Norman Maclean biographer to read in Seeley Lake

In the first biography of one of Montana's most celebrated writers, journalist Rebecca McCarthy presents a detailed and intimate portrait of Norman Maclean's life and work. Alpine Artisans' Open Book Club and the Seeley Lake Historical Society are co-sponsoring McCarthy reading from her biography on Thursday, June 6 at the Seeley Lake Foundation Building at 7 p.m. Visit the historical museum's Maclean display that same day from 10:00 am until 6:30 pm to see their collection of Maclean artifacts, including items from the Seeley Lake cabin, collectibles from The River Runs Through It, a timeline of the family, photos and more.

McCarthy first met Maclean here in Seeley Lake in 1972 while he was working on his short story, "USFS 1919," one of the stories in his first book, A River Runs Through It and Other Stories. McCarthy was 16 at the time, and had come to Seeley Lake to spend part of the summer with her brother John, who lived here and worked for the Forest Service at the time. This biography draws on her long friendship with the author, which deepened when she was a student at the University of Chicago, where Maclean taught, and continued through the rest of his life.

A River Runs Through It and Other Stories turned Norman Maclean into a late-in-life literary phenomenon and then a household name after the success of the Hollywood film based on the title story. Yet few know of Maclean's lifelong struggles to reconcile the very different parts of himself - the revered teacher and writer in the intellectual hub of Chicago and the Montana man compelled by the wildness and traumas of his home state and family including the tragic Mann Gulch fire and the murder of his brother.

Irrepressible as a teacher, Maclean shared guidance, advice, campus and city rambles, and loyal friendship with generations of students. Behind the scenes, he honed an art as meditative and patient as his approach to fly fishing. McCarthy's experiences intertwine with stories from friends, family, colleagues and others to detail an incredibly rich life that seemed destined to remain divided - until the creation of his classic American story.

A vivid evocation of an iconic figure, Norman Maclean reveals the forces and events that shaped the author-educator and formed the bedrock of his beloved stories.

Rebecca McCarthy is a writer who spent 21 years as an award-winning reporter at the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Her work has been published in the New York Times, the American Scholar, Fast Company and other venues.