Rock, Paper, Fire: The Best of Mountain and Wilderness Writing

Edited by Marni Jackson and Tony Whittome Banff Centre Press

Every year since 2005, the Banff Centre has offered its Mountain and Wilderness Writing program. This dynamic residency allows aspir ing and exper ienced writers alike to give shape, meaning and voice to their writing projects. edited by program faculty Marni Jackson and Tony Whittome, is a collection of some of the very best work to come out of the Centre.

The book contains 24 short pieces, each of the writers carving a ser ious path through the inner landscape we encounter in wild places. Highlights for me include Barry Blanchard’s “First Ascent” and Niall Grimes’s “Into the Mountains,” both of which are incredibly touching stor ies that overlay family and loss with the often restorative nature of climbing. I also really enjoyed Steve Swenson’s “The Telephone Pole,” a celebration of the alpinist’s urban first steps into a life transfor med and dedicated to the mountains, “where possibilities seemed infinite.” There’s not a bad piece in the book; no matter what your predilection for the outdoors, you’re sure to enjoy it.

Writing is an important part of the mountain exper ience. It’s the way we often share our exper iences, celebrate achievements and failures, learn from others, daydream, and even gr ieve or make sense of the world. contains all of this and more, and showcases some truly fine writing. It is a perfect way to participate in the great and always evolving craft of mountain and wilderness storytelling, and I can’t wait to see if another anthology is in the works.–