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Updates:

April 2010:
National Poetry Month!

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Bearlodge Affiliates                                                            

 

 

Nellie Corean

Nellie, the youngest member of Bearlodge Writers, writes fantasy and has a novel in the works.

 

Doug Dumbrill

R. Douglas Dumbrill is a native of Newcastle, Wyoming. His grandparents were great educators; every one. His parents always believed that everything which teaches about life was worth exploring. Doug’s father told him that his ideas were as good as anyone’s in the world. Some part of him was bound and destined to be a poet and a storyteller; for that is the art of everything.

 

Elizabeth Canfield

Elizabeth Canfield is a Wyoming-born ranch woman. Her published works include news reporting, essays, feature stories and editorials, chiefly in this area; some have been published nationally. She has two published chapbooks of poetry. She lives in Sundance, Wyoming where she is a columnist and staff member of the Sundance Times

 

Gene Gade

Gene Gade is a life-long educator who enjoys outdoor adventures, especially river trips, with his wife and two children. He has lived and worked in five western states and writes mostly non-fiction.

 

Mary Hadley

Mary Hadley grew up riding jumping horses, married a cowboy, and moved with him to Nevada, on to Oregon, and finally to Wyoming while raising their seven children.

 

Page Lambert

Page Lambert, described in Inside/Outside Southwest Magazine as one of the most notable women writers of the contemporary West, is the author of the memoir In Search of Kinship, a Denver bestseller, and the historic novel Shifting Stars, a Mountains & Plains Booksellers finalist. A contributor to Writing Down the River: Into the Heart of the Grand Canyon, her River Writing Journeys for Women were featured in the January, 2006 issue of Oprah’s O Magazine as “one of the year's six great all-girl getaways.”

 

Jackie Lindstrom

Jackie Lindstrom, (alias JL) Spearfish, has had a love affair with horses all her life. Now a golden-ager, the ground is too hard and the stirrup too high for riding so she expresses her love for horses through writing and painting.

 

Merle Lossing

Merle Lossing – “Born in 1956, I grew up on my parent's farm in Northeast Montana, moved to Gillette, Wyoming in 1981, and have worked for United Parcel Service since 1984. The year 2005 brought many changes; a move to Sundance, Wyoming, a new marriage, and new family.”

 

Trent Redfield

Trent Redfield is a native of Minnesota, but has been wandering around the Midwest and the West for the past 5 years. Bearlodge Writers was the first group of writers that he joined and has inspired him to help form the Chequamegon Bay Word Affiliate writers group in Wisconsin. Trent is currently working for the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, a unit of the National Park Service, on the Corp of Discovery II traveling exhibit. He’s a member of the Bearlodge Writers “at large.”

 

Shelly Ritthaler

Shelly Ritthaler is the author of numerous articles, short stories and poems. She is the winner of the Western Writer’s of America Spur Award and has eight published books to her credit, five of which are children’s books. She and her husband, Reuben, own a cattle ranch and are busy raising their two year old granddaughter, Shayna.

 

Mary Jean Wilson

Mary Jean Wilson’s writing has changed with greater emphasis on how situations around us affect us. It still has the slant towards the historical—sometimes more and sometimes less.
Mary Jean’s essays have been published in magazines, journals and newspapers.

 

Other Affiliates:

Fred Collier

Kristen Collier

Gwen Morgan-Jones

John Newcomb

Tuffy Mitchell

Terry McNutt

 


 

What Makes A Good Writer's Group?

Following is the Bearlodge Writers philosophy, answering the question "What makes a good writers' group?"

If we had to answer in one word, we would say, respect, and that includes trust.

Respect for the writer. The writer comes as a pilgrim, bearing an offering. Whether the writer be prince (experience/published) or pauper (brand new beginner), he is granted the respect of willing attention and receipt of the critique he desires, whether it be “Does this work? Are the characters believable?” or a complete pre-pub edit. This includes respect for the writer’s emotions—a willingness to laugh or cry along with him.

Respect for the piece. To place the offering on the table/altar requires an act of faith by the writer. This is met by the respect of serious consideration and gentle but honest critique, focusing on the merits of the piece itself, the type of critique desired, and the intent of the writer. It is never the group’s purpose to change the intent, but to clarify, to suggest, and to encourage.

Respect for the group. Each writer brings to the group his respect for its function and for the other members, making sure each one has time for his work to be discussed, is willing to give his thoughtful critique or expertise, and holds sacred within the group whatever revelations might be shared. Because of the mutual trust within the group, there is no “competition.” Everyone has the same goal—to make each other’s work the best it can be. And of course, pass the chocolate.