Ordinarily, I would plow through a 272-page borderland thriller from James Carlos Blake in handful of days. Maybe two. I haven’t done that with The Bones of Wolfe. The demands of work — newspaper and Frontier Partisans — have forced me to slow it down and read in small chunks. Not necessarily the best way to let the momentum of Story sweep you … [Read more...] about The Big, Bad Wolfes Are At The Door
UTU
If you have yet to see the New Zealand frontier masterpiece UTU, here’s your chance. Some excellent personage has provided a good-quality upload on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7xFjT_nv-8 It would be hard to overstate the importance of this movie for me. I wrote about it back in 2017: When I was a mere stripling of … [Read more...] about UTU
Turnpike Troubadours
Well the covey took wing Shotguns a-singing A pointing dog down in the old logging road And Danny got three and looked back a-grinning I fumbled a round and I tried to reload The country was cold with the sun westward sinking It's good to be back in this place With my hands around a Belgian made Browning My mind on the lines of her … [Read more...] about Turnpike Troubadours
There’s A Train A-Comin’
Had a dream last night about Steve Earle’s 1995 album Train A-Comin’. No idea why. Hard to believe a quarter century has passed since the day in the now long-defunct Boomtown Records in Bend when I stumbled across a new Steve Earle record. This was a huge moment. I had been on board the Steve Earle train since before his 1986 breakout with … [Read more...] about There’s A Train A-Comin’
Waiting For The Barbarians
“Are you familiar with these parts of the frontier?” This looks intriguing... Based on a 1980 tale by South African novelist, J.M. Coetzee — Waiting For The Barbarians: The Magistrate of an isolated frontier settlement on the border of an unnamed empire looks forward to an easy retirement until the arrival of Colonel Joll, whose … [Read more...] about Waiting For The Barbarians
Blazin’ Trail — More From the Trapline — August 2020
The Frontiersman’s Paradox reared its head and roared at me last weekend. I came to Sisters Country in search of hundreds of square miles of untrammeled forest meadow, stream and desert to roam. Found it, too, and have done a fair share of roaming over it. The newspaper I edit promotes outdoor recreation and tourism, which means I earn my daily … [Read more...] about Blazin’ Trail — More From the Trapline — August 2020
Hemingway In The Yellowstone High Country
By Rick Schwertfeger, Captain, Frontier Partisans Southern Command I must be crazy. I’m writing about Ernest Hemingway, one of the most studied, well-known, complex, deeply flawed, and yet extraordinary Americans. And many Frontier Partisans may know much more about the man than I do. But, we’ll see that author Chris Warren found more to … [Read more...] about Hemingway In The Yellowstone High Country
Working The Trapline — August 2020 — Charlie Russell Sky
Charlie Russell painted sunsets Brush dipped in red and gold Like God’s hand sweeping across the West A hundred years ago... — “Charlie Russell Sky” Completed recording on my original song “Charlie Russell Sky,” which will be featured in Craig Rullman’s documentary film on buckaroo artist Len Babb. Charlie Russell is a shaping influence … [Read more...] about Working The Trapline — August 2020 — Charlie Russell Sky
Tonight We Ride
The Frontier Partisans soundtrack is LOADED! WAUGH! Yep, there’s more. The mighty Tom Russell has assembled a Wild Bunch of singer-songwriters for a virtual festival of cowboy music on Facebook. Andy Hedges, Colter Wall, Corb Lund, Emmylou Harris, Jon Langford, Jason Boland. If you can’t catch it live, the video will be available for … [Read more...] about Tonight We Ride
The Bunkhouse Sessions
The past couple of days, the Muse has thrown music in my path that brightens the day. Like a lot of folks, I run on music as fuel; it’s as vital as a bracing cup of coffee in the morning. Things are kind of dark in the world of music these days. Independent venues are under existential threat. My outfit just finished the last of three gigs we … [Read more...] about The Bunkhouse Sessions
