turns driving Yellowstone’s fame.” Yellowstone has always stood—and continues to stand—at the center of American cultural watersheds, whether it was changing social mores with Teddy Roosevelt, the birth of new movements in architecture and photography, or the revolutionizing of our concepts of ecology and conservation.
Clayton is the author of several previous books, including The Cowboy Girl, a biography of the Montana/Wyoming novelist, journalist, and homesteader Caroline Lockhart, which was a finalist for a High Plains Book Award and a Best Book of the Year from the website NewWest.net, and Stories from Montana's Enduring Frontier, a collection of essays on Montana history. A regular contributor to Montana Quarterly and other magazines, he has lived in greater Yellowstone for 27 years.
Early praise for Wonderlandscape
In Wonderlandscape, Clayton explores how Yellowstone’s reputation—and its relationship to the values of the nation as a whole—has been enriched and redefined by characters including painters, architects, naturalists, dude ranchers, scientists, firefighters, and of course talking cartoon bears. The hardcover book also features 32 historic and color photos of the Yellowstone area.
“Wonderlandscape will change the way you think about the country. And beyond that, it will leave you with a with a fresh sense of how the world’s first national park has long been a mirror for who we are, and who we hope to become,” says Gary Ferguson, author of The Carry Home and several books about Yellowstone.
Kirkus Reviews calls Wonderlandscape “A thoughtful study of a celebrated natural wonder that has come to truly “embod[y] American ideals,” while Publishers Weekly says, “Clayton succeeds in presenting Yellowstone as a core American institution... through which Americans have redefined themselves across generations.”
Montana events
The author is celebrating with a “book release party” at Red Lodge Ales (1445 North Broadway in Red Lodge) on Tuesday, August 8 from 5:30 – 8:00 PM. The open house will feature hors d'oeuvres and a half-price beer for book purchasers.
The Billings Public Library (510 North Broadway in Billings, 406/657-8258) will host an author talk on Wednesday, September 20 at 7:00 PM. The lecture and slideshow will feature readings from the book and a Q&A.
The Carbon County Historical Society and Museum (224 North Broadway in Red Lodge, 406/446-3667) will host Clayton for its Lecture Series on Wednesday, September 27 at 7:00 PM. The lecture and slideshow, featuring readings from the book and a Q&A, is free to members and $2 for nonmembers.
Clayton will appear at the Montana Book Festival in Missoula September 28–October 1 (http://www.montanabookfestival.org/) in a schedule and format to be determined.
The Western Heritage Center (2822 Montana Avenue in Billings, 406/256-6809) will host Clayton for its High Noon Speakers Series at 12:00 PM on Thursday, October 19, in an event sponsored by Northwestern Energy that serves as an informal kickoff for the High Plains BookFest.
Except as noted above, all events are free and open to the public. Wonderlandscape will be available for purchase at all of the events, and starting August 8 is also available in hardcover and e-book formats from all traditional and online booksellers, including local independent bookstores. The book’s ISBN is 978-1681774572.
Additional valuable links
Labels: events, Wonderlandscape
Wonderlandscape
I'm pleased to announce that my new book, WONDERLANDSCAPE: A CULTURAL HISTORY OF YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, will be published by Pegasus Books in August 2017. The book tells ten stories of adventures in Yellowstone that demonstrate the park's changing meaning to American culture at large.
The book tells stories of artists (Ansel Adams, Thomas Moran), naturalists (Ernest Thompson Seton, Frank and John Craighead), entrepreneurs (dude rancher Larry Larom, hotelier Harry Child), and cartoon bears (Yogi). Each character makes a journey that fulfills an individual quest such as money or fame. But each quest also ends up reflecting and redefining Yellowstone for the values of its era. For example, when Seton in 1897 wanted to observe bears so as to more effectively craft his popular illustrated animal stories, his adventures highlighted the way Yellowstone in that era transformed from a set of geological oddities to a wildlife sanctuary -- at a time when the nation was concerned about disappearing populations of bison and other species.
Each journey thus added a layer of meaning to the park, and these accumulated layers are what make Yellowstone such a culturally rich place. (What's that, you thought Yellowstone was a natural place, not a cultural one? Well, yes, that's part of its fascinating cultural development!)
