For Guthrie, Montana was center of universe
Novelist A.B. Guthrie was a native of Indiana. Not only that, he worked for 20 years as a newspaper reporter and then editor in Lexington, Ky. Yet he once told an interviewer that he “always thought of Montana as my center of the universe.”
And he showed it. Truth is, few writers have written better about the American West than Guthrie, who died at age 90 in 1991. His 1947 novel “The Big Sky” was an instant hit, and became the first in a trilogy that includes “The Way West” (which won Guthrie the 1950 Pulitzer Prize) and “These Thousand Hills,” which was published in 1956.
Houghton Mifflin has put out new paperback editions of “These Thousand Hills” and another Guthrie book, “Fair Land, Fair Land,” which wasn’t published until 1982. They join “The Big Sky” and “The Way West,” which are already available in paper.
It’s time that Guthrie was discovered by a new generation.
No time better than now.
Speaking history
If you’re in Wallace over the weekend and are interested in hearing authors talk about the area’s history, check out the second annual T. Roosevelt History Celebration on Friday and Saturday.
Tony and Suzanne Bamonte, co-authors of “History of Newport, Washington,” will give a slide show/lecture titled “The Murray Gold Belt — The Great Gold Strike in the Coeur d’Alenes” at 5:30 p.m. Friday in the Wallace Elks Roundup Room, 419 Cedar St.; at 7 p.m. Bethine Church, author of “A Lifelong Affair: My Passion for People and Politics,” will read from her book at the same site.
On Saturday, Dr. Rodney Frey, professor of American Indian studies and anthropology and author of “Landscape Traveled by Coyote and Crane: The World of the Schitsu’Umsh,” will speak at 1 p.m. at the Wallace District Arts Center, 612 Bank St.; at 4 p.m. at the same site, Dennis Colson, a professor of law at the University of Idaho and author of “Idaho’s Constitution: The Tie That Binds,” will give a talk titled “Judge William Clagett”; and at 7:30 p.m., Steven Payne, author of “Year of the Fires: The Story of the Great Fires of 1910,” will read from his book at the Wallace Elks Club.
For further information, call (208) 752-0111.
They can drive 55
The seniors program of the Institute for Extended Learning is just about to begin classes, and two are aimed at writers. Beginning Monday, Lisa Conger will teach a writers’ and a poetry workshop. The writers’ workshop will meet from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. at the Sinto Senior Activity Center, 1124 W. Sinto Ave.; the poetry workshop will meet from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Corbin Senior Activity Center, 827 W. Cleveland Ave.
For registration information, call the IEL at 279-6025.
WSU books earn honors
Two books published by Washington State University Press have been included among 29 books dubbed “Best of the Best of the University Presses: Books You Should Know About.”
The WSU press books are “Captured Honor: POW Survival in the Philippines and Japan,” a memoir by Bob Wodnik, and “The Oil Prince” is a translation of a Western novel written by popular German author Karl May.
Representatives of the Public Library Association and American Association of School Libraries will present the award on June 26 at ceremonies held in Orlando.
Unless otherwise noted, all events listed are free and open to the public.
Book talk
“ Current Affairs Book Group (“A Bed For the Night: Humanitarianism in Crisis,” by David Rieff), 6 p.m. Monday, Auntie’s Bookstore, Main and Washington (838-0206).
“ Mystery Book Group (“Much Ado About Murder,” edited by Anne Perry), 7 p.m. Monday, Auntie’s Bookstore.
The reader board
“ Outdoor Writers Association of America (various authors including Patrick F. McManus), 7 p.m. Monday, Auntie’s Bookstore.
“ Jim Bennett (“Once a Marine…”) and George S. Oliver (“The Tents”), readings, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Auntie’s Bookstore.
“ James P. Johnson (“50 Hikes for Eastern Washington’s Highest Mountains”), slide show/signing, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Auntie’s Bookstore.
“ Anne Moore (“Gracelin O’Malley,” “Leaving Ireland”), reading, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Auntie’s Bookstore.
“ Jodi Miller and Dennis Held (“Betting on the Night”), poetry readings, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Huckleberry’s Natural Market, 926 S. Monroe St. (call Tom Davis for further information, 624-1281).
“ Dennis Nicholls (“Trails of the Wild Selkirks”), reading, 7 p.m. Saturday, Hi Hopes Cafe & Market, Hope, Idaho (208-255-4410). Note: The reading is free, and a 6 p.m. dinner is available for $8.95.