UMW Alumna Brigid Reedy Announces Release of “Seeds,” Her Debut Book of Original Poetry and Art

University of Montana Western alumna Brigid Reedy, an interdisciplinary artist whose work bridges poetry, music, horsemanship, and visual art, has announced the release of “Seeds,” her first book of original poetry and artwork. The publication marks the beginning of Reedy’s Montana book tour and is the first written work she has formally published.

Reedy graduated from the University of Montana Western in spring 2025 with two bachelor’s degrees, one in English Literature and the other in Natural Horsemanship with an option in instruction. A lifelong performer who began connecting with audiences through music at the age of two, Reedy credits her upbringing, homeschool background, and focus on liberal arts education with shaping an artistic practice that resists boundaries and celebrates interconnected ways of knowing.

“Montana Western was first a place where all of my worlds—music, poetry, horsemanship, philosophy, and art—were able to coexist and encouraged to inform one another,” Reedy said. “There were no hard lines between the arena and the classroom. Everything felt connected and deeply rooted in lived experience.”

“Seeds” is a broad and eclectic collection of 56 original poems, blending works developed through the oral tradition with newly written pieces that cross multiple forms, styles, and genres. Themes of cycles, regeneration, and cultural continuity flow throughout the collection. The title reflects both a moment of beginning and an homage to tradition, developed in collaboration with Reedy’s father, a singer, songwriter, and poet who helped raise her within the cowboy arts tradition.

In addition to her poetry, Reedy also designed the book’s title graphic and created the original pen-and-ink drawings throughout the volume. Inspired by 19th-century seed catalogs and engraved plate illustrations, the floral images draw heavily from traditional leather tooling styles. For the past several years, Reedy has been working closely with master saddle maker George Holt, whom she considers one of the best in the field. She hand-drew each illustration to scale using fine-detail Japanese mangaka pens that echo the detailed work found in traditional leather tooling.

Having lived throughout Southwest Montana and the ranching West, Reedy considers herself “of a place” as an artist, an anchoring perspective that grounds her wide-ranging work. Horses serve as a unifying thread across her creative life, connecting movement, culture, craft, and the broader traditions of the American West.

A longtime participant in the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nevada, Reedy has attended the event for more than 20 years and has been a featured performer for many of them, crossing generational lines with some of the most influential voices in cowboy poetry and music. She has also served as a teller-in-residence at the International Storytelling Center and performed at the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee. Her performance career includes appearances at Carnegie Hall and the Grand Ole Opry, and she was featured on the album “Roll On Cowboys,” produced by Andy Hedges.

Much of the work in “Seeds” was shaped during Reedy’s time at Montana Western, where faculty supported the integration of personal creative work into academic coursework. Several poems began as projects within the English Literature and Natural Horsemanship programs, with faculty mentorship helping refine them into finished pieces.

“The English Department was incredibly supportive of my creative and professional work,” Reedy said. “Nothing was done just for a grade. Every project was something that mattered deeply to me and gave me real, applicable skills as an artist.”

Reedy credits multiple faculty members for shaping her academic and artistic journey, including Dr. Bethany Blankenship, whose dual enrollment WRIT 101 course initially drew her to Montana Western; Dr. Laura Wright, who helped her explore poetry across literary traditions; and Dr. Brian Elliott, whose courses fostered intellectual risk-taking and respect for diverse perspectives. Instructor of Equine Studies, Olie Else, invited Reedy into the Natural Horsemanship program in recognition of her cultural background and artistic perspective, where she was later nominated by faculty as the program’s Top Student in 2023.

Reedy frequently performs as a duo with her brother Johnny Reedy, a current Montana Western student studying English Literature and an interdisciplinary degree with a unique focus he has titled “Culture and Sustainability of the American West,” that incorporates subjects including environmental sustainability, scientific writing, and music. The siblings will also be featured together in an upcoming full episode of “11th & Grant” airing in March on Montana PBS with host Eric Funk.

The official launch event for “Seeds” will take place Saturday, February 28, from 5–7 p.m. at Sweetwater Coffee in Dillon. The event will include a reading, artist’s talk, book signing, and a concurrent display of Reedy’s original artwork. Books will be available for purchase provided by The Bookstore. The public is invited, and light refreshments will be served.

This event marks the beginning of Reedy’s Montana book tour, with additional locations planned across the state, including a forthcoming stop at the C.M. Russell Museum this spring.

In addition to her artistic work, Reedy teaches workshops and lessons in Natural Horsemanship, Western dance, music, and leather tooling.

For more information about “Seeds,” upcoming tour dates, or workshops, visit www.brigidreedy.com or follow @brigidreedy_official on Instagram.