I've been working on this book for several years and am delighted to have placed it with Pegasus, an outstanding house with a rich list in history, nature, science, and narrative. This will be my first book published in New York, and my first time in hardcover. When the book is published, it will be available in your favorite bookstore, and I'll be sure to announce details on this site as well as social media. But if you want to get a personalized notice (and yes, of course I won't sell your name), shoot me an email at info@johnclaytonbooks.com.
The book tells stories of artists (Ansel Adams, Thomas Moran), naturalists (Ernest Thompson Seton, Frank and John Craighead), entrepreneurs (dude rancher Larry Larom, hotelier Harry Child), and cartoon bears (Yogi). Each character makes a journey that fulfills an individual quest such as money or fame. But each quest also ends up reflecting and redefining Yellowstone for the values of its era. For example, when Seton in 1897 wanted to observe bears so as to more effectively craft his popular illustrated animal stories, his adventures highlighted the way Yellowstone in that era transformed from a set of geological oddities to a wildlife sanctuary -- at a time when the nation was concerned about disappearing populations of bison and other species.
Each journey thus added a layer of meaning to the park, and these accumulated layers are what make Yellowstone such a culturally rich place. (What's that, you thought Yellowstone was a natural place, not a cultural one? Well, yes, that's part of its fascinating cultural development!)
I've been working on this book for several years and am delighted to have placed it with Pegasus, an outstanding house with a rich list in history, nature, science, and narrative. This will be my first book published in New York, and my first time in hardcover. When the book is published, it will be available in your favorite bookstore, and I'll be sure to announce details on this site as well as social media. But if you want to get a personalized notice (and yes, of course I won't sell your name), shoot me an email at info@johnclaytonbooks.com.
Labels: Wonderlandscape
A narrative nonfiction reading list
My
gig as visiting writer at Montana State University-Billings is about
one-third complete, and I'm enjoying teaching
“Finding and Telling the Story: Narrative Nonfiction,” the
advanced writing workshop that's listed under four categories in the
English and Honors departments. The students are intelligent,
motivated, and generally well-prepared. The institution has been very
supportive.
And
friends have been very curious. What are we reading? The bedrock for
the course is Jon Franklin's Writing
for Story, an
easy-to-read how-to. For easy insight into how an author made certain
choices, we're reading selections from my Stories
from Montana's Enduring Frontier.
But additionally, we're reading some famous pieces that have appeared
in American magazines over the last 25 years, including the
following:
Gary
Smith, “Shadow
of a Nation”
Susan
Orlean, “The
American Man, Age 10”
Peter
Hessler, “Dr.
Don”
Michael
Paterniti, “Driving
Mr. Albert”
Michael
Lewis, Before
'The Big Short': Michael Lewis' first take on the financial collapse
(first 2,000 words) or “Wall
Street on the Tundra”
Laura
Secor, “War
of Words”
Chuck
Klosterman, “Why
I Am Rooting For Duke”
Jess
Walter, “Statistical
Abstract for My Home of Spokane, Washington”
For
me one of the great joys of the course is revisiting some of my
favorite works and discussing them with others. Perhaps you will find
some gems on this list as well.
Labels: narrative
John Steinbeck's Montana, in The Montana Quarterly
"We go to press tomorrow," the editor emailed me
at ten minutes to 5:00 that night. "And I have one question. Did Steinbeck
travel over Homestake Pass or Pipestone Pass?" I'd written that the author
John Steinbeck, in Travels with Charley,
stopped at Montana's Continental Divide, "presumably on Pipestone Pass near Butte." But Interstate 90 travels
over Homestake Pass. Almost nobody goes over Pipestone Pass, five miles south.
"It's a small
item, but I don't want some Buttian calling up pissed off," the editor
said. Let me say here how much I love writing for the Montana Quarterly. They notice things like this. Because they have
readers who notice things like this. Some of those readers live in Butte, which
has a reputation for directness.
There was a moment of
panic because I didn't have proof handy. Steinbeck just called it the
Continental Divide. Bill Steigerwald, whose wonderful book Dogging Steinbeck I quoted, didn't mention the pass. "I
believe I saw a map," I emailed back right away. "Let me see if I can
find it."
