Remarkable writers

Twice this month -already-- Campbell County has had the great good fortune of hearing from two outstanding writers. Terry Tempest Williams, in partnership with the University of Wyoming, presented a writers workshop in Gillette. Kent Meyers, the author for Wright's One Book, One Community event, spoke in Wright. Both were remarkable. Both are entirely different. Both were very special for their audiences.

Meyers' book THE WORK OF WOLVES is a beautifully written story about four unrelated people who are drawn together by the plight of starved horses. Meyers', a college professor (Black Hills State) in Spearfish, described the book as a modern western. He talked about his job as a writer, and he said all westerns carry the themes created by Owen Wister's THE VIRGINIAN, with a bad gunfighter, a good man, and a series of tense situations, not unlike STARWARS. Meyers talked about his original story and how he combined the other characters with their stories and tensions. He said the book took 5.5 years and six drafts to write.

The most powerful part of Kent Meyers' presentation was him -- he was very comfortable talk about the craft of writing and the work of putting a novel together in all its layers. The novel definitely reflects that effort. Most western readers will recognize his characters, and non-westerners should learn an appreciation of the
themes. It was a great evening at the Wright Branch Library.

Terry Tempest Williams brought one of her "weather reports" to Gillette. She is checking on "community climates" and looking for the voices within the communities that she visits. The award winning writer is from Utah and appreciates the natural wonder of our western states, but her visit to Gillette revealed her as an outstanding listener and a gifted teacher. She met with a group of local people, primarily writers, who shared with her their stories of life in Gillette. On Saturday she led them through an apparently simple writing exercise which led to an astonishing variety of stories connected to nature and to our county. It was an amazing event that touched every heart in attendance.

Since I'm talking about writers, I want to mention Michael and Kathleen Gear again. I saw them receive an
award from Mountain Plains Library Association, and they gave a talk about their writing partnership, their affiliation with archaeology, Native American culture and history. I just checked their website, and it sounds
like them. They are a pleasure to listen to and to read, and I was so tickled that other states were not as familiar with them as we Wyomingites. The Gears converted a whole new audience.

Aren't we lucky! We are able to attract writers to our state and our communities. We have writers who truly express what we are feeling, what we know.
Patty