Owen Wister & Western Fiction
Best known as the creator of western fiction, Own Wister was a “Pennsylvanian who sat down in South Carolina, and wrote a book about a Virginian who lived in Wyoming.” I happened upon a copy of his book, THE VIRGINIAN, in a used book store. The opening scene is fantastic, as we meet a rough, sometimes rude, man-of-few-words from Virginia. A “slim young giant” who earns a reputation as an accomplished horseman. The edgy descriptions and literary prose are different from what you might expect in a western, but an enjoyable read. Born in Philedelphia, July 1860, Wister attended school in Europe, St. Paul’s School in Concord, and entered Harvard as a music student. He made many notable friends, the most famous being Theodore Roosevelt. They shared an enthusiasm for the West. If was during the summer of 1885...
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Wind of the West Texas Variety
One of the realities of living in the Texas Panhandle is the ability to not become agitated by the wind. There are some days the grit and gusts can drive you mad, but then there are those unbearably hot summer days when you can count on that cool breeze just before sundown. Today we have the shelter of our cars, home and offices where we can escape the incessant blowing that can continue over several days and nights. Weather fills many conversations in this area, mainly because it’s so unpredictable and can change within a matter of several hours. Because of the wind, our rain and snow never falls straight down. It comes in wet and sideways. “She shivered with cold, for the icy wind was at her like a great dog, leaping on her, pulling at her clothes,...
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Looking for Your Next Read?
Book reviews for a few gems I discovered this summer. True Life Memoir MORE THAN EVERYWHERE by Vanessa G. Foster I sat next to Vanessa at a writers dinner on the campus of WTAMU in Canyon, Texas this past summer. As with most gatherings that involve writers, the question always comes up: what do you write? Vanessa tells me that she just finished her memoir but it took her many years to write it. In answer to my question as to what makes her life’s memoir so unique, she says, “I was on the run from the FBI.” Of course I had to read it. This memoir packs a punch! Vanessa is forced to flee from the FBI after they raided her husband’s drug lab. The literary prose is stunning, and the story is haunting. She holds nothing back....
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Inspiration from a Flint Point
I found inspiration from an Indian point dating back to the Antelope Creek People who occupied the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles between 1150 AD and 1450 AD. The utilized the quarry at Alibates for over three hundred years, trading the flint with other tribes. On our ranch in the Texas Panhandle, heavy rains had washed off the top soil to reveal grey soil and chunks of blackened rock in a dry creek bed. Fragments of bone and flint flakes surrounded me. No doubt this had been the site of a fire pit. Kneeling on the side of the gentle slope, I moved aside the darkened rocks and began digging. After two hours of concentrated effort, I unearthed a perfectly formed point of grey Alibates flint. The arrowhead was a blank, which would have been carried in a pouch until...
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Crow Country & Chief Plenty Coups
“Thank you for coming to Crow country. The land you are standing on is mixed with Crow blood.” ALDEN BIG MAN JR. I’m blogging about the Western Writers of America conference held in Billings and the field trip opportunities. I hopped on a bus and enjoyed a sack lunch while we journeyed to the Crow Nation to learn about Chief Plenty Coups. Chief Plenty Coups State Park is located on land still occupied by the Crow Nation south of Billings, Montana, a tribe once occupying the Yellowstone river valley from Wyoming, Montana and into North Dakota before being pushed west by the Cheyenne and Sioux. We walked the land and toured the home of one of the great Chiefs, best know for protecting the original homeland of his people and guiding by example for five decades. The land is...
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