Writing the Southwest

Writing the Southwest is much more than an ordinary compilation of regional short stories. Like the radio series of the same name, each selection begins with a biographical piece about the author with interview material and excerpts from various works. The book begins with one of the best known of recent Southwestern authors, Edward Abbey. His background speaks volumes about his enigmatic life and controversial, fiercely independent attitudes. Rudolfo Anaya, who also wrote the foreword, describes his connection to the Southwest. ``To be moved into the real of the characters of the story means to feel the place, the food, music, language and history of the character's surrounding. Taken a step further, the power of literature is to transport the reader into the very core of the mythic and poetic world of the story.'' Tony Hillerman jokingly defines ``regional'' authors as ``everybody except New York writers'' but notes that the vast, often lonely landscape of the Southwest is what unites its writers. Terry McMillan travels through Arizona in the excerpt from Waiting to Exhale and wonders at the irony that Mexicans are now picking cotton in the fields. Frank Waters, the native Coloradan who has been writing about this area for decades, talks about the environment and Anglo-English exploitation of it. A vivid composite of the region's best-known writers, Writing the Southwest is an excellent sampling of unique viewpoints and deep roots. (Oct.)