CIRCLE OF WOMEN This page intentionally left blank 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
Description: