Book Description
Now with an introduction from celebrated poet James Tate, Riding the Earthboy 40 is the only volume of poetry written by acclaimed Native American novelist James Welch. The title of the book refers to the forty acres of Montana land Welch’s father once leased from a Blackfeet family called Earthboy. This land and its surroundings shaped the writer’s worldview as a youth, its rawness resonates in the vitality of his elegant poetry, and his verse shows a great awareness of a moment in time, of a place in nature, and of the human being in context. Deeply evoking the specific Native American experience in Montana, Welch’s poems nonetheless speak profoundly to all readers. With its new introduction, this vital work that has influenced so many American writers is certain to capture a new generation of readers.

About the Author
James Welch (1940–2003) was the author of six books, including the novel Fools Crow, which won an American Book Award and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. He attended schools on the Blackfeet and Fort Belknap reservations in Montana and studied writing at the University of Montana under the legendary writing teacher Richard Hugo. James Tate’s honors include a National Institute of Arts and Letters Award for Poetry and fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.

FROM THE PUBLISHER