I came to the river to write: not a fishing story exaggerating about a trout the size of a fat dachshund, but to capture the very soul of the river. But I couldn’t. It was strange to acknowledge that realization, considering that I grew up around...
A tapestry of tribulations is woven, thread by thread, by the masterful hand of Deirdre McNamer in her newest novel Aviary (Milkweed Editions, $24). The list of demons she confronts is daunting: environmental degradation, elder neglect, child abuse, school bullying, predatory capitalism, mental health, housing,...
Which streaks the woods road at noon — Shade or sun, Across the nature of the other one? Do shadows, shapes of leaves and limbs, Take all the light And leave, except for minor errors, night? Or, is black the habit of summer sky? And flawing his blindness, Only shooting stars Behind the walker’s...
An old building cloaked in pale pink stucco seems to blush beneath the enormous sky over Montana’s Hi-Line. Cracked, crumbling, and faded by the sun, Sacred Heart Catholic Church sits on the edge of the Fort Belknap Reservation and was built by Jesuits in 1931....
The wall behind Rick Bass glows in the early winter hours like sunlit jars of honey. He is set up to lead a writer’s workshop from a young musician’s Western red cedar-paneled studio. Bass is alone, save for a jumble of dogs and a couple...
Summer in the Northern Rockies is a glorious time of year, and because it doesn’t last for long, it’s treasured. While communities are adapting to changing pandemic regulations, large gatherings remain rare, and social distancing feels like the new normal, this is the perfect summer...
While music lovers around the world are chomping at the bit — ready to once again experience live performances — the Under The Big Sky Festival is set to deliver an all-star lineup for 2021. Held at Big Mountain Ranch, a 350-acre working farm just...
The 2020 Montana Book Award has been announced, with Gretchen E. Minton’s Shakespeare in Montana: Big Sky Country’s Love Affair with the World’s Most Famous Writer (University of New Mexico Press, $19.95) taking top honors. This annual award recognizes literary and artistic excellence in a...
Imagine this scene: You’re picnicking at a table next to the Yellowstone River on a sunny summer day. Suddenly aware of a disturbance, you turn, only to see a mass of heaving, snorting, splashing creatures swimming forcefully, inexorably, and directly at you. Retreating to cover...
When my teenage son, Braden, and I climbed out of our minivan, temperatures hovered in the mid-20s and an ethereal layer of mist covered Freezeout Lake. We weren’t the first to arrive; a handful of pickups, Subarus, and other mud-splattered vehicles huddled in the tiny...