Gino Sky - 1935
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Advanced English III
Emmett High School, Emmett, Idaho
I. Personal and Professional Biography
You're sitting at home, flipping through the Idaho Statesman. You come across an article about a local author giving his account of his western- inspired New Age religious belief, "The Buddha Circle." Or maybe you find an article about one of his many trips to local schools in Idaho where he is teaching a writing class. Then you see his picture. From the picture, you can tell that he seems to be in about his mid-60s. He wears glasses, has a beard, and is balding. But then you notice his eyes which clash with the rest of his time-worn face. They sparkle with youthful glee, giving him an almost childlike appearance that shines through the rough, western look of the rest of him. You have just discovered Gino Sky, a resident Idaho native poet and author. It doesn't take much research to discover that Sky, at least in the Idaho literary circles, is regarded as one of the most gifted writers, and one of the only "true" western writers left. Paul Shaffer, executive director of the Log Cabin Literary Society, says, "Sky is one of Idaho's literary treasures, one of our finest writers and a gifted teacher" (Phillips). Rick Ardinger, publisher of Limberlost Press, and a friend of Gino, calls him "a tribal elder of Idaho authors" (Flagg). Ardinger says also that "Sky's loving stories...of family and friendship win through with humor, hope and a radiant belief in the resilient beauty of the human spirit" ("Sun Valley Hosts"). Gino Sky, one of Idaho's foremost writers, uses his diverse background and eclectic experiences to create a style of writing unique to himself.
Gino Clays was born in Freedom, Wyoming, to a hunting guide and a housewife (Schorow) on August 6, 1935 ("Author Gino"). He would later adopt his grandmother's last name "Sky" in addition to Clays (Schorow). His paternal great-grandmother was Native American; his grandfather claimed Jewish ancestry. His maternal grandmother was a devout LDS (Studebaker). Obviously, he had a wide range of religious influences from a young age, which would come into play when he was older and change his life quite drastically.
He grew up athletic, but dyslexic in Pocatello, and he didn't learn to read until he was 16. During high school, he wasn't afraid of being dyslexic since he knew that he had an incredible imagination (Flagg). Many teachers ignored him as they thought he was dumb. Still, he grew up as the typical football hero going out with the homecoming queen.
After graduation, he left Idaho at age 17 (Schorow). From there he joined the Army, where in Germany he learned to write. During his travels with the Army, he made up stories about Berlin and Paris, places he had never been (Flagg). After the Army, he traveled on his own to places such as North Africa, the Far East, California, and Utah, and at age 25, he began writing poetry (Schorow). In the late 50's, he moved to Hollywood to start the dream job of almost every young creative mind, becoming an actor. When that didn't pan out, he moved to San Francisco, where he met Janis Joplin in the Sixties (Flagg).
During this time of travel and self-discovery, he had many jobs. They included bull-riding on the Texas Rodeo Circuit, working at a Salt Lake City public library and editing the literary magazine, Wild Dog (Schorow). He also worked as a cabinetmaker, a landscaper, and a long haul semi driver (Steele). After deciding that writing was what he wanted to do for the rest of his life, he returned to Pocatello to earn his English Degree at Idaho State University (Flagg). He also went to school at the University of Utah, and University of Copenhagen ("Sun Valley").
The idea for his first work, a belief on which he would base most of his later work, simply popped into his head at 3 a.m. in Winnemucca, Nevada, at a truck stop ("Author Gino"). From there, he began a poem entitled "Jonquil Rose." The poem kept growing, until it became a short story. From there, it became a complex novel called Appaloosa Rising: Legend of the Cowboy Buddha , his first major work (Steele). The idea behind this story grew from his fascination with ancient mythology, the lack of a western mythology, and his discontent with the Christian religion. So, Sky simply created his own western mythology. The main idea of the "Buddha circle," Sky says, "is that all life is involved on the same level, in the same plane, instead of the Christian pyramid, man on top, women below them, and animals and birds below them." He also says, "Humanity needs some understanding of interrelatedness of man and nature, or it's doomsday for everybody ("Author Gino"). Clearly, it is evident that Sky is a nature lover to the extreme. This love for the western landscape is what fuels his writing.
It took only five months, but seven rewrites, to get Appaloosa done to where he was content with it (Steele). As soon as Doubleday got hold of the book in 1980, they loved it and published it. The process was not without its drawbacks. His first agent taught him a lot about trust, of which Sky had none. His second agent, on the other hand, understood Sky and the delicate bond of trust needed in a relationship with a writer. Also, due to the success of the book, Columbia Pictures bought the movie rights to it. This contract kept him from writing a sequel for quite some time, as Columbia would have certain legal rights to the characters ("Author Gino"). Eventually, he did write a sequel, entitled Coyote Silk ("Sun Valley"). Gino Sky was now a nationally published writer.
