For the final episode of Breakfast in Montana, Russell Rowland and Charles Finn talk to poet Mary Jane Nealon about her remarkable memoir, Beautiful Unbroken, which was the recipient of the Bakeless Prize for Non-fiction, which is awarded by th

Episode Thirty-Four - James Lee Burke and A.B. Guthrie

Jul 20th, 2023 49m 45s

Russell Rowland had the opportunity to do an interview with James Lee Burke for Distinctly Montana Magazine about the work of A.B. Guthrie. Both Russell and James are huge Guthrie fans, and Burke got to know him after he moved to Missoula in th

Episode Thirty-Three - Shann Ray and John Stands In Timber

Jun 8th, 2023 51m 38s

We're happy to introduce a new co-host in this episode, as Montana Book Award winner Charles Finn (On a Benediction of Wind) joins Russell Rowland in a conversation with their old friend Shann Ray. Shann has published several books in a wide va

Episode Thirty-Two - Charles Finn, Barbara Michelman, Donna Lucey and Evelyn Cameron

Mar 10th, 2023 51m 1s

On a Benediction of Wind was just named the winner of the Montana Book Award days before we recorded this episode, so we're thrilled to feature the beautiful poetry of Charles Finn, and talk to him and Barbara Michelman about how they came to c

Episode Thirty-One: Elise Atchison And Tom McGuane

Oct 11th, 2022 43m 37s

Elise Atchison's debut novel, Crazy Mountain, was the recipient of the Eludia Award, an award given to first-time women novelists over forty. She worked for over ten years on this book, which features a completely different point of view for ea

Episode Twenty-Four: Elise Atchison and Thomas McGuane

Oct 11th, 2022 43m 37s

Elise Atchison's debut novel, Crazy Mountain, was the recipient of the Eludian Award, an award given to first-time women novelists over forty. She worked for over ten years on this book, which features a completely different point of view for e

Episode Thirty - Debra Magpie Earling and James Welch

Aug 22nd, 2022 1h 6m

This episode pairs one of the most esteemed Native American authors of our time with a writer who started writing because of his influence and guidance. Debra Magpie Earling took her very first writing class from James Welch at the University o

Episode Twenty-Nine - Mark Gibbons and David Dale

Jun 24th, 2022 59m 50s

For this episode, we interview the current poet laureate of Montana, Missoula poet Mark Gibbons. And Mark asked us to talk about an old friend of his, David Dale, who published three collections during his lifetime but never got much recognitio

Episode Twenty-Eight Greg Keeler and Beatrice Murphy

May 26th, 2022 48m 34s

For this episode, we were so honored to have a chance to sit down with our old friend, poet Greg Keeler. Greg taught at Montana State University for forty years, and toward the end of his career, he started writing a sonnet every day. He contin

Episode Twenty-Seven - Tom Harpole and Andrew Garcia

Feb 19th, 2022 55m

For this episode, we had the pleasure of talking with our good friend Tom Harpole about his collection, Regarding Willingness. Tom wrote for national magazines for decades, but this collection consists of personal essays that Tom wrote through

Episode Twenty-Six - Corrie Williamson, Stephen Ambrose. and Stephenie Ambrose Tubbs

Jan 11th, 2022 39m 4s

This past year marked the twenty-fifth anniversary of the publication of Undaunted Courage, which has become known as the bible for the Lewis and Clark Expedition. This book, written by Stephen Ambrose, had the feel of a novel, and captured the

Episode Twenty-five - Ryan Busse and Teddy "Blue" Abbott

Oct 22nd, 2021 53m 37s

Ryan Busse worked as a top executive in the gun industry for several decades. "I sold millions of guns," he says. But Busse became increasingly disillusioned with the NRA's influence on the industry he loved, to the point that he felt compelled

Episode Twenty-Four: Alan Weltzien and Thomas Savage

Sep 21st, 2021 52m 20s

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

Episode Twenty-Three - Norman Maclean and John Maclean

Jul 4th, 2021 48m 22s

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

Episode Twenty-Two - Doug Peacock and William Kittredge

May 19th, 2021 47m 47s

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 un

Episode Twenty - James Welch And Joey Running Crane

Feb 26th, 2021 54m 12s

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 severa

Episode Nineteen - Tami Haaland and Madeline DeFrees

Dec 13th, 2020 42m 40s

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, w

Episode Eighteen Melissa Kwasny and Frank Linderman

Nov 1st, 2020 50m 17s

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

Episode Seventeen - Grace Stone Coates and Caroline Patterson

Jul 29th, 2020 40m 7s

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 Sixteen - Sean Hill and D'Arcy McNickle

Feb 15th, 2020 46m 48s

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

Episode Fifteen - John Taliaferro and George Bird Grinnell

Oct 15th, 2019 35m 7s

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 Conserv

Episode Fourteen - Susan Henderson and Mildred Walker

Sep 15th, 2019 29m 27s

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 i

Episode 13 - Chris La Tray and Rick DeMarinis

Aug 24th, 2019 33m 39s

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

Episode Twelve - Tim Cahill and William 'Gatz' Hjortsberg

Jun 30th, 2019 46m 2s

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

Episode 11 - Henrietta Goodman and Richard Brautigan

Jun 12th, 2019 30m 7s

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.