It took a while to
find. But I did. And I was glad. Because it makes a difference.
One of the main points
of my article is that road-tripping was different in 1960, when Steinbeck and
Charley crossed the country. There were very few Interstate highways. And so on
back roads, Steinbeck got a different, richer feel for the landscape and
culture he was traveling through. Today the Interstate catapults you over
Homestake Pass as fast as your transmission will allow.
But soon after
arriving in Montana, I made a point of driving over Pipestone Pass. It was a Blue
Highways
kind
of experience, one I've never forgotten. It helped me envision what Steinbeck
had seen, that we don't see today. That's what I tried to capture in the
article, and maybe by mentioning the backwater pass I could inspire one or two
of our readers to go have that experience themselves.
kind
of experience, one I've never forgotten. It helped me envision what Steinbeck
had seen, that we don't see today. That's what I tried to capture in the
article, and maybe by mentioning the backwater pass I could inspire one or two
of our readers to go have that experience themselves. Labels: articles
Lavina in the Montana Quarterly
I have some friends in Lavina, the town of 180 people about 45 miles northwest of Billings. So for the latest Rural Route for The Montana Quarterly magazine -- the column where they send a writer and photographer to hang out in a small town and tell stories about its characters -- I figured if nothing else I could write about my friends. But Lavina was so full of fascinating people that I didn't even mention them!
I did this assignment with photographer John Warner. In addition to running in the magazine, his shot of the little-seen interior of the Adams Hotel was recently highlighted by National Geographic.
Here's an excerpt from the article:
Gerard Peters, 86, seems to have a permanent twinkle in his eye. He’s not a cattle baron, he doesn’t have much acreage, he doesn’t live on a blue-ribbon trout stream. But his pleasures are simpler. “I like being around family and cattle,” he says.
Raised on a ranch north of Lewistown, Gerard has spent his whole life in Montana, except for a four-year stint in the Air Force where he met his wife Jeanine. They raised 10 sons and a daughter. His jobs involved livestock, land, and people: ranching, guiding, mining. Once he managed a 43,000-acre ranch for a committee of 25 owners. Now it’s just a few acres with his son John, John’s wife Mary, and their family. But to Gerard this land east of Lavina is a little slice of heaven.It's not available online, so to read the whole thing, you’ll have to subscribe.
Labels: articles
Millenials and the New West in Magic
When Magic (formerly Magic City, the magazine of Billings,
Montana) was developing a package on the millennial generation, the editor
asked if I could contribute some thoughts from a historical perspective. And as
she talked about potential conflict among generations, I thought of the 1990s
fad of talking about the New West. Wasn't that, beneath the hype, merely a
previous generational clash?
Labels: articles, Montana's Enduring Frontier
Philipsburg in Montana Quarterly
When the editor tossed out an idle question -- "Do you know
anything about Philipsburg? I'm thinking of doing it for a Rural Route" -- my
response was immediate.
"Oh please please please let me write it! I love
Philipsburg!"
He did let me write it, and my love grew. This small old
mining town has so many classic Montana qualities: historic downtown
architecture, outdoor recreation, great scenery, interesting artistic
connections, a great microbrewery, and fascinating friendly people.
Labels: articles
Medicine Lake in Montana Quarterly
For many years my favorite section of my favorite magazine
has been the “Rural Route” feature in the Montana Quarterly. There’s no plot:
they just send some writer and photographer to a small Montana town. In his
five-year tenure, Jeff Hull continually got me to love these towns I’d never
been to. Jeff has recently moved on to new challenges, and this quarter, I got
to write one of the columns. It’s a tremendous honor and great thrill.
Furthermore, the town of Medicine Lake (waaaaay up in the northeast corner of the
state) was far more fun than I could have imagined. I hope the piece captured at
least some of the pleasure I had at Lake's Homecoming weekend.
Labels: articles
Reflections West radio program
I'm honored to have had an essay selected for the fine public radio program "Reflections West." The program pairs a "reflection" with a passage from a work of western literature. Given how much time I had spent with Caroline Lockhart's novels, she seemed the obvious choice for me. I selected one of my favorite passages from her work, and then talked about what I think it means to people today.
