Acclaimed novelist, outdoor writer and publisher, Allen Morris Jones will read from his debut poetry collection, Mumblecusser. Jones lives in Bozeman. He is the author of the novels, Last Year’s River, A Bloom of Bones, and Sweeney on the Rocks; the highly influential examination of the ethics of hunting, A Quiet Place of Violence; a Spur Award-winning children’s book, Montana for Kids: The Story of Our State; and co-editor, with William Kittredge, of The Best of Montana’s Short Fiction. He has published more than 100 short stories, articles, essays, and poems. A former editor of Big Sky Journal and an acquisitions editor for the Lyons Press, he is the publisher of his own small book house, Bangtail Press, and he has appeared as a guest essayist on Jim Lehrer’s “PBS NewsHour,” lectured to the Outdoor Writer’s Association of America…
Of Mumblecusser, Jones writes, “These poems as far as I can tell now, are about late-life fatherhood, they’re about aging and mortality, they’re about trying to see clearly. They’re about trying to discover what I think. They’re exercises in self-pity and self-absorption. They are coins tossed off the back of a train. … They’re doorstops you trip over and Rorschach oil spills you slide across. Most of all, though, they’re the rubberized ceiling straps you grab onto when the bus lurches away from the curb.”
Elk River Books is located at 122 S. 2nd St. in downtown Livingston. The free event begins at 7 p.m., and a book signing and reception will follow. For more information, send an email to call (406) 333-2330.
Yellowstone Ballet Company’s 32nd Annual
presentation of this Favorite Holiday Ballet at
WILLSON AUDITORIUM, 404 Main St., Bozeman.
2 PERFORMANCES on Dec. 10th ~ 1:00 pm AND at 4:30 pm
Child free entry with the purchase of an Adult Ticket.
Purchase tickets at www.yellowstoneballet.info
Children may come dressed as a Nutcracker character. A costume contest will be held at Intermission with Prizes donated from the Rocky Mountain Toy Company.
Park High National Honor Society presents this Caring Opportunity to help those in need in our Community. Though this community drive began October 16, it’s not too late to care and share!
Priority Clothes Donations are: Coasts, Gloves, Hats, Beanies, Scarves, Socks and more. Clothing for adults & children must be Clean and in Good Condition.
Priority Food Donations are: Canned, Boxed, Non-parishable. No junk food.
Drop-Off Point: Any Livingston School or Community Health Partners
Philosopher and author CHRISTOPHER J. PRESTON will discuss his book, “Tenacious Beasts: Wildlife Recoveries That Change How We Think about Animals”, in which he takes a look at several animal species that are defying the tendency toward extinction.
The news about wildlife is dire—more than 900 species have been wiped off the planet since industrialization. Against this bleak backdrop, however, there are glimmers of hope and crucial lessons to be learned from animals that have defied global trends toward extinction: bears in Italy, bison in North America, whales in the Atlantic Ocean. These populations are back from the brink, some of them in numbers unimaginable….
Drawing on compelling personal stories from the researchers, Indigenous people, and activists who know the creatures best, Preston weaves together a gripping narrative of how some species are taking back vital ecological roles. Each section of the book—farms, prairies, rivers, forests, oceans—offers a philosophical shift in how humans ought to think about animals, passionately advocating for the changes in attitude necessary for wildlife recovery.
Elk River Books is located at 122 S. 2nd St. For more info, email info@elkriverbooks.com or call (406) 333-2330.
Join us at Chico’s Convention Center for the 29th Annual Benefit Ball.
ADMISSION: $25/person; $35/couple; $50 for family of 4
Great Food ~ Silent Auction ~ Music by BAND OF DRIFTERS.
All proceeds benefit the Paradise Valley Firefighters Association. Arrangements for donations can be made by contact Ching Ling Coleman at Chico Hot Springs at 406-333-4933.
YELLOWSTONE GATEWAY MUSEUM Welcomes the public to this FREE Family event.
