The Write Question

This week, historian and scholar Anthony W. Wood talks about Black Montana: Settler Colonialism and the Erosion of the Racial Frontier, 1877-1930, an in-depth account of the rise and fall of Montana’s Black communities in the 19th and 20th centuries, of the enduring narratives of white supremacy and cultural erasure in the Rocky Mountain West.

This week, historian and scholar Anthony W. Wood talks about Black Montana: Settler Colonialism and the Erosion of the Racial Frontier, 1877-1930, an in-depth account of the rise and fall of Montana’s Black communities in the 19th and 20th centuries, of the enduring narratives of white supremacy and cultural erasure in the Rocky Mountain West.

This week, Lauren speaks with poet Kaveh Akbar, whose sophomore poetry collection, Pilgrim Bell, empties the self of the self — of one’s nation, or nations, of one’s family, of one’s knowledge — leaving only one’s hollowed, and hallowed, body. An early review of Pilgrim Bell states, “The poetry of Kaveh Akbar reminds you that the body is a temple and that the most astounding shit happens in temples.” Yes. Pilgrim Bell is astounding.

This week, Lauren speaks with poet Kaveh Akbar, whose sophomore poetry collection, Pilgrim Bell, empties the self of the self — of one’s nation, or nations, of one’s family, of one’s knowledge — leaving only one’s hollowed, and hallowed, body. An early review of Pilgrim Bell states, “The poetry of Kaveh Akbar reminds you that the body is a temple and that the most astounding shit happens in temples.” Yes. Pilgrim Bell is astounding.

In this lively conversation, Lauren and Missoula-based poet, ceramicist, and musician Kelly Schirmann talk about about her newest book of poetry, The New World, and about her creative practices. A hybrid collection of poetry and prose, The New World follows Schirmann’s attempts, failures, and re-attempts at understanding and articulating an era of immense social upheaval, political corruption, and environmental consequence, as well as her place, as an artist, within it.

In this lively conversation, Lauren and Missoula-based poet, ceramicist, and musician Kelly Schirmann talk about about her newest book of poetry, The New World, and about her creative practices. A hybrid collection of poetry and prose, The New World follows Schirmann’s attempts, failures, and re-attempts at understanding and articulating an era of immense social upheaval, political corruption, and environmental consequence, as well as her place, as an artist, within it.

With Home Waters, John N. Maclean, son of Norman Maclean, offers a companion or parallel narrative to his father’s beloved classic, A River Runs Through It.

With Home Waters, John N. Maclean, son of Norman Maclean, offers a companion or parallel narrative to his father’s beloved classic, A River Runs Through It.

Michael Punke’s Ridgeline is, broadly, about what is now known - though rarely talked about - as the Fetterman Massacre, which took place in 1866 in Wyoming’s Powder River Valley. The U.S. Army sent hundreds of soldiers, as well as women and children, to set up a fort in the region, eventually named Fort Phil Kearny, on what was the traditional land of the Lakota, the Arapaho, and the Cheyenne. Listen to Lauren’s lively conversation with Punke about his empathetic and nuanced snapshot of a rarely-heard history of the American West now!

Michael Punke’s Ridgeline is, broadly, about what is now known - though rarely talked about - as the Fetterman Massacre, which took place in 1866 in Wyoming’s Powder River Valley. The U.S. Army sent hundreds of soldiers, as well as women and children, to set up a fort in the region, eventually named Fort Phil Kearny, on what was the traditional land of the Lakota, the Arapaho, and the Cheyenne. Listen to Lauren’s lively conversation with Punke about his empathetic and nuanced snapshot of a rarely-heard history of the American West now!