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Western Literature
We would like to honor some of the great Western writers who gave the world a sense of "Americana." We remember ourselves as little boys and girls dressing up as cowboys and cowgirls while donning plastic Stetsons and shooting faux, silver pistols. Western Literature is integral to our heritage, and has shaped who we are as Americans, and influenced beyond measure our movies, toys, games, and theme restaurants, and the world's perception of America. This month we travel to the West to understand what makes a strong, pioneer woman such as Laura Ingalls Wilder. Discover what James Michener endured in his childhood to prevail as America's travel writer. Read an inspiring interview with a 21st century Western author, Jo-Ann Mapson. As we publish more Western Literature articles throughout the month, we hope to spark your Wild West imagination.
Traveling With Jo-Ann Mapson: A 21st Century Western Writer
Author: Jo-Ann Mapson
Filled with lush, literary landscapes, crisp climates and attention to the minute details, author Jo-Ann Mapson captures the heart of the West. Readers travel through the Southwest locales of New Mexico and Arizona, journeying varied regions of California, and finally delving into the wild frontier of Alaska.
Posted on Mon, Jul 09, 2007
Traveler, Writer, Citizen: The James Michener Museum in Doylestown, PA
Author: James Michener
Donning Texan-style bolo ties and large-brimmed cowboy hats, James Michener appeared as if he just stepped out of a Western movie. Spending some of his last years in Texas and Alaska, the American frontier meant a great deal to Michener, even spurring the inspiration for his monolithic Alaska. Yet through all his travels and marriages, 3, the writer embraced his roots in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
Posted on Mon, Jul 09, 2007
Strong Pioneer Women: Laura Ingalls Wilder's Western Classics
Author: Laura Ingalls Wilder
Laura Ingalls Wilder was born on February 7, 1867 in Pepin, Wisconsin, the daughter of Charles and Caroline Ingalls. This prolific American woman had a number of occupations throughout her lifetime, ranging from a farmer to a schoolteacher, but it was her writing that caused her to become a staple of western culture. From ages sixty-five to seventy-six, Laura authored the Little House series, which chronicled her life as a western pioneer as she traveled through the Dakota territories, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Missouri, which now houses the Laura Ingalls Wilder home and museum exhibit in Mansfield.
Posted on Mon, Jul 09, 2007
Red Cloud, Nebraska: Willa Cather's Lifelong Muse
Author: Willa Cather
As I drove west toward Grand Island, Nebraska, the psychic battle for my literary allegiance kicked into high gear. Would I continue my personal race to Denver along the s-curve of federal highway 30 and the Platte River, a la Jack Kerouac? Or would I take a roundtrip detour of several hours to visit Red Cloud, hometown of Willa Cather, whose novel My Antonia had left me years ago with a yearning to see the stark beauty of the Nebraska prairie and the frontier town that inspired so many of her novels?
Posted on Mon, Jul 09, 2007
Mark Twain in Unionville, Nevada
Author: Mark Twain
In the middle of a driving snowstorm in the winter of 1861, a ragtag bunch of prospectors arrived in Unionville, Nevada. They built a rough shelter into the side of the Humboldt Mountain and topped it with a canvas roof leaving an opening to allow for the escape of the smoking sagebrush they burned for warmth, when they could get it. It was an effective system, fueled by Indians hiking past the primitive structure laden with brush, which they generously shared.
Posted on Tue, Feb 01, 2000
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