Archives West Finding Aid

Poet, painter, and river guide Amil Quayle (b. 1938) is a native of Saint Anthony, Idaho and grew up playing on the banks of the Henry's Fork of the Snake River. In 1961 he ran his first river trip and worked for many years as a full-time guide, mostly in the Grand Canyon and Dinosaur National Monument for Jack Currey's Western River Expeditions headquartered in Vernal, Utah. After earning his Bachelor of Science in sociology from the University of Utah, Quayle sold his river business and ranched in Nebraska, drawing on his experience working on farms in Idaho as a teen. He earned a Master of Arts (MA) and Docotor of Philosophy (PhD) at University of Nebraska in Lincoln (UNL) and taught English for Utah State University and Idaho State University.

Quayle has guided on many trips throughout his lifetime, including a pioneering descent in Mexico of the Rio Grijalva. His two sons and two of his grandchildren are river guides; five other grandchildren may follow his path. Other accomplishments include receiving the Vreeland Award, the Mari Sandoz Award, and the American Poets Award. His book Pebble Creek was published by Slow Tempo Press in 1993. His most recent collection is Grand Canyon and Other Selected Poems (Black Star Press, 2009). Amil Quayle currently lives in St. Anthony, Idaho, in a house his father built, and where he paints, reads, and in summer tends a large vegetable garden.