@Montana State with author and attorney Michael Punke

BOZEMAN - Author and attorney Michael Punke, whose literary works include "The Revenant" and "Fire and Brimstone," will speak at Montana State University's First Year Student Convocation on Tuesday as part of the university's formal welcome of the incoming class.

Punke is an acclaimed writer whose first novel, "The Revenant," was a No. 1 New York Times bestseller. The novel was adapted into an Academy Award-winning film starring Leonardo DiCaprio in 2015.

Born in Torrington, Wyoming, Punke earned his bachelor's degree from George Washington University and a law degree from Cornell. He has worked in the public policy domain for more than 30 years, including serving as the U.S. ambassador to the World Trade Organization in Switzerland from 2010 to 2017. He has held staff positions in the U.S. Senate, on the White House National Security Council and on the National Economic Council. Punke currently works as the vice president for global public policy at Amazon Web Services. He lives in Missoula with his wife, Traci, a Livingston native. They have two adult children.

Before his visit, Punke spoke with MSU News about his writing process, love for the American West and advice for the class of 2029.

MSU News: This year, incoming MSU students were asked to read your book, "Fire and Brimstone." Where did the idea for this book come from, and what was the process of researching and writing it like?

Punke: In 2003, Traci and I moved our family to Montana. I wanted to take a crack at writing nonfiction, and I wanted a story about Montana so that I could do the research locally. I read everything I could get my hands on about Montana history, and all roads seemed to lead to Butte.

The story that I found became "Fire and Brimstone." It had all the elements of the type of story that I love. It's about the West, albeit a part of Western history - industrial mining - that tends to get less focus. It has a compelling and dramatic adventure at its core: the story of the North Butte Disaster of 1917, when a mine fire broke out, trapping hundreds of miners thousands of feet below ground. One hundred and sixty-eight men would die in what is still the worst hard-rock mining disaster in American history.

It's about the history of an era not unlike our own - with deep divisions that rocked the state and the nation. And it's about a remarkable place, a place that many of us speed past on Interstate 90, a place called Butte.

Your first novel, "The Revenant," was made into an Academy Award-winning film. Did that experience change your approach to writing or how you think about storytelling?

One of the fun things about having "The Revenant" made into a movie was that it brought lots of new readers to my books. But I have always been drawn to stories that are "cinematic" - adventure stories with intense human drama and contemporary themes.

Your two careers (as an author and a lawyer) involve unique skills and mindsets. How do those two parts of your life influence each other?

For me, there is actually lots of overlap between the books I write and the policy work I do. For example, some of the most pointed lessons about politics that I ever learned, I learned doing research about Butte.

You are coming to MSU to speak to an incoming class of college students. What advice would you give to these young people who are beginning their higher education journey?

Some of the most profound lessons come from people that history has mostly overlooked - or forgotten. We tend to think of the times in which we live as uniquely challenging. After all, the past is distant and abstract. I don't want to understate the significance of today's challenges. But our ancestors confronted their own versions of those challenges, and we can learn from them. I think we can and should take comfort from the fact that our ancestors have faced enormous challenges - and found ways to prevail.

As you consider your future, it's great to have a broad sense of direction and purpose. But fasten your seat belt and expect to encounter the unexpected. Challenge yourself continually with hard questions. Remember that the occasional failure is part of the trajectory toward success. When it happens, learn from failure. Adapt your plan and move on.

In the face of the anger and division of the times in which we live, we need strength of character to reject that anger and division, to search out the opportunities we have each day to reach out a hand to each other. We need to think of ourselves not by the attributes that divide us. We need to think of ourselves as fellow citizens, as neighbors, as classmates.

Before you spoke at MSU back in 2017, you recommended "Lonesome Dove" by Larry McMurtry and "A River Runs Through It" by Norman Maclean as your favorite books of all time. Have any other books been added to that list?

Two other favorites of mine are Jack London's "Call of the Wild" and Charles Portis's "True Grit."

What do you like to do when you're not writing?

I hike in wild places with my dog every day - and fish as often as I can.

Knowing that the audience for your Convocation speech will be mostly new undergraduate students: As someone who has worked in public service, private law and creative writing, how do you define success?

That's a tough one because I think the definition of success should be different for everyone. For me, I want to make a living doing something that I love - and that hopefully makes the world a better place.

What plans do you have for your next project?

I am currently working on a couple screenplay projects - two stories set in Montana and Wyoming.