High Plains Book Award for Best Poetry Book of 2010: Horse Tracks
High Plains Book Award for Best Poetry Book of 2010
Horse Tracks by Henry Real Bird
Lost Horse Press
A Crow Indian cowboy describes life on Montana’s High Plains, on the reservation, and his observations of nature and the human condition.
Henry Real Bird is a rancher and educator who raises bucking horses on Yellow Leggins Creek in the Wolf Teeth Mountains. He was born and raised on the Crow Indian Reservation in the tradition of the Crow by his grandparents, Mark and Florence Real Bird. Educated in Montana at Crow Agency, Hardin, Bozeman and Billings, he has a Master s Degree in general education. Henry has punched cows, worked in rodeos, and taught school from Kindergarten to college level. He began writing poetry in 1969 after an extended stay in the hospital. He still speaks Crow as his primary language and feels this has helped in writing his poetry. Henry Real Bird just completed his term as Poet Laureate of Montana; an article about his unique way of promoting poetry recently aired on NPR s All Things Considered.
Winners of the prestigious 2011 High Plains Book Awards, a project of the Parmly Billings Library, were announced Saturday, October 15, 2011 in Billings, MT at a banquet held at Montana State University-Billings.
An Emeritus Award was presented to a regional writer for a body of work, and the winning books were selected in six categories from scores of nominated titles. These books rose to the top through two rounds of judging, and were all published for the first time in 2010.
Many of the finalists and winners attended the Billings event, and graciously participated in readings and panel discussions at the annual High Plains BookFest. Larry Woiwode, the 2011 Emeritus Award winner, was the keynote speaker at the Awards Banquet.
The selection process for the 2011 High Plains Book Awards began in January 2011. Eighty nominations were received in six categories from publishers in the United States and Canada. After each nominated book was read and evaluated by community readers, finalists in each category were selected. Winners are determined by a panel of published authors, based on the quality of writing and each book’s contribution to the literature and understanding of life on the High Plains.