Doug Peacock headlines Whitefish Review release party

Published: June 3, 2011

Author Doug Peacock headlines a reading and discussion for the launch of Whitefish Review issue 9, 7-11 p.m. June 10 under the waterfront tent pavilion at The Lodge at Whitefish Lake.

Readings and discussion will focus on "A Sense of Place." Peacock is joined by poet Lois Red Elk, author Mary Clearman Blew and young writer Callie Ann Atkinson.

Live music by David Walburn, interactive art with Shawna Moore, a silent auction, and a selection of fine beverages from the Northwest will complement the readings. There is a $5 suggested entry donation.

The readings will run the scope of the human condition in the West, from Native Americans, to some of the newest and oldest generations of farmers, and those like Peacock, who after the Vietnam War felt so disillusioned with human society that he sought solace observing grizzly bears in the beauty of the wilderness.

Issue 9 explores sense of place as its underlying theme. Guest editor Sabine Brigette led the editorial team through more than 400 submissions to locate the art and writing of emerging authors and artists appearing in the new issue. Other featured authors include Sherman Alexie, Rick DeMarinis, Debra Gwartney and Bob Shacochis.

Poet Lois Red Elk will set the tone for the launch celebration with poetry from her new book, Our Blood Remembers (Many Voices Press, 2011). Elk is a descendant from the Isanti, Hunkpapa, and Ihanktowan bands of the Dakota/Lakota Sioux Nation. Her father, James Red Elk, is a descendant of the Sitting Bull family.

Seventeen year-old Callie Ann Atkinson will then read from her first piece of published fiction. She lives on a small farm in south-central Montana where her family raises Galloway cattle, American Farm Collies and Shetland sheep.

"In addition to publishing and presenting the work of established authors, Whitefish Review is also dedicated to encouraging and nurturing younger writers," said Brian Schott, founding editor. "We take great pride in discovering fresh talent and playing a role in their growth as artists. This evening will be a unique opportunity to not only support, mentor, and nurture a young writer in a setting with professionals at the top of their craft, but will also offer an important discussion of themes affecting people in the West."

Mary Clearman Blew, who also grew up on a small cattle ranch in Montana, on the site of her great-grandfather's 1882 homestead, will read an essay on landscape from This Is Not the Ivy League, a memoir that will be published in September. Her memoir All But the Waltz: Essays on a Montana Family (Viking, 1991), won a Pacific Northwest Booksellers Award. She received the Western Literature Association's Lifetime Achievement Award and teaches creative writing at the University of Idaho

To cap the evening readings, Peacock will read from new work in progress. Peacock is the author of Grizzly Years, Baja!, and Walking It Off: A Veteran's Chronicle of War and Wilderness. Peacock's latest book, co-written with his wife, Andrea, is The Essential Grizzly: The Mingled Fates of Men and Bears.

A Vietnam veteran and former Green Beret medic, he has published and lectured widely on wilderness issues. He was named a 2007 Guggenheim Fellow for his work on an archeological book about the peopling of North America. Peacock will specifically address themes of wilderness, conservation, climate change and activism.

After the readings, there will be a question/answer session and a discussion with the audience. Attendees will have the opportunity to speak with the authors and artists personally, while artist Shawna Moore offers a hands-on artistic exploration of place, based on her Whitefish Review published illustration of a late-17th century Japanese haiku. Framed originals by Moore will be part of the silent auction fundraiser.

Whitefish Review is a nationally-acclaimed, non-profit literary journal published twice yearly. Copies are available in bookstores across Montana and the Mountain West and online at www.whitefishreview.org. Cost is $12, with back issues and subscriptions also available. For more information, visit the website or call 406-261-6190.