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WHAT THEY DON'T SAY IN THE DEBATES

Last Friday, at the onset of the ongoing congressional struggle over our "main street economic rescue package," fifty million of us watched Republican presidential candidate John McCain debate his Democratic rival Barack Obama. And tonight, as Congress is finishing up our economic rescue, even more than fifty million of us will watch Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin face off with Democrat Joe Biden.

Based on what happened in that presidential debate, I strongly suspect she won't say anything about the grizzly bear or harbor seal DNA. [more]

Western Book Roundup

Western Literature Week, a collaboration between the Center of the American West and the Western Literature Association, kicks off today in Boulder. Public readings by Western authors will be held from October 1 through 4, including the October 2 presentations of Aaron Abeyta and Linda Hogan ("Western Poetic Landscapes," 4 p.m.) and William Kittredge and Patricia Limerick ("Western Collaborations," 7 p.m.).

Other highlights are Teresa Jordan and Laura Pritchett's discussion entitled "Women Write the Range" (October 3, 12:15 p.m.) and Simon Ortiz and Reg Saner's "Reflecting the Sacred and Sacrificed West" (October 3, 5 p.m.). All events are at the Millennium Harvest House Motel, except for the October 4 Janet Campbell Hale presentation, which will be held at the Old Main Chapel on CU Campus (7 p.m.). Check out the complete schedule here.

Also in the Roundup: Suspected arson is the latest twist in the Sherry Jones Jewel of Medina saga, Nick Arvin writes an op-ed for the New York Times, and U of Montana grad Matthew Eck picks up a "5 Under 35" award. [more]

New West Book Review

A Country Called Home
by Kim Barnes
Alfred A. Knopf, 271 pages, $23.95

Moscow, Idaho writer Kim Barnes' new novel, A Country Called Home, tells the story of the fallout that occurs when one man checks out of his life and another checks in. The Idaho wilderness outside the fictional town of Fife plays an active role in the story, its remoteness leading to difficult births, a young mother's desperation, and a teenager's loneliness, and its beauty lulling one character into decades of passivity broken only by fishing trips. Barnes prose is lovely, often incantatory, as she weaves the story of the troubled Deracotte family.

Kim Barnes will discuss her novel in Portland at Annie Bloom's Books on October 8 (7:30 p.m.), in Denver at the Tattered Cover (Colfax) on October 15 (7:30 p.m.), in Missoula at the Montana Festival of the Book on October 24, and in Moscow at the University of Idaho Law School courtroom on October 29 (7:30 p.m.). [more]

Destruction of the Western Forests

Two pieces of grim news this week indicate that the beetle infestation plaguing the pine forests of the Western Slope is likely to get far worse in the next couple of years.

First, reports from the Front Range indicate that the mountain pine beetle has, as expected, successfully crossed the Continental Divide and is now boring through trees in Fort Collins, Boulder, Greeley, Loveland, Berthoud and Windsor. [more]

Western Writers

Boulder-based writer and writing coach Douglas Kurtz recently published his first novel, Mosquito, an action-packed literary thriller set throughout the American West, including stops in Boulder, Moab, Rocky Mountain National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Yellowstone, and Grand Teton National Park, where eco-tour guide protagonist Ben Baxter leads his group in and out of peril. Kurtz grew up in New York and Kansas, studied at the University of Delaware, and then at the University of Colorado, where he earned a master’s degree in Creative Writing (and I met him ten years ago). Kurtz also earned his life coaching certification from the Coach Training Alliance, and specializes in working with writers through his business, Write Life Coaching. I recently interviewed Doug about how he blended thriller and literary fiction elements in Mosquito, his current novel, and how he helps other writers overcome "limiting thoughts and beliefs, self judgment, lack of direction, and anxiety."

New West: I really liked the premise of Mosquito with this haunted leader of Outward Bound-type adventures as the protagonist. It allowed you to take the story to a lot of beautiful wilderness settings throughout the West, and to describe them in an active way that involved the plot. How did you come up with this idea?

