For years I have attended writers’ conferences and sat around late into the evening talking about shared experiences – or those that shaped us and therefore provided material for our writing.
At some of those late-night, round-tables John Nesbitt would talk about working in the harvest fields in California. Over the year’s I’d read a few of his books and short stories that touched on the subject of such work.
In his newly published autobiography Boy from the Country, John shares the hard, sometimes painful, stories of his growing up in rural poverty and how that shaped him into the writer he is – one with many awards and accolades including four Spur Awards from Western Writers of America.
I’ve always known John to be a reflective and quiet man. One who could string words together to shape a story that was always authentic.
When he wrote about hunting, it was clear he’d been in the field stalking an animal. When he wrote about working with a horse or mule, again his understanding of the animals was evident.
What I didn’t know was that he’d grown up in a broken home where there was a loss of his own mother, a string of step-mothers, a lot of drinking, a certain amount of violence.
I didn’t know that he was a juvenile delinquent who managed to stay out of a youth home or juvenile detention by some (or maybe many) strokes of luck.
John had a band of brothers – three of them – who were his family and who formed bonds strong enough to carry them through the roughest of childhood times.
These boys worked in the orchards and fields harvesting all types of crops: apricots, apples, asparagus, almonds and much more, from the time they were five or six years old.
They earned pennies and nickels for their work, sometimes up to a dollar for the day. And everything they earned, they pooled. It was used for food, electricity, rent, and other necessities. It was always family first.
“We did not dream for a fairy godmother or mother of any sore, and we did not dream of a fortune being dropped in our lap,” John wrote of his childhood. “We did not want to be adopted or patronized. But we had to take care of ourselves.”
In their teens, when the boys were making higher wages, the money went for cars. Those vehicles were old beaters for the most part, purchased for $40 or $50 and driven until they quit. Then they purchased another old clunker.
John followed his older brother to school, learning and absorbing all subjects. But this boy with the hardscrabble life, was particularly drawn to reading and writing.
Teachers inspired him. They helped him and encouraged his curiosity and natural talent. When he was in 8th grade, John began writing poetry. And then he wrote short stories.
About that same time his father took him from California, through Texas to Mexico, where his father married one of his wives. John, with his interest in language, could already speak some Spanish, and with this new woman in his life, he improved, truly becoming bilingual.
In his teen years, John excelled in his school work, improved his writing, and he became adept as a thief, lifting items ranging from a can of beans for dinner, to a pocket knife.
He and his brothers drove a succession of cars; they were living on their own by the time they were teenagers.
Teachers who saw John’s potential, kept him close enough to the straight-and-narrow that he graduated from high school. By then he understood that he could improve his lot in life through education.
Hard work and hard times continued as he found a way to attend college, eventually earning an advanced degree.
Then, when it came time for him to find a job, in May 1981 he came to Torrington where he interviewed for a position at Eastern Wyoming College. He was hired to teach Spanish and English.
The Goshen County farming community had many similarities to how he had grown up in California, and it would be a fit for John for the next 36 years. His campus office was as much home for him as the house he eventually owned.
John who had been nurtured by teachers in California would write more poetry, Western novels and short stories, even a collection of songs.
He had found a way in life through hard work and education. At the college in Torrington he, in turn, helped other rural students achieve success and make dreams of a college education come true.
Through the years many writer friends of mine have achieved great success – and been gained wide-spread attention as a result. In this grouping are Mike and Kathy Gear, Win Blevins, Chuck Box, and Craig Johnson.
John Nesbitt deserves the same attention. This quiet man: poet, novelist, teacher is a real star with a solid body of work.
Candy Moulton can be reached at Candy.L.Moulton@gmail.com