If you listen to Montana Public Radio, you'll hear it tonight (Tuesday 12/10) at 8:30, or Wednesday at 3:55 pm. On Yellowstone Public Radio, it'll be Thursday at 7:01 pm. And if you don't get those stations, or you're away from your radio at the time of broadcast, you can listen at http://reflectionswest.org/
If you listen to Montana Public Radio, you'll hear it tonight (Tuesday 12/10) at 8:30, or Wednesday at 3:55 pm. On Yellowstone Public Radio, it'll be Thursday at 7:01 pm. And if you don't get those stations, or you're away from your radio at the time of broadcast, you can listen at http://reflectionswest.org/
The story of Mossmain in Montana Magazine
“The story of the ’20’s, Montana’s disastrous decade,” wrote beloved historian Joseph Kinsey Howard, was told by “the derelict privy, the boarded-up schoolhouse, the dust-drifted, weed-grown road, and the rotting, rusted fence.” This was how the homestead boom of 1900–1917 crashed: year-to-year grain yields could drop by a factor of 10, the average value per acre of farmland fell by 50 percent and 11,000 farms (one-fifth of the state total) disappeared entirely.
The tale of the forlorn honyockers, betrayed by rain that failed to follow the plow, has been often and well told. The realization that Montana’s spectacular landscapes could not become a small farmer’s paradise has often been seen as a turning point, or even an end point, in the state’s history.
But when history focuses solely on the homesteader, we miss the scale of the devastation to the state’s image of itself. One way to reveal that scale is to visit the metropolis of Mossmain. Shall we start downtown? Maybe at the Municipal (farmers’) Market, next to the Civic Center and City Hall, at one end of the grassy promenade that leads down past the Publishing House to the railroad tracks? From downtown, streets diverge in a fan pattern, and we can stroll down Gardenvale, past schools and play fields toward the tree-lined Institution.Unfortunately the entire text isn't available online, but here's where to subscribe.
The story is excerpted from my book "Stories from Montana's Enduring Frontier." It's basically the same text in both places. The magazine has more (and color!) pictures. The book has 26 other essays about Montana history. I'd be honored if you chose to read in either or both places.
Labels: articles
Yellowstone visitation as compared to national population
This chart shows the visitation to Yellowstone National Park as a percentage of the total U.S. population for 1904-1999. There's a huge dip caused by World War II. Otherwise, it rises rather steadily, and increasingly, from about 1918 to 1970. After 1970, there are many more fluctuations, but the general trend is steady or ever-so-slightly increasing.
To me, the trend clearly relates to the nationwide increase in automobile usage and appreciation. Autos weren't allowed into Yellowstone until 1915 (although the numbers don't start rising for a few years after that). And by 1970, I suspect every family that wanted a car had one.
Other possible causation factors: 1) In 1916 Yellowstone was taken over by the new National Park Service, which focused on publicity much more than previous administrators had. Not only did it have bigger advertising budgets, but it better understood what Yellowstone (should) mean to the public. Those messages may have become less powerful in the 1970s. 2) The Progressive Era, starting in the 1910s, was a time of general public trust in the federal government. Highways, dams, and other public works projects including parks were well loved. By the 1970s this trust was no longer rising, and perhaps even starting to erode.
Do you have other ideas? I'd love to hear them.
(Sources: http://www.census.gov/population/estimates/nation/popclockest.txt and https://irma.nps.gov/Stats/SSRSReports/Park%20Specific%20Reports/Annual%20Park%20Visitation%20(All%20Years)?Park=YELL)
Other possible causation factors: 1) In 1916 Yellowstone was taken over by the new National Park Service, which focused on publicity much more than previous administrators had. Not only did it have bigger advertising budgets, but it better understood what Yellowstone (should) mean to the public. Those messages may have become less powerful in the 1970s. 2) The Progressive Era, starting in the 1910s, was a time of general public trust in the federal government. Highways, dams, and other public works projects including parks were well loved. By the 1970s this trust was no longer rising, and perhaps even starting to erode.
Do you have other ideas? I'd love to hear them.
