Chris La Tray to discuss beauty of storytelling on March 21
Montana's Poet Laureate Chris La Tray comes to the library on Thursday, March 21 at 7 pm for our monthly Winter Speaker Series talk in the Cordingley Room.
La Tray's program is designed to remind people that their stories matter, that they are the only ones who can properly tell them, and that poetry, however it is defined, is a beautiful means for doing so.
He approaches the practice of poetry the same as he does the spiritual life of an Anishinaabe person: which is to say, if one lives an Anishinaabe life, with particular attention to the seven guiding principles of the Seven Grandfather teachings – Humility, Courage, Honesty, Wisdom, Truth, Respect, and Love – then every footstep becomes a prayer.
La Tray lives in Missoula. He is a member of the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana and also identifies as Métis. His first full-length book, 'One-Sentence Journal: Short Poems and Essays From the World At Large' won the 2018 Montana Book Award and a 2019 High Plains Book Award. He also published 'Descended From a Travel-worn Satchel,' a book of haiku and haibun poetry, in 2021. Haibun poetry is a traditional form of Japanese poetry that combines prose and haiku.
The Montana author/poet's latest book 'Becoming Little Shell' is set to be released in August. It tells the story of his journey of finding his native roots "Combining diligent research with a growing number of encounters with Indigenous authors, activists, elders, and historians, he slowly pieces together his family history, and eventually seeks enrollment with the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians," it states in the book release information.
Growing up in Frenchtown, Montana, La Tray's grandparents identified as Chippewa but his father denied the family's Native American ancestry. His Métis great-great-grandfather worked an interpreter for the US Army, as he knew multiple languages, including French, English, Cree, Chippewa (Ojibwe), Dakota, and Crow (Apsalooke).
He also keeps a bi-weekly Substack newsletter called, "An Irritable Métis." Prior to publishing full-length books, La Tray published numerous freelance nonfiction and short fiction pieces as well as photography, and was a regular contributing writer for the now-defunct Missoula Independent.
After this talk, the Library's next Winter Speaker Series is set for April 18 with John Clayton, who will speak about Storytelling and Public Lands.