South Dakota Poet Laureate's new novella pays tribute to the 'Earls' of western South Dakota
Few tributes are written about hard-working ranch hands, but Bruce Roseland's new book immortalizes them. "Earl's Own Dakota Odyssey – A West River Story" is a tale of resilience, survival and redemption.
Roseland, the award-winning Poet Laureate of South Dakota, is a fourth-generation rancher in Spearfish. "Earl's Own Dakota Odyssey" is Roseland's eighth book and his first novella. The title character, "Earl," is partly inspired by a stranger whose truck Roseland towed out of a snowy ditch along an icy South Dakota highway. Though the driver and his battered truck had seen their share of hard times, Roseland recalls the man was positive and seemed unconcerned about the mishap.
"He was cheerful. It was another day of his life," Roseland said. "I've met so many people like that. That's how people handle things. Whatever life has given you, whatever the day gives you, you handle it. It's an attitude. That's what gets a lot of people through their lives. I admire that. I've got a lot of affection for these folks."
"Earl's Own Dakota Odyssey" chronicles the ups and downs of "Earl," a modern-day West River ranch hand from humble beginnings. Readers can follow his trials and adventures until, ultimately, he finds a satisfying ending.
"I've met many 'Earls.' Most are honest and willing workers, their resourcefulness compensating for their lack of advantages. It's time their quintessentially western South Dakota story is told," Roseland said. "I wanted to capture a slice of life in South Dakota for a ranch hand. A lot of people don't write about that. They don't think it's glamorous enough. Ranch hands have their own lives and trials and tribulations."
Roseland describes "Earl's Own Dakota Odyssey" as the easiest book he's ever written as the character "Earl" and his adventures came to life.
"There's more people than you expect who barely graduated or don't graduate from high school. They don't have a lot of life skills. They're thrown out into life and have to make their own way, and that's Earl," Roseland said.
Though Earl's story is fictional, the events in it "actually happened, one way or another," Roseland said.
"'Earl's Own Dakota Odyssey' has real cowboys, legendary bar fights and a decades-spanning romance, all with good humor," Roseland said. "Accidentally, in many ways, Earl ended up being a legend."
"The difference between success and failure is basically two things. You say yes to opportunity, and you walk out your door every morning, and if you do that, life treats you OK. When you walk out the door, whatever you think you're going to do, you end up doing something else. You take it as it comes, and I guess that's Earl," he said.
Roseland said "Earl's Own Dakota Odyssey" can be purchased at Mitzi's Books in Rapid City, at Henry's Books in Spearfish, and on Amazon.
The story is told in Roseland's signature free-verse style of poetry. Roseland is introducing "Earl's Own Dakota Odyssey" Sept. 20, 21 and 22 at the Festival of Books in Brookings. Local readers can meet Roseland at a Poetry on the Road event from 6 to 8 p.m. Oct. 10 at Dahl Arts Center in Rapid City, and he'll be a featured guest at Rapid City Public Library in January.
Roseland began writing poetry about 24 years ago, when a health scare and economic crisis in the farming community prompted him to begin documenting his perspective about life in South Dakota.
"I thought, 'If I'm ever going to write anything down, I better start.' ... Why was I staying here, and other people (in the agriculture community) who were just taking a beating? It's something that pulls us here, that keeps us here," Roseland said. "There's a reason we stay here in South Dakota, and that's what I write about."
Roseland lives on the ranch where his great-grandfather homesteaded as the first settler in the area.
"I always wondered what it would have been like to have been at the settling of South Dakota," Roseland said. "That's why I started writing. Maybe I can say something about my time and place."
In his role as South Dakota Poet Laureate, Roseland enjoys being part of Poetry on the Road events around the region and the state. Poetry on the Road gives amateur poets opportunities to read some of their work. Roseland said participating poets have ranged in age from 4 to 93.
"There's a lot of talent out there," Roseland said. "We have a lot of people get up that have never read (their poetry publicly) before, and a lot of it is heartfelt."
"It's how we share our values. When you're reading a poem, you tell people what is valuable in your life," he said. "Not everybody has a book or novel in them, but almost everybody has a poem or two in them. There's something close to their heart they want to write and record and keep it."
For a schedule of upcoming Poetry on the Road events, go to sdpoetry.org/events . For more information about Roseland's books and future appearances, contact .
Receive the latest in local entertainment news in your inbox weekly! Arts and Entertainment Reporter
