515 Finally, with no children of her own, what will the aging Hasselstrom pass on, and to whom? S... more 515 Finally, with no children of her own, what will the aging Hasselstrom pass on, and to whom? She ponders the future of the ranch itself and begins a gradual process of divestiture. “Last night I gave all three of my saddles— my father’s, mine, and George’s— to a family in the neighborhood, relatives of Jerry’s. . . . When the older boy saw my father’s oldfashioned Duhamel saddle, his face lit up with joy” (24). Other partings are less joyous: “Yesterday I took boxes of letters to the dump, along with hundreds of carbon copies of the letters I wrote in response . . . it took every ounce of my willpower to heave the boxes into the city dumpster” (263– 64). What’s next for Hasselstrom as she settles into the quiet days of the approaching new year? She writes that she’s keeping her options open. Th at only the dead have no choices. And yes, Linda, whatever your late father thought, writing is real work. Mary Clearman Blew University of Idaho
The writings of Wallace Stegner (1909-1993) make him a major figure in Western American literatur... more The writings of Wallace Stegner (1909-1993) make him a major figure in Western American literature. These essays by some of the foremost commentators writing on the West today constitute the first attempt since his death to assess the diversity of Stegner's contributions to American intellectual life. The essayists engage his novels, short stories, memoirs, and biographies; the intersection between Stegner's fiction and history; and his role as an environmental essayist. These interpretative pieces are preceded by more personal accounts by his son Page Stegner, former students James R Hepworth and Wendell Berry, and writers William Kittredge and Ivan Doig. They identify several themes that pervade Stegner's life and work -- a search for continuity between past and present, hope and optimism about the future, and an attempt to foster for the West, as Stegner put it, 'a society to match its scenery'.
515 Finally, with no children of her own, what will the aging Hasselstrom pass on, and to whom? S... more 515 Finally, with no children of her own, what will the aging Hasselstrom pass on, and to whom? She ponders the future of the ranch itself and begins a gradual process of divestiture. “Last night I gave all three of my saddles— my father’s, mine, and George’s— to a family in the neighborhood, relatives of Jerry’s. . . . When the older boy saw my father’s oldfashioned Duhamel saddle, his face lit up with joy” (24). Other partings are less joyous: “Yesterday I took boxes of letters to the dump, along with hundreds of carbon copies of the letters I wrote in response . . . it took every ounce of my willpower to heave the boxes into the city dumpster” (263– 64). What’s next for Hasselstrom as she settles into the quiet days of the approaching new year? She writes that she’s keeping her options open. Th at only the dead have no choices. And yes, Linda, whatever your late father thought, writing is real work. Mary Clearman Blew University of Idaho
The writings of Wallace Stegner (1909-1993) make him a major figure in Western American literatur... more The writings of Wallace Stegner (1909-1993) make him a major figure in Western American literature. These essays by some of the foremost commentators writing on the West today constitute the first attempt since his death to assess the diversity of Stegner's contributions to American intellectual life. The essayists engage his novels, short stories, memoirs, and biographies; the intersection between Stegner's fiction and history; and his role as an environmental essayist. These interpretative pieces are preceded by more personal accounts by his son Page Stegner, former students James R Hepworth and Wendell Berry, and writers William Kittredge and Ivan Doig. They identify several themes that pervade Stegner's life and work -- a search for continuity between past and present, hope and optimism about the future, and an attempt to foster for the West, as Stegner put it, 'a society to match its scenery'.
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Papers by Russell Burrows