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Cowboy’s Quill: Western literary review
Published
8 years agoon
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Outlaw PartnersIvan Doig: Novelist
By Doug Hare EBS Staff
Too often, authors from Montana are pigeonholed as “regional writers.” Ivan Doig, who passed away in April of 2015, was a native Montanan and most of his 16 novels take place in his home state. But Doig (pronounced DOY-guh) was a great novelist by any standard, not just a scribe of the American West.
It’s often said that writers should write what they know. The best of them are able to transcend the time and places they describe so vividly.
His final book, “Last Bus to Wisdom,” was published posthumously and stands out as one of his best works, a parting gift from the Wallace Stegner Award winner.
Like his other novels “The Whistling Season” and “The Bartender’s Tale,” “Last Bus” is a story narrated by an imaginative child who sees the world of adults through an innocent yet preternaturally penetrating gaze.
“Last Bus to Wisdom” follows a precocious 11-year-old orphan named Donal Cameron taking a Greyhound bus from the fictional town Gros Ventre, Montana, to Wisconsin and back again. It is an odyssey, a period piece and a coming-of-age tale in 1950s America. “Back then, you dressed up to go places,” he writes.
In his last yarn, Doig weaves together a rollicking tale filled with memorable characters, including a young Jack Kerouac scribbling away deep into the night. His sentences are always lyrical and at times meandering. But the joy of storytelling constantly percolates just beneath the surface of Doig’s unpredictable, serendipitous plot and his narrator’s lively embellishments.
Doig began his career as a journalist, dabbled in poetry, earned a Ph.D. in history then found his favorite form in the novel. His last book captures the landscapes and people of his youth in a way that transports the reader to a simpler time.
By the end of Doig’s voyage, you can’t help but come away with a wiser, more humane understanding of the fragility of the human condition. This is one Greyhound trip well worth the fare.
Doug Hare is the Distribution Coordinator for Outlaw Partners. He studied philosophy and American literature at Princeton and Harvard universities.
The Outlaw Partners is a creative marketing, media and events company based in Big Sky, Montana.
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Saturday, March 23rd 6:00-8:00pm We will combine the heart-opening powers of cacao with the transcendental powers of breathwork and sound. Together, these practices will give us the opportunity for a deep
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Saturday, March 23rd 6:00-8:00pm
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March 23 (Saturday) 6:00 pm - April 23 (Tuesday) 8:00 pm
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Santosha Wellness Center
169 Snowy Mountain Circle
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We all are familiar with using a limited palette, but do you use one? Do you know how to use a
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We all are familiar with using a limited palette, but do you use one? Do you know how to use a limited palette to create different color combinations? Are you tired of carrying around 15-20 different tubes when you paint plein air? Have you ever wanted to create a certain “mood” in a painting but failed? Do you create a lot of mud? Do you struggle to achieve color harmony? All these problems are addressed in John’s workbook in clear and concise language!
Based on the bestselling “Limited Palatte, Unlimited Color” workbook written by John Pototschnik, the workshop is run by Maggie Shane and Annie McCoy, accomplished landscape (acrylic) and plein air (oil) artists,exhibitors at the Big Sky Artists’ Studio & Gallery and members of the Big Sky Artists Collective.
Each student will receive a copy of “Limited Palette, Unlimited Color” to keep and take home to continue your limited palette journey. We will show you how to use the color wheel and mix your own clean mixtures to successfully create a mood for your paintings.
Each day, we will create a different limited palette color chart and paint a version of a simple landscape using John’s directives. You will then be able to go home and paint more schemes using the book for guidance.
Workshop is open to painters (oil or acrylic) of any level although students must have some basic knowledge of the medium he or she uses. Students will be provided the book ($92 value), color wheel, value scale and canvas papers to complete the daily exercises.
Sundays, April 14, 21 and 28, 2024
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The Montana Department of Environmental Quality’s Water Quality Planning Bureau will host an informational meeting
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The Montana Department of Environmental Quality’s Water Quality Planning Bureau will host an informational meeting to update the public on topics related to the impairment listing of the middle segment of the Gallatin River, from Yellowstone National Park to Spanish Creek, for excessive algal growth due to exceeding established thresholds for algae (ARM 17.30.637(1)(e)).
The hybrid meeting will be held in Big Sky at the Big Sky Water and Sewer District and via Zoom at 6 p.m. on Monday, April 22, 2024.
2024 Agenda:
- Nutrient Rulemaking Update
- Gallatin River Monitoring Project Objectives & Timeline
- 2023 Findings and 2024 Monitoring Strategies
- Source Assessment and TMDL Development
- Community Involvement in Watershed Restoration
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(Monday) 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm
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There is something so powerful when women come together to support each other on their journey. We are healed, we are nurtured, and we feel comforted and understood.
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There is something so powerful when women come together to support each other on their journey. We are healed, we are nurtured, and we feel comforted and understood.
This full moon can give us the opportunity to connect with the grounding energies of the earth and cosmos as well as to recognize and celebrate this awakening and the culmination of our intentions. Although it is free to attend, please register so we know how many to expect.
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(Monday) 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm
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Santosha Wellness Center
169 Snowy Mountain Circle