Douglas Kurtz: For a couple of years in my twenties I worked as a tour leader taking foreign travelers on trips around the US, Canada and Mexico. I knew when I started Mosquito that I wanted the story, or part of it at least, to revolve around this kind of travel, but I didn’t know until I was well into the writing that a cross-country tour would become the vessel for the entire thing. Setting is very important to me, in fiction and in my life, so I wanted it to play a big role. Wilderness settings are full of opportunities for combining action and danger and beauty, and this was appealing to me—the idea that I could get a fast-paced plot happening in these scenic places, without using a lot of static description, which tends to bog down the pace. [more]

CHANGE FOCUS TO SAVING WILDLAND HABITAT

Even though it has been around for 36 years, I suspect most people don't know that this Saturday, September 27, is National Hunting and Fishing Day.

Let's make this one the best ever by launching a national effort to protect the last of the best wildlife habitat we have left, our 58 million acres of roadless public land. [more]

Colorado Polls Swing

After his campaign swing through Colorado last week, putting down in Golden, Pueblo, and Grand Junction, Barack Obama enjoys a solid lead in polls in the state.

The latest poll from the independent surveyors at Quinnipiac University shows Obama with 49 percent of likely voters versus 45 percent for McCain. That's a reversal of the findings from the week after the Republican convention, when Quinnipiac found McCain ahead. [more]

Western Book Roundup

It's getting to be all David Wroblewski all the time around here at the Roundup, but heck, this is big news: Oprah has named The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by the Westminster, Colo. writer as her next Book Club selection. Check out my interview with him, which I conducted a few weeks before the book was published, and my review of it for the Rocky Mountain News here. Patti Thorn, Books Editor at the Rocky, has the post-Oprah announcement scoop with Wroblewski.

Earlier this month, Robert J Hughes of the Wall Street Journal interviewed Annie Proulx about her new story collection. Proulx said that this would be her final collection of Wyoming stories, because she wants to avoid the "regional-writer" label. She also remarked on how the film version of "Brokeback Mountain" affected her life: "'Brokeback Mountain' has had little effect on my writing life, but is the source of constant irritation in my private life."

Also in the Roundup: Book news from Idaho's Joan Opyr and Kim Barnes and Oregon's Floyd Skloot, and Missoula mourns the death of crime novelist James Crumley. [more]

All That Glitters Is Not Green

Wal-Mart claims its new jewelry line is eco-friendly, and based on "sustainable mining." Environmentalists, however, disagree.

Released in July under the brand "Love, Earth," the new gold marketing program claims to produce "fashion jewelry that honors, cherishes and protects our planet." Gold and silver contained in the items purchased through Love, Earth is 100% traceable, Wal-Mart says, through something called the Jewelry Sustainable Value Network, back to the original mines. The precious metals used in the jewelry are "mined and manufactured to our standards and criteria."

In fact, Wal-Mart's gold comes from mines in Utah and Nevada, owned by mining giants Rio Tinto and Denver-based Newmont Mining Corp., which have a long history of environmental problems and pollution. [more]

Western Book Roundup

It seems like every week I have some new information to mention about bestselling Colorado writer David Wroblewski, so here's today's tidbit: Rachel Deahl of Publishers Weekly reports: "…48-year-old debut author David Wroblewski has made an unusual request—he's asked would-be producers to pitch their film ideas to him in person so he can choose who’s most deserving of the film rights. The unusual (and demanding) move, if nothing else, will make a quick acquisition unlikely." This seems to be characteristic of Wroblewski, who took over a decade to craft his hit novel. He continues to be more concerned with quality than speed. (Via Texas Pages.)

The September 11 edition of The Economist reported that libraries and reading are thriving in Wyoming. (Via The Book Bench.) The article featured Burns, Wyoming's library, noting, "This town of just 300 people has a public library containing 11,500 books."

Also in the Roundup: Casper College hosts the 22nd annual Equality State Book Festival, The Wasatch Journal sponsors a Western short story contest, and the Mountains and Plains Independent Booksellers Association's annual trade show hits Colorado Springs. [more]

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