The University of Idaho Argonaut

For her first novel, Mary Clearman Blew drew inspiration from her experience growing up on a small Montana cattle ranch without electricity or running water.
As a child, the University of Idaho professor of creative writing and British literature had to find her own means of entertainment.

“Growing up on the ranch, I had to amuse myself,” Blew said, “and there wasn’t a lot to read, so I wrote.”
Although her first novel, “Jackalope Dreams,” was published on March 19 by the University of Nebraska Press, Blew has written and published short stories, essays and memoirs.
Writing a novel was more challenging to Blew than writing short stories because, as busy as she was, time got “pretty splintered.”

“She has an amazing amount of energy,” said Kelly Yenser, a friend of Blew’s. “She always has about 12 balls in the air.”
Blew said she is glad the book is done, since it took two to three years to write and the publication process took about one year.
Although she said it is a good feeling to have her first novel published, she’s not exuberant.

“I’ve written a number of books, so I suppose the edge wears off,” Blew said.
According to Yenser, Blew is also a voracious reader. With her office crowded with books and papers, the description seems an understatement.
Yenser said it’s not just that Blew reads a lot — It’s how she read things that makes her such a good writer, reader and teacher.

“I really like talking to Mary about writing because you learn so much,” Yenser said. “It helps me to hear how she thinks about things. She sees what stories are actually about. Sometimes writers don’t do that. I like how words feel — Mary’s view is more sophisticated.”
Joy Passanante, UI associate director of creative writing, read Blew’s manuscript prior to publishing.

“I don’t care how practiced you are, it’s hard to read your own work,” Blew said. “You get to a point where you can’t see your own work. It helps to get others to read, see their process — how they’re seeing things,” Blew said.
Passanante gave her advice, but thought Blew’s first drafts were wonderful and believed Blew took her suggestions lightly.

“I’d make a comment and I’d get half-way through what I was saying, and she’d say, ‘I know what you mean,’” Passanante said. “I enjoy reading her work. It always excites, no matter what stage it’s in.”
Blew’s prior works have earned her several awards including two Pacific Northwest Booksellers awards and a Western Literature Association’s Distinguished Achievement Award.
And her writing brought several people to UI and Moscow, Yenser said.

“I’ve been around a lot of students,” Yenser said. “Many say they came because of Mary. A lot of people know her work.”
Yenser said part of why Blew is so popular is because of her “great touch for detail and landscape.”
“The novel “Jackalope Dreams” puts you in a different place,” Yenser said. Passanante agreed and said Blew writes beautifully.
“She’s subtle and takes interesting risks,” Passanante said. “She is the kind of writer who you think of long after you’ve read her work.”