Writing the West: The Way Forward

The third "In the Footsteps of Norman Maclean Festival" will be held Sept. 13-15 in Seeley Lake and Missoula. The festival is presented by Alpine Artisans and Clearwater Montana Properties, and will be held at the MCT Center for the Performing Arts and the National Museum of Forest Service History in Missoula, plus tours of Maclean's Seeley Lake life and favorite fishing holes on the Blackfoot River.

"This is Clearwater Montana Properties first festival as a presenting sponsor and we're so excited to be working with a local realtor that began in Norman Maclean's backyard, yet has such a wide reach across four western states," stated Eugene Schade, AAI's Treasurer.

"We thought long and hard about locating the festival in Missoula but we needed a large venue and we are sending the message that festival goers should come up to the Seeley-Swan and experience the beauty of our area," added Festival Director Jenny Rohrer.

The festival is collaborating with the Seeley Lake Historical Museum who is hosting a tour of "Norman's Neighborhood" in Seeley Lake at 1 p.m. Friday, Sept. 13, plus a tour of Maclean's "Favorite Fishing Holes on the Blackfoot" will be offered by the Big Blackfoot Riverkeeper at 10 a.m. that same day.

Friday at 5 p.m. at the Museum of Forest Service History just west of the Missoula Airport, John N. Maclean and Aaron Parrett will present the re-printing of Elers Koch's book "40 Years a Forester: 1903-1943," which was originally published in 1953. Author John Maclean is the son of Norman Maclean.

The Maclean Festival is co-hosting an author's reception with the Montana Book Festival on Friday from 5-7 p.m. at The Dana Gallery in Missoula. Tickets are $15 with beer, wine and refreshments served.

This year's festival highlights authors who have 'followed in the footsteps of Norman Maclean.' They will address the impact of western expansion, resource extraction, treatment of native peoples and modern day questions of how western literature addresses those issues. The festival theme, "Writing the West: The Way Forward," is reflected in the entire body of work of our keynote speaker Michael Punke.

Best know for his novel, "The Revenant," which chronicles the life of mountain man Hugh Glass and the role of the fur trade in early western settlement, Punke also wrote two non-fiction histories that illustrate how the west was plundered by the railroad and mining barons, how native tribes were suppressed and their livelihood deliberately destroyed.

Punke's keynote will set up the themes to be presented by many notable writers who have followed in Maclean's footsteps. Highlights include Debra Magpie Earling presenting "The Last Letters of Sacajawea" and Peter Stark, the author of "Astoria." Rick Bass will explore how 20th Century western literature reflects western experience along with authors Judy Blunt, Annick Smith, Richard Manning and Dan O'Brien.

Sunday's program will feature Mark Smith, screenwriter for the film "The Revenant," along with Michael Punke discussing how his novel was brought to the big screen, followed by a screening of the film. Sunday morning's program will feature clips and presentation from the upcoming "Perma Red" TV series production team followed by screening of A World Unseen, a documentary about the making of "The Revenant."

The Festival is produced by Alpine Artisans, Inc., a 28-year old arts non-profit serving the Seeley-Swan and Blackfoot Valleys. This year's festival presenting sponsor is Clearwater Montana Properties, with additional support from the Prop Foundation, Montana Department of Commerce, Montana Cultural Trust Fund, Garlington, Lohn and Robinson law firm, Montana Film Office, Missoula Federal Credit Union, Stockman Bank, Montana Public Radio, Citizen's Alliance Bank, KPAX, Tom Beers and Blackfoot.

Tickets are on sale and a full schedule is on-line at http://www.macleanfootsteps.com. Tickets can also be purchased off-line by contacting jenny@alpineartisans.org or 406-754-0034.