Your future, our focus
P O W E L L, W y o. - Powell's own Garry Wallace, author of the recently published "Biography of a Bird Dog: a Labrador Retriever in Wyoming" will talk about his writing as well as his experience taking the book from conception to publication as an April guest of the Northwest College Writers Series. His program begins at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 10, in Room 70 of the Fagerberg Building at NWC.
In his book, Wallace takes a philosophical look at life and the lessons to be learned from his black Labrador retriever. He started keeping a journal the day he got the young pup and began training her in the ways of hunting.
He hadn't counted on the dog's strong personality and the changes that would result - even for his older dog, Eb. When the young "double-alpha female" refused to accept long-established rules and boundaries in the Wallace home, old Eb's freedoms increased too, along with the amount of dog hair on clothes and in previously forbidden rooms.
The biggest adjustment came after his maturing pup received a crippling injury. Wallace was forced to re-examine his aspirations for the dog, which led him to reflect on his own dreams and health limitations.
The book includes photos and anecdotes that dog lovers and trainers can readily relate to, as does his presentation Tuesday night.
In the world of humans, Wallace is on the biology and English faculty rosters at Northwest College. He holds bachelor's and master's degrees in zoology from the University of Montana at Missoula, plus a master's in nonfiction writing and literature from Bennington College in Vermont.
His nonfiction essays have earned recognition in the William Faulkner Writing Competition, "Best American Essays" and from the Wyoming Arts Council. They've been featured in Southern Quarterly, Owen Wister Review, High Plains Register, Hard Ground and other anthologies.
Admission to his Tuesday night Writers Series presentation is free.