Those who follow Montana writers are well acquainted with Rick Bass. Among our most celebrated authors, he has mastered his craft with more than 30 books including novels, memoir and collections of essays with such diverse outlets as Orion, Tricycle, Big Sky Journal, Outside, Field and Stream, Sierra, Buddhist Review and the Whitefish Review. He has been recognized by the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Book Critics Award. Born and raised in Texas, trained as a petroleum geologist, Bass discovered his love of the natural world and writing early on and has made his home in the Yaak Valley of northwestern Montana for most of his working life.
His most recent book, With Every Great Breath, New and Selected Essays spanning 1995 to 2023, is a collection of essays spanning almost 30 years with topics ranging from volunteer fire fighting, to the corporate hypocrisy of the Libby, Montana asbestos nightmare - the title piece of the book - his beloved larch trees and his advocacy for the remnant grizzly population of the Yaak Valley. The topics and writing here are as diverse as his career.
If you find yourself a bit depressed in our current world of hyper-political noise, species loss and climate change, Bass gives voice to your frustration and challenges you to not look away. If you look for solace and beauty in the natural world and marvel at what you may discover when you slow down, he reinforces your inclination to do just that. Bass admits to being a hermit of sorts, content to hunker down in his beloved Yaak, but one who retains close connections and standing in the literary world at the intersection of human and ecological values.
He is in love with the idea of Montana and at odds with those who want to make money from it. He can't seem to not write powerfully about both, but being in the natural world is first. In his own words, "I like to write. But what I crave is the physical world in this bright moment of life. Moving rocks, gathering firewood, hiking, swimming in cold lakes. Puttering beneath an immense sky.....there are still days, and miles, ahead, until there aren't."
If you would like to know more, there is a great interview with Bass about this book on Montana Public Radio's The Write Question.
Rick Bass will be reading from his new book on Saturday, July 13 at 7 p.m. at the Foundation Building in Seeley Lake, sponsored by Alpine Artisans' Open Book Club. The event is free and refreshments are available.
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