If you’re a regular Mountain & Prairie listener, then you are undoubtedly familiar with best-selling author David Gessner. He has written several of my all-favorite books, most notably All the Wild That Remains: Edward Abbey, Wallace Stegner, and the American West. He was also a past guest on this podcast almost exactly a year ago—a conversation that continues to receive excellent feedback and ranks as one of my most downloaded episodes. Between his writing, teaching, chairing the Creative Writing department at University of North Carolina Wilmington, and his role as a committed family man, David is a busy guy—so I greatly appreciate his sitting down to record a second episode.
We caught up during his annual trip to Colorado and covered a wide range of fascinating topics, all presented with his signature style of deeply considered insightfulness balanced with a hilarious sense of humor. We chatted about his ongoing work on his new book about public lands and Theodore Roosevelt, as well as a recent research trip in which he flew in a Cessna from Colorado to northwest Montana and many places in between. We discussed his thoughts on Theodore Roosevelt, and how his opinions of the man have evolved throughout this book project. David shares more insights into his writing process and how endurance and team sports have helped build his discipline and work ethic as an author. We spend a good amount of time discussing his book Ultimate Glory, digging into the mindset that allowed David to pursue the sport of Ultimate Frisbee—and writing—with laser-focused obsession. We finish up by chatting about some of the best books he’s read in the past year, as well as one relatively unknown author that everyone who loves the West should read.
This episode will obviously be of great interest to people who love the West, but I highly recommend it to anyone who is focused on a creative pursuit—writing, painting, poetry, sculpture, you name it. Thanks to his decades of daily grinding and obsession, David is a shining example of the discipline and commitment required to be a professional artist, and he’s damn good at explaining it in a way that really sinks in.
If you haven’t already, check out my first conversation with David as well—there’s a link in the episode notes. But right now, enjoy this enlightening and hilarious conversation with David Gessner.
Headshot courtesy of David Gessner, Banner photo by Ed
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Episode Notes
Topics Discussed:
- 4:00 – The importance of Boulder, Colorado in David’s life and work
- 9:00 – Endurance feats as a metaphor for writing
- 11:00 – Importance of having massive goals
- 12:45 – Importance of ambition
- 15:00 – Current book project and trip to the West
- 18:45 – Recent flight around the West
- 20:00 – Examining TR in a modern context
- 22:20 – Reluctance to become an activist
- 25:50 – Changing perspectives on TR
- 30:00 – Political cartooning
- 32:00 – David on taking feedback from editors and others
- 35:15 – Importance of constraints in writing and life
- 39:50 – Arête
- 42:15 – Finding camaraderie outside of team sports
- 46:50 – Teaching the writing mindset
- 50:50 – Best books David read this year
- 53:45 – Lesser known authors worth reading
Information Referenced:
- David Gessner
- David’s Part 1 Podcast
- All the Wild That Remains by David Gessner
- Ultimate Glory by David Gessner
- All of David’s books
- Oak Thorne
- Flagstaff Mountain
- Reg Saner
- Under the Devil’s Thumb by David Gessner
- Life Work by Donald Hall
- Walter Jackson Bate
- John Keats
- David’s article about Bears Ears
- Rick Bass
- American Prairie Reserve
- Auden Schendler episode
- Edmund Morris
- Nina de Gramont
- How to Change Your Mind by Michael Pollan
- The Overstory by Richard Powers
- Bernard DeVoto
- This Land by Christopher Ketcham
Enjoy this episode? Then you might like these as well:
- David Gessner – Voice of the West’s Past and Present
- Hampton Sides, Part 2 – How to Tell a Damn Good Story
- Sara Dant – A Deep Dive Into the History of the West
- Chris Dombrowski – Words, Water & the West
- Bryce Andrews – People, Predators, and the American West