Families may create Italian, Native American, and other traditional crafts, and the museum will be open for exploration. This month, Family Days is held during a storewide 25% off Black Friday and Saturday sale.
Make a La Befana paper stocking, which reflects an Italian holiday tradition that is celebrated on the eve of Epiphany. La Befana, an old woman, searched for the manger and baby Jesus, but unable to find him, left presents for other children instead. It is still celebrated in Italy today.
Craft your own Winter Count artwork, a Native American tradition that documents major events during the year. Artists can draw symbols and events that are personally significant and what they want to remember about the year.
Create ornaments for Christmas trees. The museum has wooden ornaments of local animals as well as painting supplies and other material to create a fun ornament for your display at home.
Family Days is a program at the museum held on the last Saturday of each month. Families can visit the museum and participate in different activities that encourage exploration of the museum through different themes. Admission is free. The program is made possible in part by a grant from the Community Closet.
Visit https://www.parkcounty.org/Yellowstone-Gateway-Museum/, Facebook or Instagram for updates. Call 406-222-4184 for details. The Family Days program is held on the last day of each month and made possible in part by a grant from the Community Closet.
Come to the Elks Lodge, 130 South 2nd St., for Thanksgiving Dinner.
Bring the family to eat on site, Swing by to get meals to go,
or Call 406-223-4951 ASAP to make arrangements for home delivery.
Food is professionally prepared by the Livingston Food Resource
and lovingly served by community volunteers at the Elks Lodge.
Donations gratefully welcome.
BETSY GAINES QUAMMEN IN CONVERSATION WITH SCOTT MC MILLION
In her effort to “disentangle reality from centuries of myth and mystique” (Hampton Sides), historian and author BETSY GAINES QUAMMEN discusses her book, True West: Myth and Mending on the Far Side of America, with journalist and publisher Scott McMillion.
According to the publisher, “True West explores myths of the West and how, if left unexamined, they distort the realities of the present and exacerbate polarizations. These misperceptions about land, politics, liberty, and self-determination threaten the wellbeing of western communities overrun by newcomers seeking a dream—unless America recognizes the dangers of building a national identity on illusion…
Gaines Quammen examines the intersections of extremism, public lands, wildlife and western communities. She received a PhD in history from MSU…. and an MS in environmental studies from U of M. She lives in Bozeman with her spouse, science author David Quammen.
Award-winning journalist, SCOTT McMILLION is the editor and publisher of Montana Quarterly and the author of Mark of the Grizzly. He’s been a featured essayist on The News Hour with Jim Lehrer and a frequent guest on radio and television news programs.
Elk River Books is at 122 S. 2nd St. Info: info@elkriverbooks.com (406) 333-2330
PARK HIGH MUSIC DEPT HOSTS INTERNATIONAL ARTSTS TREVOR WATTS & JAMIE HARRIS
As part of their North American tour, internationally renowned saxophonist Trevor Watts and percussionist Jamie Harris will perform at THE ATTIC on Thursday, Nov. 9. The Park High Jazz Ensemble, and a jazz/poetry set by local poet and performer Marc Beaudin, Park High band leader and percussionist Garrett Stannard, and friends will open the show. Watts and Harris will also offer master classes that afternoon which are free and open to the public.
Watts is a founder of the iconic, London-based, Spontaneous Music Ensemble and of The Drum Orchestra which consisted mostly of musicians from Ghana and toured the world in a collaboration with Venezuela’s Teatro Negro de Barlovento. He is featured in “Jazz Brittanica” (a BBC4 film on British jazz and improvised music, and he is listed in the Who’s Who in the World of Music dictionary.
Harris has toured the world with Trevor Watts and the Celebration Band. In 2003, Watts and Harris began performing as a duo, taking this project to Mongolia, USA/Canada, Mexico, The Dominican Republic and Brazil among other locations. Since July 2021, Watts, Veryan Weston and Harris formed the group “Eternal Triangle,” which has played concerts all over the UK and EU performing Trevor’s compositions. In October 2022, Harris began improvising danceable funk jazz with Trevor Watts and Mark Hewins in the group JaMaTre.
