Celebrating the Coyote

This checkered memoir by Waters, a teacher of literature and creative writing, is intended as a tribute to her late husband, Frank Waters (1902-1995), best known for his critically acclaimed novels (The Man Who Killed the Deer) and nonfiction works (Of Time and Change) set in the American Southwest. The author shares her husband's affection for the region as well as his impassioned reverence for the Native American peoples who inhabit it. Married for 16 years, the two lived in Arroyo Seco, a small town north of Taos, N. Mex., an area about which Waters rhapsodizes in flowery prose. Despite the 27-year age difference between Waters and her (older) husband, she characterizes their union as ""very nearly having it all."" However, Waters also explores the downside of their marriage with a sparkle the rest of her elegy lacks. Particularly notable is a lunch she arranged in 1996 with two of Frank's three former wives. Her description of their conversation reveals Frank as an insensitive womanizer who almost always put his considerable needs first. Waters refers here to her late husband as ""Dr. No,"" because of his negative attitude toward most of her activities, interests and ideas. The author's references to astrology, ghosts, spirits, myths and the symbolism she finds in nature will appeal to those who share her New Age worldview, as well as to Frank Waters's students and fans. (May)