During this program, Michael Czarnecki talks about his transition from working at a job to making his living as a poet, publisher, and "encourager." He also reads a few poems from his collection, Never Stop Asking for Poems and tells how the Montana Poets Series came about.

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In the 1970s, Michael Czarnecki spent 5 years hitchhiking more than 30,000 miles through the northeastern U.S. and southeastern Canada. And during the past 15 years, he’s driven from east to west and back across the United States on Route 20 several times.

Czarnecki started Foothills Publishing in 1986 and has since published more than 300 chapbooks and books of poetry, including several of his own collections: Never Stop Asking for Poems; Simple Life, Simple Poems; Twenty Days on Route 20; Sea Smoke and Sand Dollars; and Zoo Haiku. During the past 20 years, he has traveled the U.S. giving presentations and readings in schools and book stores.

In 2010, Foothills Publishing released six books in their new Montana Poets Series -- collections by Roger Dunsmore, Jenni Fallein, David Thomas, Jennifer Greene, John Holbrook, and Cedar Brant. Collections from another six Montana poets will be released soon.

Visit Foothills Publishing Web site and Michael Czarnecki's bio page.

The Montana Poets Series at the Foothills Publishing site.

You'll find books by all the poets in the Montana Poets Series (Roger Dunsmore, Jenni Fallein, David Thomas, Jennifer Greene, John Holbrook, and Cedar Brant) at Fact & Fiction in Missoula, or at your local independent bookseller.

The Write Question is produced by Chérie Newman.

Read an interview with TWQ producer Chérie Newman on the Humanities Montana Web site.

Executive producer, Michael Marsolek.

Special thanks to Lisa Simon, David Moore, Barbara Theroux, and Kim Anderson.

This program is supported in part by Humanities Montana, enriching intellectual, cultural, and civic life for all Montanans. And by the Montana Cultural Trust.

The Write Question: a program that explores the world of writing and publishing in the western United States.

The music in this program was written and performed by John Floridis.

Send comments to Chérie Newman.

Guests on the The Write Question are writers, publishers, and illustrators living, or working for an extended period of time, in the western United States. The Write Question is a production of Montana Public Radio.