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Northwest Passages: William Kittredge
William Kittredge is an icon among Western writers. He grew up farming and ranching in southeastern Oregon, part of a family that helped transform that landscape. But after a series of personal and philosophical struggles, Kittredge left ranching for writing. His first major book, Owning It All, is a collection of essays that's been said to have "mapped the emotional terrain of the modern West."
In his memoir, Hole In The Sky, Kittredge set out his hopes for his reflections.
Maybe this is a set of sad stories about the ways we learn to distance ourselves, and teach our children such distance. Maybe it is a cautionary tale. But I hope not. I want this to be a story about the way a sense of connection to the energies of everything can sweep over us; and why I think that sense of connection is supremely valuable.
William Kittredge left Oregon in 1968 for grad school at the Iowa Writers' Workshop. He began teaching at the University of Montana the following year and is now an emeritus professor. After a career built on essays and other non-fiction, he "ran out of passion" for that so wrote his first novel. Now 78 years old, Kittredge is working on a second novel. (And why that is a novel, not non-fiction, is a great story you'll hear on the show!)
He says:
I write when I have something to write. I let thoughts pile up, then begin to see things, suddenly, this lines up for that and here we go.
Have you read any of William Kittredge's work? What sticks with you? Are you from southeastern Oregon? How did his writing impact you? What questions do you have for William Kittredge?
Tagged as: books · northwest passages · west · william kittredge
Photo credit: Raymond Meeks
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Don't worry, VITALPAC, most of 'em don't get very far out of town or very far off pavement.
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As a resident of rural Oregon, I have a mounting concern for the great divide of urban Oregon governing from a perspective of rural ignorance which is stifling the initial appreciation of this region which drew people here.
How would you suggest the conversationalists, who want use of natural resources to simply be observation, and the entrepreneurial agronomists, who are trying to make a living and a lifestyle on the land, can work together?
So much of rural America/Oregon is vanishing not from lack of resources or even people who long for such a life, but from political and ideological regulations that makes this cultural asset into abandoned liabilities. Communities, business people and families are all struggling with the dream of yesterday that is today all but malnourished if not dead.
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revron
On, Observation vs making a living on the land.
Around 1900 it was grasslands from Bend to the Idaho border, with hardly any sagebrush. Then the "agronomist" homesteaders came in and overgrazed it, and the sagebrush took over. Now it is mostly sagebrush from Bend to Idaho. So the agronomists wrecked that land and any potential of making a living on that land. And now all anyone can do is "observe" all that sagebrush while driving by.
Just imagine how many cattle and/or sheep could be "sustainably" supported on grasslands from Bend to Idaho!
I'd like to see programs set up to bring back fire to that area, because fire burns sagebrush down to the roots and kills it while it just swiftly burns off dead grass leaves leaving the grass plant alive to grow and sustain wildlife and potentially commercial grazing of cows and sheep.
I think that agronomists and conservationists need to work together to bring back that land to sustainable use.
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A question for Mr. Kitteradge:
I am an aspiring writer and applicant to MFA programs (as well as former Missoula resident) and, as I follow this uncertain path, I keep bumping into a distinct tension: that of following the art that is my passion and the intrinsic need to feel useful and directly productive in society (i.e., to make a living, support my family, etc.).
Can you speak to the pull between these to necessary yet competing impulses?
Thank you.
Graham Murtaugh -
I just found the book "Bill Kitt" that tella a more heroic tale of the family than "Hole in the Sky". What are your thoughts of the family history presented in Bill Kitt?
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Owning it All is our favorite Kittredge book. My husband and I have read it multiple times. We have read all his books. Bill is an evocative and provocative writer and Owning it All continues to resonate with the lives we live raising cattle in a wild part of Oregon that is undergoing tremendous change with new landowners who do not practice neighboring and who do not engage with community or become part of the landscape as part of their life's work. On our small leased family ranch, Bill's work gives us a respite from labor and fuels contemplation and inquiry in the dark evenings of cow camp.
Sara at Magpie Ranch
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Over the past year, listening to NPR and other media, I have been marveling at the wholesale overuse of the word "iconic." Considering other dreadfully overused clichés like "at the end of the day," and "on the ground," one could begin to wonder who writes the on-air commentary and why this is tolerated. I'm not sure Mr. Kittredge has an opinion on this.
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Owning It All is one of my favorite books of all time. Growing up in oregon, kittredge's memories of our home state spoke to me in such a lovely way. I'm sneaking a break at work just to comment! My absolute favorite is the passage about bears. Thank you so very much for sharing your writing!
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What a very interesting guy.
These are the kinds of stories that my family never told and I think are very important to connect kids with the past.
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What you just said about revenge. Please write that down, and add to it. I need that.
Sara
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Years ago, I happened on a piece by William Kittredge in Rocky Mountain Magazine. I was in my teens then, and Mr. Kittredge's writing was kind of a revelation to me. I'd never before read anything about the American West that rang as true, really acurately depicted the kind of life and the kind of people that I knew about. My family ranched in Western Montana and Central Wyoming. I love reading these stories and essays that bring to life this part of the world and do so with such intelligence.
Thank you, Mr. Kittredge.
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I often use The Nature of Generosity as a teaching tool/discussion prompt in my community college composition classes, but locating particular quotes is difficult because there are so many tabbed pages. I, too, am a writer, and I am indebted to one line from that book: "We are what we can say or sing."
Thank you for all of your very important work. I haven't been fortunate enough to have studied with you, but I have had the pleasure of hearing you read at Fishtrap. I look forward to your next novel.
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I come from a long line of homesteaders, ranchers and farmers in eastern Montana, though my father bucked the tradition by following his journalism dreams in the big cities of the east coast, where I was raised. I returned in the mid 70s to attend the U. of Montana, where I took a Creative Writing class from Mr. Kittredge. What I remember most was that I got an A on my story, as mailed to me over the summer, but there were no markings at all on the paper. I never knew what to make of that.
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I grew up on a dry land wheat farm in Eastern Oregon. The land was different, but the life was similar. My father, born in 1913, became a 2-4D farmer; he was going to conquer the land. Hole in the Sky was a revelation for me. My mother also came from San Franscico. Thank you for "wasting your life" explaining my world to me.
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When I was in 6th grade we were given a book of short stories and assigned to read a couple. I went home and was so into it I read the whole book. Then back at school we were assigned to write a review. The idea that I could write a review of such exquisite writing turned me off of writing ever after. I hated to write essays, short stories, term papers, poems, anything and I often didn't even bother to turn them in for a grade. I sure disappointed some teachers.
I wish I had had William Kittredge at some point, I think I would have liked writing, even if I might never have become a published author. Just to write for myself and for school.
Thanks, Mr Kittredge, for an inspiring interview.
Now I'll have to get to reading on your books.
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OREGON IS NICE >. OREGONIANS NOT SO MUCH