(Sources: http://www.census.gov/population/estimates/nation/popclockest.txt and https://irma.nps.gov/Stats/SSRSReports/Park%20Specific%20Reports/Annual%20Park%20Visitation%20(All%20Years)?Park=YELL)
Labels: Wonderlandscape
“Hope and Bacon” in the Montana Quarterly
I have a story out in the Summer 2013 edition of the Montana Quarterly magazine. It’s an expanded version of an essay that appears in Stories from Montana’s Enduring Frontier. Here’s how it begins:
“We live in an ant hill, and the world outside is very big and very far away.”
So wrote “Suzette,” the celebrity journalist from Philadelphia, during her weeklong sojourn in the Montana mining camp of Altyn in 1901. Also known as Swift Current, Altyn was two days’ ride from the nearest railroad stop. Thus, as Suzette put it, “The Boers might invade England and the news would not awaken a hundredth part of the interest that would the story that Old Man Harris has jumped French Pete’s claim.”
Located not far from what is now Many Glacier Hotel in Glacier National Park, Altyn was one of the last gasps of old-fashioned prospecting fever in most of the continental United States...
It's not available online, so to read the whole thing, you’ll have to subscribe. Subscribing to this magazine -- purchased last autumn by one of its editors -- is worthwhile for more than just my story. It effectively captures life in Montana through great writing and photography.
Labels: articles
Events in Billings June 20 and 22
I'm excited to be in Billings for two upcoming Stories from Montana's Enduring Frontier events. In the first, I’ll be at the Western Heritage Center as part of their High Noon Lecture Series, on Thursday, June 20, 2013 at Noon. This is a great venue and a vibrant part of downtown. I’ll be doing a summary of the book with some slides. (The program may also air on Community 7 television Friday at 5pm, Saturday at 10am and 4pm, and Sunday at 7am and 9pm.) The event is free and books will be for sale.
If you prefer your lunch on the West End, on Saturday, June 22, I’ll be signing books at Costco from 11-1. That’s right, you can have an inexpensive hot dog for lunch, and take home a gallon of mustard and a copy of Stories from Montana's Enduring Frontier. I may even give away free samples.
I hope to see all of my greater Billings friends and acquaintances at one or both occasions!
If you prefer your lunch on the West End, on Saturday, June 22, I’ll be signing books at Costco from 11-1. That’s right, you can have an inexpensive hot dog for lunch, and take home a gallon of mustard and a copy of Stories from Montana's Enduring Frontier. I may even give away free samples.
I hope to see all of my greater Billings friends and acquaintances at one or both occasions!
Stories of Wyoming’s enduring frontier
Although my new book collects my essays on Montana history,
I live close to the Wyoming state line, and have long been fascinated by
frontier issues just to the south of me. (Some of them took up another entire book.) So I also want to note the official launch of an incredible online resource, to
which I was happily able to contribute a couple of items.
WyoHistory.org is an online mega-encyclopedia covering the history
of the Cowboy State. It includes encyclopedia entries on major people, places
and events -- all vetted by professionals --- and it also includes essays, oral
histories, and field trip ideas. It’s all attractively formatted, easily
searchable, and continuing to grow. Great kudos should go to editor Tom Rea.
My two contributions are listed at http://www.wyohistory.org/authors/john-clayton
but really one can spend hours at any portion of the site.
Labels: Caroline Lockhart, history
Book Release Party! May 17 in Red Lodge
Please come help me celebrate the release of Stories from Montana's Enduring Frontier. I'll be hosting a Book Release Party on Friday, May 17, from 5-7 pm at Cafe Regis (501 S Word Ave) in Red Lodge. The event is free and open to the public.
What is a Book Release Party? It's a chance for me as an author to say Thanks! to all the many people who have helped make this book become a reality. And since the book collects 20 years' worth of essays on Montana history, that's a lot of people! But it's not a tedious lecture -- I plan to do almost all of my talking in very small groups -- it's a warm, fun get-together.
What makes it a party? Well, I'll be tapping a special book-release keg of my award-winning homebrew beer. Some of you may have seen the recipe I contributed to the Montana Writer's Cookbook: it was for my Ginger Porter beer. I'll be giving it away, and planning for the party to continue until it's gone.
Books will be for sale via Red Lodge Books, and I'll be happy to sign them. (I can personalize it to you or just put in an autograph so you can later give it as a gift.) But there's no obligation to buy. The main point is that writing is a lonely activity, and when the book is published I get to talk to other people again. So please join me!
