Thomas Savage was a novelist who grew up in Beaverhead County, Montana, on a sheep ranch. He published a dozen novels but was sadly overlooked while he was alive, despite receiving resounding critical acclaim for his entire career. His work was rediscovered around the turn of the century, thanks in large part to the praises of Annie Proulx and Tom McGuane, and his best novel, The Power of the Dog, is about to appear on the big screen in a film adapted by Oscar winning screenwriter Jane Campion (The Piano), who also directed it. Alan Weltzien has recently published an outstanding biography of Thomas Savage that not only digs deeply into his personal life, which was complicated by chronic alcohol abuse, and the fact that he lived as a family man despite the fact that he knew from a young age that he was homosexual, as well as a life-long struggle to find the recognition so many people knew he deserved. Weltzien has been researching Savage's work for more than twenty years, and his insights into each of his novels, as well as his complicated relationship with Montana, is extremely well written and meticulously researched, thanks in large part to the cooperation Alan received from Savage's surviving family.

Breakfast In Montana

Episode Twenty-Four: Alan Weltzien and Thomas Savage

John Maclean, son of Montana icon Norman Maclean, has become a fine writer in his own right, and he recently published what he calls 'a chronicle' of his life with his father and his own relationship to Norman's enormously successful novella, A River Runs Through It. Home Waters is a terrific tale that explores the importance and complicated nature of relationships between fathers and sons, and about how he and his father both become fascinated with fishing and fires. We had the great pleasure of talking with John for a solid hour about what this experience was like for him.

Episode Twenty-Three - Norman Maclean and John Maclean

For our twenty-second episode, we had the great pleasure of sitting down for over an hour with Doug Peacock, who has been fighting to save the grizzly bear for decades now, and when you read his fabulous book, Grizzly Years, you get a deeper understanding of why he has such a passion for this cause. After Doug returned from his tour in Vietnam, during the worst years of the war, he escaped into the wilderness to try and find some healing, and Grizzly Years is his account of that period in his life, as well as a powerful memoir of his time in Vietnam.  And we pair Mr. Peacock with one of his dear friends, and one of the legends of Montana literature, William Kittredge, who was director of the Creative Writing program at the University of Montana for decades, and also co-edited one of the classic anthologies of the West, The Last Best Place. We talk about his book The Nature of Generosity.

Episode Twenty-Two - Doug Peacock and William Kittredge

For this episode, we're breaking out of the box a little by exploring the world of literature from the perspective of a musician. Joey Running Crane is an accomplished recording artist from the Blackfeet Reservation. He has recorded with several bands, including the fabulously named Goddamit Boyhowdy, and Dirty Bird. His solo album, Dog Winter, was released in 2019. And part of the reason we chose to talk to Joey was because he is a huge James Welch fan. James Welch is one of the most highly acclaimed writers in Montana's rich literary history, and he also grew up on the Blackfeet Reservation. So Joey gives us some fabulous insights into what makes Welch such a powerful writer about the Native American experience. We chose one of Welch's lesser known novels, The Death of Jim Loney.

Episode Twenty - James Welch And Joey Running Crane

For our nineteenth episode, we feature one of our most recent poet laureates, Tami Haaland and two of her poetry collections, When We Wake in the Night, and What Does Not Return. And we also talk about one of Tami's mentors, Madeline DeFrees, who taught at the University of Montana Creative Writing Department for about twelve years and was a highly regarded poet around the country. We discuss her collection Blue Dusk.

Episode Nineteen - Tami Haaland and Madeline DeFrees

For this episode, Russell and Aaron interview Montana's current Poet Laureate, Melissa Kwasny, about her non-fiction book, Putting on the Dog, which is about the nature of clothes and where they come from. Melissa spent five years traveling all over the world, visiting places a mink farm in Denmark, to explore how people go about growing and preparing the materials we use to make our clothing.

Episode Eighteen Melissa Kwasny and Frank Linderman

For this episode of Breakfast in Montana, Aaron and Russell talk about two very powerful collections of stories, Black Cherries, published in 1931 by Grace Stone Coates, and The Ballet at the Moose Lodge, by Caroline Patterson.

