Opinion
Book Review: “For A Little While”
Published
8 years agoon
Posted By
Outlaw Partners“For A Little While”
Little, Brown
$28
480 pages
By Brian Hurlbut
EBS Contributor
Shortly after moving to Montana in the summer of 1993 as a hopeful creative writing student, I discovered the writing of Rick Bass. First I read his nonfiction, most notably “Winter: Notes from Montana” – which at the time, being the first winter spent in my new state, seemed to reinforce my decision to move 2,500 miles from western New York. When I discovered “The Watch,” Bass’s first collection of short stories, I knew he was a writer that I would follow for a long time.
More than two decades later, it’s fitting that Bass gets a well-deserved compilation in the recently released “For A Little While.” This career-spanning collection includes 18 previously published stories and seven new works, showcasing the vivid, often gritty style that Bass is revered for.
In “The Legend of Pig Eye,” we follow a young bar fighter as he tries to brawl his way toward winning 100 fistfights so he can escape to New York City to be a professional boxer. In “Wild Horses,” bronc-buster Sydney tries to tame his grief by falling in love with his dead friend’s fiancée. Perhaps the most stirring work is “In Ruth’s Country,” in which Bass masterfully illustrates the inherent conflicts of growing up in Mormon country. A young, non-Mormon boy and a Mormon girl spend the summer falling in love over gin and tonics and late night rides in the desert, only to be torn apart by the rules of the church and a local bishop who seems to have it out for both of them.
As good as the older stories are in this collection, it’s the new ones that bolster the case for Bass as one of the best writers of his generation. Anyone who has followed small-town sports will appreciate “Coach,” where a teacher and lifelong coach gets hired to turn around a high school girls basketball team.
We follow the story of down and out logger Wilson, first in “The Blue Tree,” where an annual Christmas tree gathering excursion with his daughters becomes another example of why his wife is fed up with him. In An “Alcoholics Guide to Peru and Chile,” Wilson – now broke and separated from his wife – runs up his credit card in a last-ditch effort to bond with his daughters while struggling to hide his compulsion to drink.
For those new to Bass’s writing, “For A Little While” is a great introduction to a writer who deftly portrays the complexities of the human condition through his characters. If you’ve been following Bass during his lengthy career, this compilation serves as a brilliant reminder of his importance in American fiction, and as evidence that his best work might still be ahead of him.
Big Sky freelance writer Brian Hurlbut is the author of the “Insider’s Guide to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks” (Globe-Pequot Press) and “Montana: Skiing the Last Best Place” (Great Wide Open Press). His writing has appeared in Montana Quarterly, Montana Magazine, Big Sky Journal, Mountain Outlaw, and Western Art and Architecture magazines, among others.
The Outlaw Partners is a creative marketing, media and events company based in Big Sky, Montana.
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april, 2024
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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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Event Details
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
Noon until 6PM.
$170.
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14 (Sunday) 12:00 pm - 28 (Sunday) 6:00 pm
Event Details
Trivia from 7 to 9 p.m. at The Waypoint in Town Center. Participation is free, food and beverages available.
Event Details
Trivia from 7 to 9 p.m. at The Waypoint in Town Center. Participation is free, food and beverages available.
Time
(Wednesday) 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Location
The Waypoint
50 Ousel Falls Rd