Oral Presentations: UC 327
The Lay of the Land: Three Years in the Bob Marshall Country
Presentation Type
Presentation
Faculty Mentor’s Full Name
Erin Saldin
Abstract / Artist's Statement
Retired outfitter Smoke Elser insists upon the utmost importance of “interpreting the land” in the outfitting business, and in my time packing and guiding I have come to appreciate the role of the interpreter in transmitting a particular landscape’s intertwining geography, ecology, and cultural history through storytelling. The Lay of the Land: Three Years in the Bob Marshall Country is intended to carry on this tradition, while adapting it to my own perspective as a young man in the social conditions of the 21st century.
The work is a compilation of narrative essays which explore the landscape and culture of the Bob Marshall Wilderness and the surrounding communities. These stories, drawn from my journals taken while working in the Bob, will remain grounded in the cultural history of the region, lending a broader perspective on my role in the story. An accompanying literature review will also analyze techniques used to create a geographical identity in Bernard DeVoto’s historical narratives and Ivan Doig’s personal narratives, then examine how those techniques may be applied in my own work to build on the lineage of Howard Copenhaver and Bud Cheff’s stories from the Bob. It is my intention for the work to imbue the reader with a sense of place and cultivate an ecological conscience based upon the life of the Crown of the Continent.
Category
Visual and Performing Arts (including Creative Writing)
The Lay of the Land: Three Years in the Bob Marshall Country
UC 327
Retired outfitter Smoke Elser insists upon the utmost importance of “interpreting the land” in the outfitting business, and in my time packing and guiding I have come to appreciate the role of the interpreter in transmitting a particular landscape’s intertwining geography, ecology, and cultural history through storytelling. The Lay of the Land: Three Years in the Bob Marshall Country is intended to carry on this tradition, while adapting it to my own perspective as a young man in the social conditions of the 21st century.
The work is a compilation of narrative essays which explore the landscape and culture of the Bob Marshall Wilderness and the surrounding communities. These stories, drawn from my journals taken while working in the Bob, will remain grounded in the cultural history of the region, lending a broader perspective on my role in the story. An accompanying literature review will also analyze techniques used to create a geographical identity in Bernard DeVoto’s historical narratives and Ivan Doig’s personal narratives, then examine how those techniques may be applied in my own work to build on the lineage of Howard Copenhaver and Bud Cheff’s stories from the Bob. It is my intention for the work to imbue the reader with a sense of place and cultivate an ecological conscience based upon the life of the Crown of the Continent.