What makes it a party? Well, I'll be tapping a special book-release keg of my award-winning homebrew beer. Some of you may have seen the recipe I contributed to the Montana Writer's Cookbook: it was for my Ginger Porter beer. I'll be giving it away, and planning for the party to continue until it's gone.
Books will be for sale via Red Lodge Books, and I'll be happy to sign them. (I can personalize it to you or just put in an autograph so you can later give it as a gift.) But there's no obligation to buy. The main point is that writing is a lonely activity, and when the book is published I get to talk to other people again. So please join me!
Labels: events, Montana's Enduring Frontier
New blog address: johnclaytonbooks.blogspot.com
When I started this blog ten years ago, blogging was new and unusual. It was the earliest form of social networking. And although I'd describe my technical skills as "intermediate at best," I was easily able to incorporate the blog into my website.
Years have passed, other easier social-networking platforms have arisen, and I don't post here as often as I used to. Weirdly, however, the technical background of blogging has gotten profoundly more complex. I've probably spent more time in the last year trying to fix blog glitches than write blog entries. (Part of the problem, I think, is that the blog is indeed so old. Starting anew would be easier.)
And so, in an announcement that may be moot for all of you who have successfully arrived here to read it, I'd like to note that the latest technical fix has resulted in a change in the blog's address. It's now www.johnclaytonbooks.blogspot.com. The rest of the website is still www.johnclaytonbooks.com (and the blog's feedburner address is still http://feeds.feedburner.com/JohnClaytonsBlog). I have tried to appropriately update all of the relevant cross-links. But if you find a broken one, please feel free to let me know. Thanks for continuing to read!
Years have passed, other easier social-networking platforms have arisen, and I don't post here as often as I used to. Weirdly, however, the technical background of blogging has gotten profoundly more complex. I've probably spent more time in the last year trying to fix blog glitches than write blog entries. (Part of the problem, I think, is that the blog is indeed so old. Starting anew would be easier.)
And so, in an announcement that may be moot for all of you who have successfully arrived here to read it, I'd like to note that the latest technical fix has resulted in a change in the blog's address. It's now www.johnclaytonbooks.blogspot.com. The rest of the website is still www.johnclaytonbooks.com (and the blog's feedburner address is still http://feeds.feedburner.com/JohnClaytonsBlog). I have tried to appropriately update all of the relevant cross-links. But if you find a broken one, please feel free to let me know. Thanks for continuing to read!
Russell Rowland's "High and Inside" (another Next Big Thing)
When I was tagged as one of the latest writers to talk about
the "Next Big Thing," I wrote about Stories
from Montana’s Enduring Frontier. And then I tagged some friends, including
novelist Russell Rowland. Although Russell’s website is here, he’s answering his Next Big
Thing questions as a guest-blogger. So without further ado, here’s Russell:
What is the working
title of your book?
HIGH AND INSIDE
What genre does your
book fall under?
This would fall under the category of alcoholic former
baseball players move to Montana literature.
Which actors would
you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
Jack Huston for the lead guy. He's that guy on Boardwalk
Empire that is missing half his face... John Huston's grandson. Catherine
Keener for his sister. John C. Reilly for his brother-in-law. Not sure about
the others.
What is a
one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Pete Hurley, former pitcher for the Red Sox, moves to
Montana to escape the damage he's done back East, only to create a whole new
set of problems for himself.
How long did it take
you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
Probably about a year. I've been working on this book for
fifteen years, so it's hard to say.
What other books would
you compare this story to within your genre?
It's sort of a combination of Field of Dreams and
Affliction.
Who or what inspired
you to write this book?
A friend of mine told me a story that happened when she was
about twelve. She had a crush on a friend of her brother's... a big biker dude.
One day he was at their house and he was so drunk he started to tip over, and
she ran over to try and catch him before her brother pulled her out of the way
just in time to avoid having the guy fall on her.
What else about your
book might pique a reader’s interest?
The other main character is a three-legged female dog named
Dave.
When and how will it
be published?
This summer by Bangtail Press out of Bozeman, Montana.
Who are you tagging
to be the next writer to talk about their Next Big Thing?