Of course, being "famous" doesn't always make you a great talent, at least to others. Many other "non-western" writers didn't understand his humorous cowboy story. Among contemporary authors, Sky has little company ("Author Gino"). This is one reason why, in 1991, Sky returned to Idaho for good, where he settled in Boise ("Idaho Poet"). Also, Sky loves the western geography and the open spaces that only Idaho and its southern neighbor, Utah, have to offer. When asked why he writes western, he answered back with, "Why did Michelangelo use marble? Because he walked outside in his backyard and it was there. It's the same with the west" ("Author Gino").
After publishing Appaloosa, Sky published works of poetry through small, local presses ("Sun Valley"). One of his other loves besides writing is giving performances. He has given over 300 readings nationally (Hieter). During the 60's, in San Francisco, he gave performances that included costumes and dancing (Steele). In 1991, he teamed up with Idaho folksinger and storyteller Rosalie Sorrells on a western states tour for readings of material on the 60's era. When not writing or performing, he spends his time teaching others. In the early 90's, he participated in the Idaho Writers Workshop. They met every second and fourth Wednesday of the month with any writer who wanted guidance ("Boise Author"). Through the Intermountain Regional Learning Center, in 1998, he taught four classes on "Your Story, Your Voice," also open to any one who wanted to attend (Hieter). One of his biggest rewards, though, is teaching children. He was selected by The Log Cabin Literacy Program to teach student writers in Boise and McCall. Sky was selected for this honor based on his writing talent and teaching abilities (Phillips).
It may seem that Gino Sky is just a humorous kid at heart with a knack for writing western stories and teaching. But Gino also uses his skills to convey his own personal beliefs. In an article written by himself in a 1983 Idaho Statesman, Sky clearly brought to light his angst with Idaho's political and social status. He felt belittled by the Idaho State Poet Laureate Panel's request for only 2-5 pages of work to apply for an award. He felt that if Idaho wanted to honor a poet, then it needed to see complete, lengthy amounts of work, not just a few pages, to make a decision. Along with this, he also wrote about Idaho's problem with television censorship and its poor educational status. He also uses his poetry as a device to explain his beliefs. Gino nestled poems taking swipes at the NRA and the Owyhee bombing range in with other poems professing his love for his favorite holidays in the collection of poems Hallelujah, Two Groundhogs and 16 Valentines (Flagg).
Sky's latest book, a collection of stories called Near the Postcard Beautiful deals with family and the bonds between friends and relatives, and how the post-W.W.II euphoria changed their sense of reality (Studebaker). Many of the stories read almost like personal essays, which Sky calls his "biographical fiction" ("Sun Valley"). You don't know whether to believe when the main character, Buddy Sunday, a young boy, along with his grandfather, proceeds to moon a rising mushroom cloud released from bomb testing in Utah. You wonder if this really happened, or if Sky simply made it up. Gino has succeeded in creating his own unusual of writing.
Sky, now divorced from his wife (with whom he has two daughters, Roan Krishna and Appaloosa Shori), continues to write, teach, and give readings in Boise (Schorow). He has lived an exciting life, one that hopefully contains more humorous, entertaining stories just waiting to be told. Gino Sky is a western-born cowboy at heart who writes what he knows and writes what he knows well. He isn't afraid to tell it like he sees it, and doesn't apologize for writing the way he wants. He is a true cowboy, but instead of riding a horse, he rides the written word.
II. List of Major Works
Books
Appaloosa Rising
Coyote Silk
Near the Postcard Beautiful
Sweetly Adios
Hallelujah, Two Groundhogs and 16 Valentines
Collections of Poetry
Christmas Dog
The Year of the Fat Flower
Sweet Ass'd Angels
Jonquil Rose
The Ball Tournament Specialist
Spirit Bone
III. Works Cited
"Author Gino Sky Finds His Own Western Fantasy in Idaho's Open Spaces." Idaho State Journal [Pocatello]. 14 Nov 1980.
"Boise Author To Give Reading." Star-News [Cascade-McCall]. 5 Mar 1981.
Flagg, Marianne. "Lover of Words Embraces Muse, Writes New Book." Idaho Statesman [Boise]. 14 Feb 1999.
Heiter, Linda. "Writer-in-Residence To Teach McCall Course." Central Idaho Star News [McCall]. 22 Jan 1998.
Phillips, Roger. "Noted Author Teaches M-D Third-graders To Write." Central Idaho Star News [McCall]. 4 Dec 1997.
Schorow, Stephanie. "Gino Clays Sky's Creation – Stanley Home For Cowboy Buddha Hotel." Times-News [Twin Falls]. 21 Nov 1980.
Sky, Gino. "Idaho Poet Lariat... Yippie-Yi-Yo." Idaho Statesman [Boise]. 3 June 1983.
Steele, Judy. "Appaloosa Rising-Stanley Basin Romp In New Novel." Idaho Statesman [Boise]. 1 June 1980.
Studebaker, William. "Writing Close To Home." Tough Paradise: The Literature of Idaho and the Intermountain West. Idaho Humanities Council. Lili. 12 Apr 2001.
"Sun Valley Hosts Three Idaho Writers In Reading." Idaho State Journal [Pocatello]. 18 Feb 1993.
This essay was submitted by a student of Joanne Davis, an English teacher at Emmett High School in Idaho.