Rick Bass - The Montana Yaak Valley

This interview is with Rick Bass, author of more than 30 books, wildlife and wildlands activist and resident of the Yaak Valley in northwest Montana. Bass studied geology at Utah State University. He grew up in Houston, and started writing short stories on his lunch breaks while working as a petroleum geologist in Jackson, Mississippi. In 1987, he moved with his wife, the artist Elizabeth Hughes Bass, to the remote Yaak Valley, where he works to protect his adopted home from roads and logging. Rick serves on the boards of the Yaak Valley Forest Council, Save the Yellowstone Grizzly, and The Montana Project. He continues to give readings, write, and teach around the country and world.

Rick Bass has had numerous stories anthologized in Best American Short Stories: The Year’s Best. His nonfiction has been anthologized in Best American Spiritual Writing and Best American Science Writing and several other anthologies. Various of his books have been named New York Times as well as Los Angeles Times Notable Books of the Year, and a New York Times Best Book of the Year. A nonfiction book, Why I Came West, was a finalist for a National Book Critics Circle Award. He is the recipient of a 2011 Artist’s Innovation Award from the Montana Arts Council and a Governor’s Award in the Arts. His stories, articles and essays have appeared in The Paris Review, The New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly, Harper’s, New York Times Sunday Magazine, the Washington Post, and numerous other periodicals.

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