Circle of Women: An Anthology of Contemporary Western Women Writers

431 Pages·2001·12.11 MB·English

by  Kim Barnes

CIRCLE OF WOMEN
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EDITED BY
Kim Barnes and Mary Clearman Blew
for Philip, Rachel, Jordan, Jace, and Euan
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING IN PUBLICATION DATA
Circle of women : an anthology of contemporary western women
writers / edited by Kim Barnes and Mary Clearman Blew.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 0-8061 -3367-8 (paper)
1. American literature-West (U.S.) 2. Women-West (U.S.)-
Literary collections. 3. American literature-Women authors.
4. American literature-20th century. 5. West (U.S.)-Literary
collections. I. Barnes, Kim. 11. Blew, Mary Clearman, 1939-
Pages 4 12-4 14 constitute an extension of this copyright page.
The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and
durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book
Longevity of the Council on Library Resources, Inc.
Copyright O 1994 by Mary Clearman Blew and Kim Barnes.
Published by the University of Oklahoma Press, Norman,
Publishing Division of the University, by arrangement with the
editors. All rights reserved. Manufactured in the U.S.A. First pub-
lished in 1994 by Penguin Books. First printing of the Red River
Books edition, 2001.
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
MARYC LEARMABNL EW
“THES ow IN THE RIVER” . . . . . . . . 1
TESSG ALLAGHER
“WOODCUTTINOGN LOST MOUNTAIN” . . . . 10
PATRICIHA ENLEY
. . . . . .
“THES ECRETO F CARTWHEELS” 17
MELANIREA E THON
“IONA MOON” . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
MARYA NN WATERS
“WHENI WAS TEN,A T NIGHT” . . . . . . 53
“LUCK” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Contents
DEBRAE ARLING
“THE JUST REWARDS”. . . . . . . . . . 56
“CHANGING” . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
MARILYNNREO BINSON
FROM HOUSEKEEPIN.G . . . . . . . . . 62
RIPLEYS CHEMM
“RULES” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
“SONGSW EREH ORSESI RODE” . . . . . . 78
“THEYK EEP THEIRS TORY” . . . . . . . . 79
“FOR MARYO, N THE SNAKE” . . . . . . . 80
IRENE WANNER
“VISITINGTH E HUTTERITES” . . . . . . . 83
DIANER APTOSH
“SCALE” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
INEZ PETERSEN
FROM “MISSINGY ou” . . . . . . . . . . 103
JANET CAMPBELHLA LE
FROM THEJ AILING OF CECELZCAA PTURE . . . 108
MADELINDEE FREES
“IN THE HELLGATWEI ND” . . . . . . . . 133
DENNICSEC ANLON
“THED IFFERENCINE EFFECTSO F TEMPERATURE
DEPENDINOGN GEOGRAPHICLAOLCA TION
EAST OR WESTO F THE CONTINENTDAILV IDE:
A LETTER” . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
ANNICKSM ITH
“IT’SC OMET O THIS” . . . . . . . . . . 137
Contents
MOLLYG LOSS
FROM THEJ UMP-OFCFR EEK. . . . . . . . 158
TERESJAO RDAN
“BONES” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
JUDY BLUNT
“LEAVINGH OME” . .. . . . . . . . . . 180
“WHATC OMES OF WINTER” . . . . . . . . 181
“AT THE STOCKMABNA R,W HERET HE MEN
FALL IN LOVE, AND THE WOMENJ UST FALL” . . 183
CYRAM CFADDEN
FROM RAIN OR SHINE:A FAMILYM EMOZR . . . 186
DZXZPEA RTRIDGE
“ENTERINGS MOOTW, YOMINPGO P. 239” . . . 197
RUTHM CLAUGHLZN
“SEASONS” . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
‘
SANDRAA LCOSSER
“CRY” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
“TRACKS” . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 14
“THES AWYERW’S IFE” . . . . . . . . . 215
CHRZSTINADAA M
“FIRES” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 19
PAM HOUSTON
“IN MY NEXTL IFE” . . . . . . . . . . 242
ANZTAE NDREZZE
“RED ROCK CEREMONIES”. . . . . . . . 258
“CLAIMINLGIV ES” . . . . . . . . . . . 259
“MOVINGD AYA T THE WIDOWC AIN’S” . . . . 262
[ vii )
Contents
GRETELE HRLICH
<<I SLAND”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
NEIDYM ESSER
. . . . . . .
“THE FORCEO F ONEV OICE” 268
. . . . . . .
“LEGENDI N A SMALLT OWN” 269
VICTORIJAE NKINS
FROM RELATIVDEI STANCES. . . . . . . . 271
LESLIER YAN
“THEO THERS IDEO F FIRE” . . . . . . . . 278
MARY GOLDEN
“A COYOTEIs LOPINGA CROSSTH E WATER” . . 300
PAU LINE MORTENSON
“THE HUNSAKEBRLO OD” . . . . . . . . 315
ALISONB AKER
“HOW 1 CAME WEST, AND WHY 1 STAYED” . . 326
DEIRDRME CNAMER
FROM RIMAI N THE WEEDS . . . . . . . . 34 1
KIM BARNES
“CIRCLEO F WOMEN”. . . . . . . . . . 356
“CALLINTGH E COYOTEISN ” . . . . . . . 358
“THE SMELLO F RAIN” . . . . . . . . . 359
TERRYT EMPESWT ILLIAMS
“THE CLANO F ONE-BREASTEWDO MEN” . . . 362
CLAIMD AVIS
“BREATHINTHGE SNAKE” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 372
NOTESON THE CONTRIBUTOR. S. . . . . . . . . . . 387
( viii ]
e are two women whose friendship deepened as we
came to understand how our childhoods and com-
ings of age in different pockets of the Rocky Moun-
tain West shaped, scarred, and strengthened our lives in similar
ways. Mary was raised on a cattle ranch in central Montana in
the twilight of the range tradition of cowboy style-silence and
toughness. For Kim, growing up in the logging camps of north-
ern Idaho twenty years later, the tradition was eerily the same:
isolation, absolute self-reliance, and a fierce devotion to a rugged
and precarious way of life that hastened its own end with every
tree that was felled.
As children, we heard stories about the hardships of com-
ing to live in the West and the sacrifices of staying here. De-
votion to landscape and lifestyle, we understood, counted for
more than comfort or security. As a young man traveliag from
Oklahoma into the great forests of northern Idaho, Kim's father
could not have foreseen an end to timbering, any more than