For the Love of North Dakota and Other Essays: Sundays with Clay in the Bismarck Tribune

by Clay S. Jenkinson

Clay S. Jenkinson’s love affair with North Dakota and the Great Plains is the central theme of his life. For the Love of North Dakota is a compilation of essays—many of which began as newspaper columns in the Bismarck Tribune —that explores two the changing face of North Dakota as it makes the transition from an agrarian enclave at the heart of the North American continent to a more globally connected urban and industrial society; and the spirit of place of North Dakota, an isolated, windswept, subarctic grassland that has its own enchantment and astonishing beauty.

Jenkinson writes lovingly about the Little Missouri River Valley and the badlands of western North Dakota, the magnificence of plains blizzards and thunderstorms, driving the American West without any settled destination in mind, about the lingering rituals of small-town life, and about North Dakota’s search for a postagrarian identity.

Jenkinson emerges in these essays as the most significant voice of concern about the future of the Great Plains in North Dakota, of family farming and heritage ranching, of the sanctity of the Missouri River, and the quiet landscapes that have made North Dakotans a unique rural people.

268 pages, Hardcover

First published February 10, 2012

About the author

Clay Jenkinson is one of the most sought-after humanities scholars in the United States

A cultural commentator who has devoted most of his professional career to public humanities programs, Clay Jenkinson has been honored by two presidents for his work. On November 6, 1989, he received from President George Bush one of the first five Charles Frankel Prizes, the National Endowment for the Humanities highest award (now called the National Humanities Medal), at the nomination of the NEH Chair, Lynne Cheney. On April 11, 1994, he was the first public humanities scholar to present a program at a White House-sponsored event when he presented Thomas Jefferson for a gathering hosted by President and Mrs. Clinton. When award-winning humanities documentary producer Ken Burns turned his attention to Thomas Jefferson, he asked Clay Jenkinson to be the major humanities commentator. Since his first work with the North Dakota Humanities Council in the late 1970s, including a pioneering first-person interpretation of Meriwether Lewis, Clay Jenkinson has made thousands of presentations throughout the United States and its territories, including Guam and the Northern Marianas.

In 2008, Clay became the director of The Dakota Institute through The Lewis & Clark, Fort Mandan Foundation, to further expand his humanities programs with documentary films, symposiums and literary projects. He is also the Chief Consultant for the Theodore Roosevelt Center through Dickinson State University and conducts an annual lecture series for Bismarck State College.

Clay is also widely sought after as a commencement speaker (he has several honorary doctorates); as a facilitator of teacher institutes on Jefferson, Lewis and Clark, Classical Culture, the Millennium, and other topics; as a lecturer on topics ranging from the "Unresolved Issues of the Millennium," to the "Character of Meriwether Lewis"; as a consultant to a range of humanities programs, chiefly first person historical interpretation (Chautauqua). Best known for his award-winning historical impersonations of Thomas Jefferson, Clay Jenkinson also impersonates other characters, including Meriwether Lewis, John Wesley Powell, Robert Oppenheimer, Theodore Roosevelt and John Steinbeck.

Clay Jenkinson can:

Serve as a cultural commentator on a range of topics
Conduct humanities institutes and cultural tours
Present historical programs in character with audiance interaction.
Provide live video programs through i-Chat to your classroom or business.
The rates for Clay Jenkinson's professional humanities presentations will vary. if you are interested in more information or in booking or contacting Clay Jenkinson for any professionally related reason, please call Nancy Franke a Dakota Sky Education, Inc at toll free at 1 888 828 2853 or e-mail at nfranke@comcast.net

Public Speaking
If you are interested in knowing more about Clay's topics and characters, please visit http://dakotaskyed.wordpress.com. The views on the mentioned website are Clay Jenkinson's and do not reflect the views of The Thomas Jefferson Hour® nor any of its sponsors.

Social Commentary
Clay Jenkinson is a popular social commentator. While on The Thomas Jefferson Hour®, Clay strictly adheres to the rules of being a humanities scholar (neutrality). If you are interested in Clay's personal views, please consider reading Clay's Weekly Columns.

The views on the mentioned website are Clay Jenkinson's and do not reflect the views of The Thomas Jefferson Hour nor any of its sponsors.
http://www.jeffersonhour.com/about%20...

Reviews

[Neal Reinhardt · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book to own . A bit of an overload on the, this is why we chose to live here and such. But, I guess we have to have our passionate cheerleaders. His love for the states buttes, is something I can appreciate. I have spent countless hours on a small hill with a rock pile and buckbrush serving as a windbreak during deer season. So carry on Clay.

[Jodi Boe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this book. This collection describes the place that I love perfectly and deepened my appreciation and adoration for North Dakota. Multiple times I was moved to tears by the words of Mr. Jenkinson. Anyone who lives in North Dakota or on the Great Plains, this is a must read. I will probably read it multiple more times.

[Thomas Isern · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'll be reviewing this work as a Plains Folk radio feature for Prairie Public.