Episode Seventeen - Grace Stone Coates and Caroline Patterson

For this episode, Aaron and Russell discuss one of the classic novels of Native American literature, The Surrounded, published in 1936 by D'Arcy McNickle, along with an amazing collection of contemporary poetry by Sean Hill, who lives in Helena and studied at Stanford, as well as the University of Houston.

Episode Sixteen - Sean Hill and D'Arcy McNickle

For Episode Fifteen, Aaron Parrett and Russell Rowland have a fabulous conversation with John Taliaferro, biographer extraordinaire, about his new book, Grinnell, about George Bird Grinnell, the man who was called the Father of American Conservation at the time of his death. We also talk about a couple of Grinnell's own books, The Fighting Cheyennes, and Blackfoot Lodge Tales.

Episode Fifteen - John Taliaferro and George Bird Grinnell

For this episode of Breakfast in Montana, a podcast about Montana books, we discuss two award-winning novels, both by women. The Flicker of Old Dreams, by Susan Henderson, won the Spur Award for Fiction, as well as the Willa Cather Award, and is a finalist for the High Plains Book Award for fiction. Mildred Walker's Winter Wheat, which was published in 1945, was a finalist for the National Book Award. These two finely crafted novels explore many of the same themes of the dynamics of small towns in Montana and the complicated relationships between young people and their parents in these places.

Episode Fourteen - Susan Henderson and Mildred Walker

In this episode, we discuss two books from Missoula writers. Chris La Tray's book One Sentence Journal won this year's Montana Book Award, and it's an interesting collection of vignettes, and aphorisms that take you deep into the heart of a man who is searching for his place in Montana. We believe the second book is one of the most overlooked novels in Montana history, but long-time Missoula resident Rick DeMarinis. DeMarinis published many novels, but The Burning Women of Far Cry was his best, and it was recently republished by Drumlummon Institute in hopes of giving it the following it so richly deserves.

Episode 13 - Chris La Tray and Rick DeMarinis

For episode twelve, we discuss two books by legendary Livingston writers. Tim Cahill was a writer for Rolling Stone back when they were first getting off the ground, and went on to co-found Outside Magazine, which published most of the stories in his collection, Jaguars Ripped My Flesh. William 'Gatz' Hjortsberg published many novels, the most well-known of which was Falling Angel, which was made into a film called Angel Heart, starring Robert DeNiro, Mickey Rourke, and Lisa Bonet.

Episode Twelve - Tim Cahill and William 'Gatz' Hjortsberg

In our 11th Episode, we talk about the latest award-winning collection of poetry by Missoula poet Henrietta Goodman, as well as The Hawkline Monster, a gothic Western by acclaimed writer Richard Brautigan.

Episode 11 - Henrietta Goodman and Richard Brautigan

For their tenth episode of Breakfast in Montana, Montana authors Russell Rowland and Aaron Parrett discuss the poetry of former Montana Poet Laureate Earl Craig, discussing his most recent collection, Woods and Clouds Interchangeable. and from the final collection of poetry by Butte poet Ed Lahey, titled Moving On.

Episode Ten - Earl Craig and Ed Lahey

For their ninth episode of Breakfast in Montana, Montana writers Russell Rowland and Aaron Parrett take a break from their usual format of discussing two Montana books to honor a writer who has published more than 80 novels. Richard Wheeler has been a finalist for ten Spur Awards, the highest honor for Western literature, and won the award six times. And he didn't get published until he was almost fifty!! Hear more about his story and his writing here.

Episode 9 - Richard Wheeler

Montana has produced an extraordinary number of notable books and stories, many of which have been instrumental in defining the American West. A River Runs Through It, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Fools Crow, The Big Sky, Perma Red, and The Last Best Place, all Montana books. For this podcast, Montana writers Russell Rowland (In Open Spaces, Fifty-Six Counties: A Montana Journey) and Aaron Parrett (Montana Then and Now and Literary Butte) will discuss two books per episode, in an effort to explore what it is about Montana that produces so much fabulous literature.

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Breakfast In Montana

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