Bøger af Luke Mehall

A collection of short stories, poetry, and vignettes, from the leading voice of the dirtbag climber. In this book is Mehall's most raw writing to date, a reflection on the times, our country, and of course, climbing in the great Southwest American desert.

The Great American Dirtbags is a collection of 20 short stories. The book is a follow up to Climbing Out of Bed, and the main focus is mountain town culture and the dirtbag climbing existence. Mehall describes himself as a "born again dirtbag" and The Great American Dirtbags portrays his journeys from being a lost teenager immersed in drugs to his most recent adventures on the trails, walls and roads of the American West. As usual his love for freedom, women, and climbing are weaved into the prose. Following in the prose of the beatniks, the athletic counterculture of the dirtbags are carrying the torch with the belief that a simple, rewarding life, close to nature, is still possible in this modern world. Longtime Editor of the Mountain Gazette, John Fayhee, called the book, "a reminder of blissful times past and a bellowing yell to the denizens of the beast we call civilization - "Get out! Get out of your rut! Get out into the outback while you still can and while it's still there!" The Great American Dirtbags serves as both a primer and a ruminative tribute to a lifestyle we all need now more than ever."Climbing legend and Senior Contributing Editor to Rock and Ice, John Long, described Mehall as, "One of the few adventure writers out who handle the tricky first person voice as if it were made for him."

Climbing Out of Bed is a collection of rock climbing and mountain town stories, written over the last 13 years. The muses of Mehall's pieces are the people who make up the rock climbing and mountain town culture. Originally hailing from Illinois, Mehall moved to Colorado in 1999 to attend Western State College, in Gunnison. He describes the experience as being a lost soul who floated to the mountains, and then discovered his true self. Many of the stories in Climbing Out of Bed are coming of age tales, especially when the author embarks into the unknown of the rock climbing world. There are 25 pieces in Climbing Out of Bed, and topics for essays include: friendship, hitchhiking, couch surfing, buildering (climbing buildings), road tripping, dumpster diving, extended camping experiences, dirtbag living, love, loss, wanderlust, and Zen dishwashing Mehall lived in the Gunnison Valley, Colorado for 11 years, and now resides in Durango, Colorado, where he is a freelance writer. He is also the publisher of The Climbing Zine, an independent rock climbing publication. His work has been published in Crested Butte Magazine, Rock and Ice, Climbing, Mountain Gazette, foxsports.com, and Patagonia's blog, The Cleanest Line. He also worked at his alma mater, Western State College of Colorado, for three years, as the assistant director of public relations and communications. George Sibley, author of Dragons in Paradise and senior correspondent to the Mountain Gazette, says that Mehall's writing makes him think of Jack Kerouac, on a good day. "I don't know anyone who writes with more enthusiasm, joy and honest about a life that ranges from pearl diving in restaurant kitchen sinks all winter, to climbing the big walls and spires of North America all summer and fall," Sibley said.