About this item
As Evelynne Lowry, the daughter of a copper baron, comes of age in early 20th century Montana, the lives of horses dovetail with the lives of people and her own quest for womanhood becomes inextricably intertwined with the future of two men who face nearly insurmountable lossesa lonely bull rider named Zion from the Montana highline, and a Cheyenne team roper named William Black Kettle, the descendant of peace chiefs.
About the Author
SHANN RAY's debut novel AMERICAN COPPER is available now, published by Unbridled Books and renowned editor Greg Michalson, formerly of the Missouri Review. Sherman Alexie called Shann's writing "tough, poetic, and beautiful" and Dave Eggers said Ray's work is "lyrical, prophetic, and brutal, yet ultimately hopeful." Shann's collection of stories, AMERICAN MASCULINE (Graywolf) , received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, the American Library Association (Booklist) , and Shelf Awareness, and won the American Book Award, the High Plains Book Award, and the Bakeless Prize from the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference. He was awared an NEA Literature Fellowship in 2012. He writes poetry and prose under Shann Ray in honor of his mother, with whom he shares the same middle name. As Shann Ray Ferch, his scholarly work appears in scientific journals internationally. He is a leadership and forgiveness scholar and the author of Forgiveness and Power in the Age of Atrocity (Rowman & Littlefield) , an Amazon Top Ten Hot New Release in War and Peace in Current Events. Balefire: Poems appears with Lost Horse Press, and won the High Plains Book Award for Poetry.
He is "Dad" to three marvelous daughters and "Ray" to his glorious wife Jennifer.
Praise for SHANN RAY:
"Shann Ray's prose brings to mind Cormac McCarthy and Annie Proulx but is, thankfully, entirely his own. His work is lyrical, prophetic, brutal yet ultimately hopeful."
--Dave Eggers, National Book Critics Circle Award finalist for WHAT IS THE WHAT
"Shann Ray writes about small western towns and their residents in tough, poetic, and beautiful ways. I recognize many of these people, and that's good, but I'm also surprised and stunned by many others, which is great. Buy the book and read it tonight. You'll love it, too."
--Sherman Alexie, National Book Award Winner for THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN, Pen Faulkner Award Winner for WAR DANCES
"Written in prose both fierce and elegant... with stories set in and around the reservation lands of the American West, Shann Ray hones the cutting edge between desire and need, despair and beauty. The scope of these stories and depth of their complexity result in an extraordinary collection that is the gift of an exceptional talent. I am reminded once again, of what it means to encounter genuine grace."
--Claire Davis, author of WINTER RANGE
"The sentences in this book have such grace and muscularity that they seem more performed than written, and the author's images and events carry the nearly visceral weight of memory... a powerful, resonant work of literature... Shann Ray is a masterful and original writer."
--Robert Boswell, Bakeless Prize Judge
"Shann Ray has been up close with the vividly con
