Dedicated to the Free Range Writers of Missoula, Montana
Black bears and back alley compost bins
Rogue apple trees in the Bitterroots
The dead raccoons hanging from branches
Shootings stars, lupine, and phlox
Cultural appropriation
Ponderosa sap tucked in the cracks
Air so dry, you can leave Saltines out for days
Post pandemic emissions
Embedded isms
Tanking oil prices
A withered EPA
Columbia slimy sculpins
Braided streams
Beers at the Union Club instead of a lecture
Osprey and ravens
Sunrise over Sentinel
The scrap metal horse on the North Side
The deer I skinned with another man
The laughter of sandhill cranes
Mud and clog dancing
RVs in various states of decay
Massive wildfires
Cosmic ponderings with friends
The songs and stories of my students
The pressing questions of mentors
A skyline with places for the eyes to rest
Lolo peak in the morning, the afternoon – anytime of day
Ancient shorelines
Hoar frost on barbed wire
-20 degree dawns
Wood smoke and bacon grease
Art galleries nestled in pocket-sized towns
Shoes littering our den during potlucks
Cut grass, marijuana, and fabric softener commingling on evening walks
Sticky cottonwood buds along the Clark Fork
Surfers followed by tubers followed by unicorn floaties
The Roxy Theater and the dusky gold light along Higgins
Cupcakes from Bernices
The pig snout shared with a parishioner
Butterfly Herbs and all the characters
The cedar forest in Idaho
The giddy sound of hail on my tent
The wind out of Hellgate and all the untold narratives
Impromptu social protests
Howling from a public library rooftop
The Missouri River between Coal Banks and Judith Landing
The spine of the Swan Range
Larch needles that stick to your bare feet
Oyster happy hour
Post-holing Georgetown Lake
Zero-fare buses and the drivers who minister to passengers
The whack of the softball against the bat
The dentist who teaches me how to breathe so I don’t pass out in his chair
An endless supply of rainbow pencils from the stationary shop
The Front Range of the Rockies
Blowtorch dinners with friends
Pronghorn tacos
All the cobbles in Glacier
Wheat Montana – so chewy and perfect
A walkable community to wander aimlessly
Drive-thru coffee stands I never visit
Mooning the moon with students
The elk on Jumbo
The words, I think you’ll be back
The night Kevin and David played guitar together
Ponds without water moccasins
Wolf lichen clumped on a snag
The mountain lion I’ve never seen
joannaescampbell 
Have already sent a reply; is it lost??
Elaine godwin
I don’t do these strange things.
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❤️ Awakening my senses that cause me to realize some things that I will probably miss experiencing in life, but, so happy to have read your writings, knowing you have…❤️🙏🏻
Sent from my iPhone
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I really enjoy your writing. When you come back I’ll buy you cupcakes from Bernice’s. They’re my favorite too.
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Joanna, so glad to see your writing.
I hope you are all settled in on the mountain.
I would like to visit with you about an upcoming project of the Ozark Society Foundation. We are establishing an annual prize for a nature manuscript or published book, and I think you would be a great person to bounce some ideas off of. Very open as to kinds of book (fiction, creative nonfiction, history.) You might actual have something for our consideration, but we are also going to need a contest judge.
We have not been in touch since Rough Sort of Beauty was published, but I very much appreciated your encouagement at that time. Would be great to hear from you.
Dana Steward
501-517-7314
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