Montana Land Reliance milestone marked in anthology
“A Million Acres: Montana Writers Reflect on Land and Open Space” is a stunning hardcover literary anthology featuring powerful writing about Montana’s magnificent wild lands and open spaces by 20 of the state’s finest contemporary writers. The book is sponsored by the Montana Land Reliance and celebrates its protection of one million acres of Montana’s agricultural land, fish and wildlife habitat and open spaces through voluntary conservation easements.
Edited by Keir Graff and featuring 28 breathtaking full-color photographs from Alexis Bonogofsky (both native Montanans), the full-color, elegantly designed book was produced in partnership with Helena’s Riverbend Publishing. Along with Christine Carbo, Antonia Malchik, Graff and Bonogofsky, contributors include Rick Bass, Janet Skeslien Charles, Gwen Florio, James Grady, Laulette LeDoux Hansen, Jamie Harrison, Eric Heidle, Sterling HolyWhiteMountain, Allen Morris Jones, Carrie La Seur, Maxim Loskutoff, Maile Meloy, Caroline Patterson, Jim Robbins, Russell Rowland and Joe Wilkins.
“I asked our contributors to explore the great outdoors, and they responded with a wonderfully diverse range of material,” Graff said. “In writing about hunting, fishing, hiking, cross-country skiing, rafting, ranching, and even road trips, they explore the way we are all shaped by land and open space.”
“We commissioned the book to celebrate a recent milestone — one million acres protected by conservation easements,” said Kendall van Dyk, Montana Land Reliance managing director. “Montana has rich traditions of agricultural stewardship, outdoor recreation, and literary excellence, and they come together here as these authors explore feelings we’ve all experienced.”
In essays, memoirs and short stories, the writers explore the plains, rivers and mountains of Big Sky Country. They show us how natural beauty and hardship are two sides of the same coin, and how sometimes the only way to cure heartache is to visit the great outdoors.
From a hardscrabble upbringing to the pain of losing the family land, from death on a river to the awe of landing a big fish, from backcountry encounters with grizzly bears to an out-of-stater’s happiness at making Montana her home, “A Million Acres” offers a wonderfully diverse range of experiences and perspectives.
A conversation with the editor of ‘A Million Acres’
By CAROL MARINO
Daily Inter Lake
Keir Graff, editor of “A Million Acres,” grew up in the shadow of Mount Sentinel in Missoula.
“I tell people I had a Tom Sawyer kind of ’70s unsupervised upbringing, swimming in the Clark Fork River, running around the mountains and shooting BBs,” Graff said. “The exact opposite of my own kids.”
Graff’s two teenage boys are growing up in Chicago where he has worked in publishing for two decades. The family travels to Montana frequently so his kids have plenty of chances to explore Big Sky Country, too.
A successful writer of six published adult novels and three for middle-graders, as well as numerous short stories, Graff also previously co-edited the fiction collection “Montana Noir” in 2017 with fellow native Montanan James Grady (“Six Days of the Condor”).
“I got my feet wet and got to ride herd on a bunch of Montana authors. It was a good experience,” Graff said.
It was during that time he met the prolific Montana author Tom McGuane.
“McGuane talked about the possibility of getting involved in this new anthology and I jumped at the chance,” Graff said. “I knew I’d get to spend more time in Montana — even if in my mind.”
Graff says he’s a “homer” — a sportscasting term referring to someone who’s biased to their home team. The two-year “A Million Acres” project has strengthened his connections and relationships in his home state.
The Montana Land Reliance recently celebrated the milestone of conserving a million acres. Graff feels honored to be involved in the anthology commemorating the Reliance’s remarkable achievement.
“I love that we’re celebrating by publishing a book, because there‘s such a rich literary tradition in Montana,” he said.
“A Million Acres” is about 75% nonfiction, but when selecting authors Graff felt writers could also tell Montana’s story in essays and short fiction.
“When we first approached the project we said, ‘Let’s give the writers a lot of latitude because each piece required a different approach,” Graff said. He worked extensively with the contributors to shape the new pieces and freshen and strengthen already existing works.
What makes Montana literature especially compelling is what Graff says, though may be cliche, remains true — a sense of place.
“Those who choose to live in Montana, native or not, become shaped by their surroundings. They are immersed in the landscape,” Graff said. “They choose to come because the land speaks to their souls.”
And although living here often takes hard work, “You can taste the dust of those who’ve written about growing up on the land,” Graff said.
In the book’s intro Graff wrote “There is joy and even humor in this book, but also heartbreak, because to love something wholeheartedly means to feel for its survival.”
Inevitably, sadness and darkness are also addressed in contemporary Montana literature.
“Writers has such a bone deep connection to the land,” he said. “It’s the same way we feel about our kids.”
His own piece in the anthology, “Water Levels,” follows an existentially troubled character who, in searching for healing in nature, discovers a stream going through a wrecked cabin in a ghost town — a metaphor born from Graff’s own concern about climate change and as a parent of two young men he hopes will grow up to live and thrive on a sustainable planet. Its ultimate message, he feels, is that nature can heal itself, even when people are long gone.
Rick Bass also wrote about climate change in “The Ark of the Yaak” and together the two pieces close the anthology.
And in an unpredictable and rare place full of possibilities “they seem to represent ‘What’s next?’” Graff said.
Entertainment Editor Carol Marino may be reached at 758-4440 or thisweek@dailyinterlake.com.