Interviewer
Chris LaTray
Files
Description
Mark Gibbons discusses his nearly 15-year friendship with Butte, Montana poet Ed Lahey, author of The Blind Horses and The Thin Air Gang. Gibbons talks about first meeting Lahey in 1996 at the Garden City Reading Series in Missoula, and how much in awe he was of Lahey’s talent and presence. Gibbons describes how author Roger Dunsmore facilitated Gibbons’ first meeting with Lahey at Lahey’s home in Montana, and how that quickly grew into a mutual friendship. Gibbons touches on Lahey’s struggles with alcoholism and mental illness, and notes that he knew Lahey towards the end of his life when he was getting more of his work published. Gibbons recalls Lahey’s struggles with manganese poisoning which causes severe tremoring during his final years. He also discusses Lahey’s writing style, which was a unique voice characteristic of living in Butte, Montana. Gibbons notes how many poets such as himself and Sheryl Noethe were inspired by Lahey’s work.
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Document Type
Oral History
Subjects
Ed Lahey; Mark Gibbons; Chris LaTray; Butte, Montana; Missoula, Montana; Authors, Montana; Poets, Montana; Mental illness; Sheryl Noethe; Roger Dunsmore; Birds of a Feather; The Blind Horses; The Thin Air Gang; Apples Rolling on the Lawn; Garden City Reading Series; Russell Chatham; Clark City Press
Original Date
11-1-2018
Time Period
Twentieth century
Geographic Coverage
Montana
Language
eng
Original Collection
Ed Lahey Oral History Project OH-438, Archives & Special Collections, Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, University of Montana
Digital Publisher
University of Montana-Missoula. Mansfield Library
Rights
Copyright to this collection is held by the interview participants and by the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, University of Montana-Missoula. Permission may be required for use. For further information please contact Archives and Special Collections: (406) 243-2053 / library.archives@umontana.edu
Oral History Number
OH 438-008
Media Type
Sound; Text
Original Format
1 sound file (01:35:04 min.) digital + 1 transcript (22 p.: 28 cm.)
Digital Format
audio/mp3; application/pdf
Run Time
01:35:04 minutes
Local Filename
OH_438_008.mp3; OH_438_008.pdf
Citation
Gibbons, Mark, "Mark Gibbons Interview, November 1, 2018" (2018). Ed Lahey Oral History Project. 8.
https://scholarworks.umt.edu/edlahey/8