Novelist Nancy Bilyeau at http://nancybilyeau.blogspot.comThanks Russell for participating!
The Next Big Thing: Montana's Enduring Frontier
My friend and fellow Montana writer David Abrams recently invited me to participate in the blog-tagging "Next Big Thing" which is currently making the rounds among writers. I felt like David was interviewing me! (The questions were the same ones he'd answered, but I've seen that gimmick elsewhere...). At the end of this post, I'll tag-team a few other authors in hopes they'll tell us about their own works-in-progress. Here are the standard questions:
What is the working title of your book?
Stories of Montana's Enduring Frontier: Exploring an Untamed Legacy. I know that's a mouthful. I have trouble remembering the subtitle part myself. I can often be found thinking of it in the abbreviated form Montana's Enduring Frontier.
What genre does your book fall under?
Well, there's History, there's Essays, and there's Montana. Although when you put all three of those together, I think that's too specific for a genre.
Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
Robert Redford actually makes two appearances here. In one, I argue that his role in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid actually stole the (warped) dreams of another dead outlaw named Kid -- Kid Curry. In the other, he attends the 1974 (re)burial of famed mountain man Liver-Eating Johnston, prompting at least one eulogist to refer to the real-life deceased as the fictionalized Redford character "Jeremiah Johnson."
In other words, this being nonfiction, I didn't really get a choice. History has already cast Redford playing more than one of my characters!
What is a one-sentence synopsis of your book?
When Montana ran out of frontier, its unique history really began.
How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
This is designed as a collection of previously-published magazine articles, so it's not like I started writing a novel and finished the following Tuesday. Still, in collecting the pieces, I was stunned to find that I've been writing magazine articles on Montana history and culture for more than 20 years! It seems like an absurdly long amount of time, even to finish a book.
What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
While putting it together, I was reading historian Jill LePore's collection of wonderful New Yorker essays, The Story of America. (Also Michael Lewis’ Boomerang, but that covers only the “essay” genre.) And when it comes to Montana history, I think all books need to be compared to Joseph Kinsey Howard’s High, Wide, and Handsome.
Who or what inspired you to write this book?
The editor called me! Will McKay of The History Press asked if I'd ever considered such a collection. Since I hadn't yet realized that I'd been doing this for 20 years, my first reaction was that I didn't have enough material. But when I took a closer look -- and got commissions for three brand-new pieces -- it turned out he was right. Any piece of writing improves when it's cut, so I'm happy to report that after I collected everything, we cut more than 20 percent of it.
What else about your book might pique a reader's interest?
It has the richest-ever portrayal of everyday life in the now-vanished mining camp of Swift Current, a defense of the importance of dude ranchers in positively influencing the path of Montana development, some unsung female and Native American heroes, and a bunch of really ornery characters who won't do what anyone tells them to.
When and how will it be published?
In late May it will come out from the History Press in most of the various permutations of publishing today: physical (paperback) book or e-book, at your independent bookseller or a chain or online. Check back here soon for how to pre-order.
And now here are some of my friends who have agreed to talk about their Next Big Things:
Russell Rowland, my editor on the book West of 98 and wonderful novelist (In Open Spaces) in his own right (Russell's Next Big Thing will be presented as a guest post right here on my blog);
Susan Kushner Resnick, whose Goodbye Wifes and Daughters is the best book ever written about Bearcreek, Montana: http://www.susankushnerresnick.com/wp/blog/
Gary Robson, author of the popular Who Pooped in the Park? series of children's books: http://garyrobson.wordpress.com/
and Tamara Upton, whose writing coincides with her career as a stand-up comedian: http://www.tamaraboggioupton.com/apps/blog
Robert Redford actually makes two appearances here. In one, I argue that his role in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid actually stole the (warped) dreams of another dead outlaw named Kid -- Kid Curry. In the other, he attends the 1974 (re)burial of famed mountain man Liver-Eating Johnston, prompting at least one eulogist to refer to the real-life deceased as the fictionalized Redford character "Jeremiah Johnson."
In other words, this being nonfiction, I didn't really get a choice. History has already cast Redford playing more than one of my characters!
What is a one-sentence synopsis of your book?
When Montana ran out of frontier, its unique history really began.
