My Page: Allen M. Jones
China to Montana, The Creation of a Bamboo Fly Rod
Trout Grass: A Documentary Film by Ed George and Andy RoyerThe most recent addition to the continuing history of fly-fishing art comes in the form of a documentary from filmmakers Ed George and Andy Royer, Trout Grass. With narration written and performed by novelist David James Duncan (The River Why and The Brothers K), Trout Grass explores the natural history of a bamboo fly rod, taking us from the harvesting of bamboo in the Guangdong Province of Southern China to the workshop of master rodbuilder Glenn Brackett, in Twin Bridges, Montana, to the first few casts on the river with novelist and fisherman Thomas McGuane.
[more]
A New West Book Review
Wolf Tracks on the Welcome Mat
Paul Zarzyski's ninth and most recent collection of poetry, the Spur Award winning Wolf Tracks on the Welcome Mat, stands comfortably shoulder to shoulder with three of the other significant Montana volumes produced in the last thirty years -- Richard Hugo’s Selected Poems, Wally McRae’s Cowboy Curmudgeon and James Welch’s Riding the Earthboy 40. It’s a top notch book from one of the West’s most accomplished poets.
[more]
Featured Author
Cormac McCarthy Country
Having begun his career forty years ago in something close to anonymity (his first few novels sold less than 3,000 copies each), Cormac McCarthy's career has been slowly gathering momentum. With his newest work, No Country For Old Men, he's attracted critical attention from the nation's top reviewers.
[more]
A New West Review
No Country For Old Men
It’s a truism: Genius creates its own genres. Picasso painted Picassos; Kafka's stories were sublimely Kafkaesque. In a crowd, Leonardo’s the guy throwing elbows, resisting comparisons. You know him when you see him. In just such a way, Cormac McCarthy has always written Cormac McCarthy novels. No matter the obvious influences (his debts to Faulkner and Melville are worn on the sleeve of every sentence), his novels have existed as literary singularities, obeying the laws of their own gravitas. His newest book, however, No Country For Old Men, while a fiercely enjoyable read, is (alas! For me and every other fervent McCarthy fan, alas!) a lesser creation, a step back into genre by a writer who, until now, has insisted on manufacturing his own categories. [more]
Painting, Writing, Cooking...
An Interview with Russell Chatham
Montana artist and publisher, Russell Chatham, upon the occasion of two new releases from his book house, Clark City Press (For All Time by Helen Claypool, and Mile High Mile Deep by Richard K. O'Malley), recently took the time to answer some questions from New West. [more]
A New West Review
Bleed, Blister, and Purge: A History of Medicine on the American Frontier
The rebuilding of history lies largely in the details, in minute descriptions from a well-schooled imagination. With topics ranging from Indian medicine and mountain men (“Hunting-Knife Surgeons�?) to “Miracle Cures" and "Granny Remedies," Volney Steele’s aptitude as a storyteller and the insights provided by his professional training make for a unique series of sequentially arranged essays. [more]
Poetry and the Arts
Montana Finds a Poet Laureate
Montana’s Governor Brian Schweitzer today announced his appointment of Sandra Alcosser as Montana’s first poet laureate. “The arts are an important part of Montana,� said Governor Schweitzer. “Our heritage, our lives and our unique way of life in this great state are often expressed through poetry. This is a unique opportunity to bring poetry to the people of Montana. Alcosser has a strong commitment to promoting poetry and writing around Montana. It is an honor to have Sandra Alcosser as Montana’s first poet laureate.� [more]
Going out with a bang, not a whimper
Hunter S. Thompson’s Final Shot
The Associated Press reports (and Lawrence Van Gelder for The New York Times follows) that the date for Hunter S. Thompson's final fare thee well has been set. On August 20, friends and family will meet behind his Colorado home on Woody Creek to see Thompson's ashes fired from a cannon set on top of a 150 foot tower. While the event is private, the writer's widow, Anita Thompson, said a public commemoration would be held later. [more]
Western Publishing
Montana’s Newest MagazineIt ain’t easy publishing a regional magazine. Unlike, say, the gossip rags (a new divorce every week) or sports magazines (always a fresh playoff series around the corner), for the regionals, there’s only so much material to go around. Here in Montana, for instance, how many fly-fishing photo essays on the Big Horn River do you really need? Or how about a road trip to the Bucking Horse Sale? Covered it twice already. Or we could always use something on grizzly bear safety. What the hell, grizzly bears sell. With more than half a dozen Montana themed magazines on the newsstand, each one tramping back and forth across the same tired territory, how do you come up with a new vision of things? A new angle?
[more]
Book Store News
Ingold To Visit Fact & FictionFrom our friend Barbara Theroux, we’ve learned that Montana author Jeanette Ingold will soon be visiting Barbara’s independent book store in Missoula, Fact & Fiction. A specialist in historical fiction aimed at the young adult market, Ingold’s books nevertheless have lessons for all ages.
[more]
