Talking Up a Storm: Voices of the New West

Between 1988 and 1992 Morris, associate professor of American literature at Pennsylvania State University, conducted interviews in person or by mail with 15 contemporary western writers of fiction. The majority of authors in these lively and engaging conversations pay tribute to older writers like A.B. Guthrie but concern themselves with the West as an area in transition rather than a land with a mythological past. The stories of Elizabeth Cook-Lynn (Then Badger Said This), a Native American from South Dakota, give a voice to the experience of her people; John Keeble (Broken Ground), who lives in Washington State, addresses the impact of corporate greed on the land. Many of the authors Morris interviewed are from Montana (Richard Ford, Mary Clearman Blew, William Kittredge, David Long) and represent a community of writers shaping a new vision of the West. Of interest to readers of serious fiction. Photos not seen by PW. (Nov.)