FREE CLASSES AT THE ATTIC 110 N. MAIN – No advance sign-up necessary 4-4:45 PM “Percussion Master Class & Q&A with Jamie Harris” 4:45-5:30 PM :“Saxophone & Improvisation Master Class & Q&A with Trevor Watts,”
PERFORMANCE AT THE ATTIC 110 N. MAIN 7:30 pm Doors Open 8:00 pm Park High Jazz Ensemble followed by jazz set/poetry by Beaudin & Stannard 9pm Watts and Harris
Suggested donation of $20 is recommended; all proceeds benefit Park High Music Dept. Tickets are available at Whiskey Creek or online at theatticmontana.com
THIS MONTH WILL BE A LITTLE DIFFERENT. Due to the holidays November Kids Club will be hosted on THE FIRST FRIDAY IN NOVEMBER!
Drop your kids off at the Civic Center and have a night out! Participants will have the opportunity to have a pizza dinner with fruits and veggies, watch movies, play games, enjoy sports, and other entertainment, all supervised by our staff!
Bring some blankets or your sleeping bag for movie time!
Kids Club is from 5:30 to 8:30 pm. The next Kids Club is November 3rd.
The cost is $30.00, with a discount for siblings.
REGISTRATION IN ADVANCE IS REQUIRED to participate, and we have 25 spots available! We need at least 10 kids registered to host Kids Club.
You can find the registration link through our link tree at linktr.ee/LivingstonRecreation
An Evening with Ilya Kaminsky & Katie Farris
Ilya Kaminsky is the author of the widely acclaimed Deaf Republic (Graywolf, 2019), a finalist for
the 2019 National Book Award for Poetry. Poems from Deaf Republic were awarded Poetry
magazine’s Levinson Prize and the Pushcart Prize. He is also the author of Dancing In Odessa
(Tupelo Press, 2004) and Musica Humana (Chapiteau Press, 2002)… He is on the creative writing faculty at Princeton University. Garth Greenwell called Kaminsky “the most brilliant poet of his generation, one of the world’s few geniuses.”
Katie Farris is a poet, writer of hybrid forms, and translator. Her poetry has been called
“extraordinary” by both Paris Review and The Los Angeles Review of Books, while The Literary
Review commented on the “immersive magic and unforgettable imagery” of Farris’s writing. Her
most recent book is Standing in the Forest of Being Alive (Alice James Books, 2023.) Farris is also
the award-winning translator of several books of poetry and she writes prose about cancer, the body,
and its relationship to writing.
During their time in Livingston, Kaminsky & Farris will also teach a free poetry writing workshop for local middle and high school students (Friday, October 20 from 1-2:30 p.m.) at the Livingston-Park County Public Library.
An Evening with Chris La Tray
Enjoy this special presentation by Montana’s Poet Laureate Chris La Tray on Monday, October 9 – Indigenous Peoples’ Day – at 7 p.m. at Elk River Books @ 122 S. 2nd St. in Livingston.
Chris La Tray is a Métis storyteller and an enrolled member of the Little Shell Tribe of
Chippewa Indians. His first book, One-Sentence Journal: Short Poems and Essays from
the World at Large, won the 2018 Montana Book Award and a 2019 High Plains Book
Award. He is also the author of Descended from a Travel-worn Satchel, a book of haiku
and haibun poetry. La Tray’s third book, a memoir titled Becoming Little Shell, will be
published by Milkweed Editions in 2024.
La Tray teaches poetry to elementary students on the Flathead Reservation as part of the
Missoula Writing Collaborative and teaches a class on storytelling in the University of
Montana Creative Writing Department. He was named Montana’s next Poet Laureate in
August.
La Tray’s visit is made possible by the generous support of the Park County Community
Foundation and individual donors. During his time in Livingston, La Tray will meet with
students at Park High.
More info, call (406) 220-8630 or visit elkriverarts.org.