How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
This is designed as a collection of previously-published magazine articles, so it's not like I started writing a novel and finished the following Tuesday. Still, in collecting the pieces, I was stunned to find that I've been writing magazine articles on Montana history and culture for more than 20 years! It seems like an absurdly long amount of time, even to finish a book.
What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
While putting it together, I was reading historian Jill LePore's collection of wonderful New Yorker essays, The Story of America. (Also Michael Lewis’ Boomerang, but that covers only the “essay” genre.) And when it comes to Montana history, I think all books need to be compared to Joseph Kinsey Howard’s High, Wide, and Handsome.
Who or what inspired you to write this book?
The editor called me! Will McKay of The History Press asked if I'd ever considered such a collection. Since I hadn't yet realized that I'd been doing this for 20 years, my first reaction was that I didn't have enough material. But when I took a closer look -- and got commissions for three brand-new pieces -- it turned out he was right. Any piece of writing improves when it's cut, so I'm happy to report that after I collected everything, we cut more than 20 percent of it.
What else about your book might pique a reader's interest?
It has the richest-ever portrayal of everyday life in the now-vanished mining camp of Swift Current, a defense of the importance of dude ranchers in positively influencing the path of Montana development, some unsung female and Native American heroes, and a bunch of really ornery characters who won't do what anyone tells them to.
When and how will it be published?
In late May it will come out from the History Press in most of the various permutations of publishing today: physical (paperback) book or e-book, at your independent bookseller or a chain or online. Check back here soon for how to pre-order.
And now here are some of my friends who have agreed to talk about their Next Big Things:
Russell Rowland, my editor on the book West of 98 and wonderful novelist (In Open Spaces) in his own right (Russell's Next Big Thing will be presented as a guest post right here on my blog);
Susan Kushner Resnick, whose Goodbye Wifes and Daughters is the best book ever written about Bearcreek, Montana: http://www.susankushnerresnick.com/wp/blog/
Gary Robson, author of the popular Who Pooped in the Park? series of children's books: http://garyrobson.wordpress.com/
and Tamara Upton, whose writing coincides with her career as a stand-up comedian: http://www.tamaraboggioupton.com/apps/blog
I'm always interested in feedback, via info at johnclaytonbooks dot com
Labels: Montana's Enduring Frontier
New book coming out
Great news! I will be publishing a new
book in May. "Stories from Montana's Enduring Frontier," a collection of my
magazine articles about Montana history, will be coming out from The History Press.
It's hard for me to believe that I've been publishing magazine articles for 20 years. But when editor Will McKay approached me with the idea of collecting them, I had two realizations. First, I had plenty of material to make a book. (After collecting it all, I ended up cutting almost 25 percent.) Second, the book isn't just a random ego assortment -- it actually has a theme.
It turns out that when I propose topics to magazine editors (or, less frequently, when they assign topics to me), I gravitate toward a certain time period, type of character, and historical impulse. I'm fascinated by the moment when Montana ran out of frontier. It's a "moment," of course, that takes place at various times in various places across the state. And it can play out very differently. But Montana's relationship to its frontier past is strong, immediate, and really fun to explore.
There's more information on the book at http://www.johnclaytonbooks.com/EnduringFrontier.htm. You can also follow its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/MontanasEnduringFrontier.
I'm always interested in feedback, via info at johnclaytonbooks dot com
It's hard for me to believe that I've been publishing magazine articles for 20 years. But when editor Will McKay approached me with the idea of collecting them, I had two realizations. First, I had plenty of material to make a book. (After collecting it all, I ended up cutting almost 25 percent.) Second, the book isn't just a random ego assortment -- it actually has a theme.
It turns out that when I propose topics to magazine editors (or, less frequently, when they assign topics to me), I gravitate toward a certain time period, type of character, and historical impulse. I'm fascinated by the moment when Montana ran out of frontier. It's a "moment," of course, that takes place at various times in various places across the state. And it can play out very differently. But Montana's relationship to its frontier past is strong, immediate, and really fun to explore.
There's more information on the book at http://www.johnclaytonbooks.com/EnduringFrontier.htm. You can also follow its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/MontanasEnduringFrontier.
I'm always interested in feedback, via info at johnclaytonbooks dot com
Labels: Montana's Enduring Frontier
