A revised edition with an extended new interview illuminating Stegner's reactions to the changes that flooded over the American West in the 1980s. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Three interviews with Wallace Stegner in which he speaks with candor and eloquence about the arts of writing and living.

Wallace Stegner (1909-1993) was, in the words of historian T. H. Watkins, "a walking tower of American letters." Winner of the Pulitzer prize and the National Book Award for fiction, founder of the Stanford Writing Program, recipient of three Guggenheim fellowships and innumerable honorary degrees, Stegner was both a brilliant writer and an exceptional teacher.Wallace Stegner and the Continental Vision brings together leading literary critics, historians, legal scholars, geographers, scientists, and others to present a multifaceted exploration of Stegner's work and its impact, and a thought-provoking examination of his life. Contributors consider Stegner as writer, as historian, and as conservationist, discussing his place in the American literary tradition, his integral role in shaping how Americans relate to the land, and his impact on their own personal lives and careers. They present an eclectic mix of viewpoints as they explore aspects of Stegner's work that they find most intriguing, inspiring, and provocative: Jackson J. Benson on the personal qualities that so distinctively shaped Stegner's writings Walter Nugent on the historical context of Stegner's definition of the West T. H. Watkins on Stegner's contributions to the modern conservation movement Terry Tempest Williams on Stegner's continuing importance as an "elder" in the community of writers he nurtured Other contributors include Dorothy Bradley, John Daniel, Daniel Flores, Melody Graulich, James R. Hepworth, Richard L. Knight, Curt Meine, Thomas R. Vale, Elliott West, and Charles F. Wilkinson.Wallace Stegner and the Continental Vision is an illuminating look at Stegner's many and varied contributions to American literature and society. Longtime admirers of Stegner will appreciate it for the new perspectives it provides, while readers less familiar with him will find it a valuable and accessible introduction to his life and work.

Seven scholars examine the work of the "new western" historians, who retell the story of the American West from the point of view of the oppressed and colonized, and discuss ways to expand the horizons of this new approach to include fiction, literature by women, racial categories, writers who presaged the movement, popular culture, and natural history.

This provocative collection of essays reveals the passionate voice of a Native American feminist intellectual. Elizabeth Cook-Lynn, a poet and literary scholar, grapples with issues she encountered as a Native American in academia. She asks questions of critical importance to tribal people: who is telling their stories, where does cultural authority lie, and most important, how is it possible to develop an authentic tribal literary voice within the academic community? In the title essay, “Why I Can’t Read Wallace Stegner,” Cook-Lynn objects to Stegner’s portrayal of the American West in his fiction, contending that no other author has been more successful in serving the interests of the nation’s fantasy about itself. When Stegner writes that “Western history sort of stopped at 1890,” and when he claims the American West as his native land, Cook-Lynn argues, he negates the whole past, present, and future of the native peoples of the continent. Her other essays include discussion of such Native American writers as Michael Dorris, Ray Young Bear, and N. Scott Momaday; the importance of a tribal voice in academia, the risks to American Indian women in current law practices, the future of Indian Nationalism, and the defense of the land. Cook-Lynn emphasizes that her essays move beyond the narrowly autobiographical, not just about gender and power, not just focused on multiculturalism and diversity, but are about intellectual and political issues that engage readers and writers in Native American studies. Studying the “Indian,” Cook-Lynn reminds us, is not just an academic exercise but a matter of survival for the lifeways of tribal peoples. Her goal in these essays is to open conversations that can make tribal life and academic life more responsive to one another.

Introduction by Terry Tempest Williams Afterword by T. H. Watkins Called a “magnificently crafted story . . . brimming with wisdom” by Howard Frank Mosher in The Washington Post Book World, Crossing to Safety has, since its publication in 1987, established itself as one of the greatest and most cherished American novels of the twentieth century. Tracing the lives, loves, and aspirations of two couples who move between Vermont and Wisconsin, it is a work of quiet majesty, deep compassion, and powerful insight into the alchemy of friendship and marriage.