Say Anything Blog

Which normally I wouldn’t much care about, I thought Bowden’s rather inept piece painting North Dakota as a dying state was about all I needed to know about him, but I had to chuckle when I read this article about his return:

Charles Bowden, who wrote “The Emptied Prairie” periodical essay that appeared in the January 2008 National Geographic mAgazine, will speak June 9 at 10 a.m. in the Sidney J. Lee Auditorium on the Bismarck State College campus.

A former journalist and editor and now free-lance writer, Bowden regularly writes articles for periodicals including “GQ” and “Mother Jones.” He is the recipient of numerous honors for writing excellence, including being nominated by “Orion Magazine” for book of the year in 2007 for his latest book “Inferno.” Despite his stature, some North Dakotans took issue with Bowden’s National Geographic article which they interpreted as a dismal portrayal of abandoned towns.

Despite his stature?  Huh?  This guy writes for Mother Jones, which as near as I can tell is the political equivalent of Cat Fancy, and suddenly he’s some sort of authority on North Dakota?  One that shouldn’t be questioned by...uh...North Dakotans?

Give me a break.