Idaho poet, essayist and educator CMarie Fuhrman visits Livingston to read from and discuss her new collection of essays, Salmon Weather: Writing from the Land of No Return, at Elk River Books, 122 S. 2nd St. The free event will be held on Thursday, Oct. 9, at 7 pm, and includes a book signing and reception. Fuhrman’s visit is part of Elk River’s observance of Banned Books Week: She will discuss the recent censoring of her work by the State of Idaho in response to the Trump administration’s crackdown on diversity and equity.
“In the heart of Idaho’s Salmon River Mountains, a woman unknowingly begins what becomes a journey of understanding. Haunted by personal loss and the complex history of the American West, she seeks beauty and understanding at alpine lakes, beside wild rivers, on trails, and with her dogs. Here, amidst granite peaks and endangered beings, she confronts the challenges and awe of nature, the ethics of hunting, the past, an uncertain future, and the depths of her own being.”
Betsy Gaines Quammen, author of True West, calls the book “gorgeous, gut-wrenching, and transcendent. Fuhrman offers the reader both her arrant honesty and her giant heart. Salmon Weather casts a love spell.”
Fuhrman’s work is inspired by the Western landscape. She is the author of the poetry chapbook Camped Beneath the Dam, and co-editor of the anthologies Cascadia Field Guide: Art, Ecology, and Poetry and Native Voices: Indigenous Poetry, Craft, and Conversations. She has poetry and nonfiction published or forthcoming in Terrain.org, Emergence Magazine, Alta Magazine, Northwest Review, Yellow Medicine Review, Poetry Northwest, Big Sky Journal, and various anthologies. Fuhrman is the director of the Elk River Writers Workshop and an award-winning columnist for The Inlander. She is the associate director of Western Colorado University’s graduate program in creative writing, and founder of Confluence Writing Community. She hosts Terra Firma, a Colorado Public Radio program, and is a former Idaho writer in residence. She lives in the Salmon River Mountains of Idaho where she spends her summers working as a fire lookout.
For those who can’t attend in person, the event will live-stream at our YouTube Channel.
