The diverse peoples, landscapes, and histories of Western North America come alive with these autobiographical excerpts, author profiles, and activities. Focusing on the childhood and young adult experience of 10 of the West's most intriguing writers, each chapter presents engrossing personal narrative, biographical sketches, a resource bibliography, and numerous learning activities. A bonus section features 20 other Western writers for further exploration.

Winner of the 2006 Barnard Hewitt Award for Excellence in Theatre History Between 1904 and the Great Depression, Circuit Chautauquas toured the rural United States, reflecting and reinforcing its citizens’ ideas, attitudes, and politics every summer through music (the Jubilee Singers, an African American group, were not always welcome in a time when millions of Americans belonged to the KKK), lectures (“Civic Revivalist” Charles Zueblin speaking on “Militancy and Morals”), elocutionary readers (Lucille Adams reading from Little Lord Fauntleroy), dramas (the Ben Greet Players’ cleaned-up version of She Stoops to Conquer), orations (William Jennings Bryan speaking about the dangers of greed), and special programs for children (parades and mock weddings). Theatre historians have largely ignored Circuit Chautauquas since they did not meet the conventional conditions of theatrical performance: they were not urban; they produced no innovative performance techniques, stage material, design effects, or dramatic literature. In this beautifully written and illustrated book, Charlotte Canning establishes an analytical framework to reveal the Circuit Chautauquas as unique performances that both created and unified small-town America. One of the last strongholds of the American traditions of rhetoric and oratory, the Circuits created complex intersections of community, American democracy, and performance. Canning does not celebrate the Circuit Chautauquas wholeheartedly, nor does she describe them with the same cynicism offered by Sinclair Lewis. She acknowledges their goals of community support, informed public thinking, and popular education but also focuses on the reactionary and regressive ideals they sometimes embraced. In the true interdisciplinary spirit of Circuit Chautauquas, she reveals the Circuit platforms as places where Americans performed what it meant to be American.

The Story of Chautauqua, written by Jesse Lyman Hurlbut and originally published in 1921, is a comprehensive account of the history and development of the Chautauqua Institution, a cultural and educational center located in Chautauqua, New York. The book traces the origins of the Chautauqua movement, which began as a series of summer lectures and religious retreats in the late 19th century, and follows its growth into a national phenomenon that attracted millions of visitors each year. Hurlbut's book delves into the various aspects of the Chautauqua experience, including its religious and educational programs, its recreational activities, and its impact on American culture and society. He explores the lives and contributions of key figures in the Chautauqua movement, such as John Heyl Vincent and Lewis Miller, and describes the various buildings and landmarks that make up the Chautauqua grounds. Throughout the book, Hurlbut emphasizes the importance of the Chautauqua Institution as a place of intellectual and spiritual growth, and as a symbol of the progressive ideals of the era. He also touches on the challenges and controversies that the institution faced over the years, including financial struggles, changing social attitudes, and the impact of World War I. Overall, The Story of Chautauqua offers a fascinating glimpse into the history of one of America's most beloved cultural institutions, and provides insights into the social and intellectual currents that shaped the nation during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.

Winner of the Chautauqua Prize Named one of the Best Books of the Year by the San Francisco Chronicle and Library Journal “Uplifting... it’s about savoring the present, not allowing sadness to dominate and surrendering yourself to love, for better or worse.” —San Francisco Chronicle When she was just seventeen, independent and ambitious Elizabeth Scarboro fell in love with irreverent and irresistible Stephen. She knew he had cystic fibrosis, that he was expected to live only until the age of thirty or so, and that soon she’d have a choice to make. She could set out to travel, date, and lead the adventurous life she’d imagined, or she could be with Stephen, who came with an urgency of his own. In choosing him, Scarboro embraced another kind of adventure—simultaneously joyous and heartrending—staying with Stephen and building a life in the ten years they’d have together. The illness would be present in the background of their lives and then ever-more-insistently in the foreground. Beyond the illness, though, is a breathtaking love story. In crystalline prose, Scarboro describes the pulse of her relationship with Stephen with all its illuminating quirks. Like any young couple, they agonize about career choices, attempt ill-fated road trips, bargain about whether to adopt a puppy, and host one memorably disastrous Thanksgiving. They navigate the growing pains of their twenties alongside the twists and turns of life-threatening disease; if their telephone rings at midnight, the caller might be a heartbroken friend, or the hospital offering a new set of lungs. As time goes on and trouble looms, the dangers of Stephen’s illness consume her, just as they will consume readers who feel they have come to know this extraordinary couple. Scarboro tells her story of fierce love and its limitations with humor, grace, and remarkable bravery. My Foreign Cities is a portrait of a young couple approaching mortality with reckless abandon, gleefully outrunning it for as long as they can.