Essayist. Teacher. Mentor. Dean of western literature. Raconteur. Critic. Filmmaker. Legend. Monolith. Friend.
When Bill Kittredge died on December 4, word passed quickly among his many friends in the nature writing community, especially in his beloved West. Bill arrived at the University of Montana in 1969, and helped create the “Paris of the West” by joining a writing community that included Richard Hugo, Jim Welch, and Annick Smith, who would become Bill’s longtime partner. Bill’s ability to teach and encourage others would jump-start dozens of beginning writers who studied with him, including Andrew Sean Greer, winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 2018 for his novel