Western Book Roundup

The Count of Le Wyoming: Craig Johnson Heads to France

By Jenny Shank, 5-20-09

Tipped off by the Wyoming Arts Blog about Wyoming novelist Craig Johnson’s imminent book tour in France, I decided to investigate his Gallic appeal.  On his blog for Penguin, Johnson reports that the French edition of The Cold Dish will be published by Éditions Gallmeister this month (he also recounts “one of the most embarrassing moments [his] life,” when a beautiful French woman caught him looking at her twice).  Gallmeister specializes in the literature of the American West, and is the French publisher of Rick Bass and Edward Abbey, among others.

Let’s look at what the Éditions Gallmeister website has to say about the last Johnson book the company published in translation, Little Bird:

“Go West ! Cette fois c’est dans le Wyoming que nous vous emmenons de voyager en compagnie de Walt Longmire, shérif mélancolique du comté d’Absaroka.”

This is great.  So jaunty and breezy—I am not a real translator, but basically: “Go West!  This time it’s to Wyoming that we whisk you to travel in the company of Walt Longmire, the melancholic sheriff of Absaroka county.”

The French word for county is comté, which suggests the sort of place presided over by a count.  Also I like the way the state is called “le Wyoming.”

Next I traveled over to the French side of the web through the portal of Google.fr to see what people were saying about Mr. Johnson—I found Yann Le Tumelin’s blog, Moisson Noire ("Black Harvest").  He appears to be especially interested in noirish tales set in the great outdoors. 

Le Tumelin writes:

”Chouette, un nouveau polar (des grands espaces) aux éditions Gallmeister !…Le guide se nomme Craig Johnson, lui-même propriétaire d’un ranch sur les contreforts des Bighorn Mountains. Le stetson qu’il arbore nonchalamment sur la quatrième de couverture abrite pêle-mêle un charpentier, un pêcheur professionnel, un officier de police, un cow-boy, un professeur et un romancier, donc (passer d’une salle de classe à l’enclos à bestiaux et se retrouver devant la page blanche… Les CV des écrivains américains m’ont toujours fasciné, pas vous ?).“

Basically: “Sweet! A new police novel of the great outdoors from Gallmeister Éditions!  The guide is called Craig Johnson, himself the owner of a ranch in the foothills of the Bighorn Mountains.  The Stetson that he sports nonchalantly on the back cover shelters, pell-mell, a carpenter, a professional fisherman, a police officer, a cowboy, a teacher and a novelist therefore we pass from the classroom to the livestock enclosure and find ourselves on the blank page…the resumes of American writers always fascinate me, don’t you agree?”

Maybe writers in France don’t need to work as many day jobs?  At any rate, it appears that Craig Johnson appeals to the French fascination with le cow-boy.

On May 25, Craig Johnson will read in Paris and then participate in a literary festival in Saint-Malo, Brittany (one of the prettiest towns I’ve ever visited) from May 30-June 1.  He’ll be in on these panel discussions: ”Quand le réel devient fiction“ (When the real becomes fiction), ”Dans la tragique du monde“ (In the tragedy of the world—huh?),”Transfuge: On l’appelle Nature writing“ (Traitor: We call Nature writing—huh again?) ”Polars du monde entire“ (Police novels/mysteries from around the world).

Those who can’t make it to France can catch Johnson’s readings can catch him on his extensive June tour throughout the American West, including a stop at the Tattered Cover in Denver on June 12 (7:30 p.m.), Fact and Fiction in Missoula on June 14 (7:30 p.m.), Rediscovered Books in Boise on June 22 (7 p.m.).

Apart from Craig Johnson’s international gallivanting, I only have one other item to report this week: the finalists for this year’s Colorado Book Awards were announced.  (You can download the complete list here.) A couple of nonfiction books that I reviewed last year are up for awards, Amy Irvine’s Trespass and Laurie Wagner Buyer’s Spring’s Edge: A Ranch Wife’s Chronicles.  The winners will be announced during the Aspen Summer Words Literary Festival from June 21-26.

Follow me on Twitter, and if you have any regional book news or events to share, please send me an email.

Like this story? Get more! Sign up for our free newsletters.