Western American Literature, the official journal of the Western Literature Association, is the premiere publication devoted to the study of an increasingly important region.  The journal features articles, reviews, and annual roundups of recent scholarship as well as special issues devoted to issues central to the field.  

The Spring 2003 issue of Western American Literature is now available.  It features essays by David R. Pichaske, exploring the poetry of William Kloefkorn; Penelope Myrtle Kelsey, examining the literary career of Charles Eastman; and Matt Herman, considering the relationship between literature, growth, and criticism in the West.  Also included is an essay review by Douglas Werden on “pioneer” women’s life writing. Werden proposes that the autobiographical writing of female settlers acts as a window to the diverse roles and responsibilities of women in the pioneer West.

 The book review section of this issue contains thirteen reviews.  They include Susan Kollin’s review of Our Voices: Native Stories of Alaska and the Yukon by James Ruppert and John W. Bernet; Gene Quinn’s review of Catching First Light: Thirty Stories and Essays from Idaho by Ron McFarland; and Matthew Stiffler’s review of Different Travellers, Different Eyes edited by Peter Wild, Donald A. Barclay, and James H. Maguire. 

Western American Literature is the official publication of the Western Literature Association.  The Department of English at Utah State University has housed the journal since 1975.  Thomas J. Lyon served as editor of the journal until his retirement in 1997, when Melody Graulich assumed editorship.  For more information about Western American Literature or the Western Literature Association, contact Sabine Barcatta at (435) 797-1603.

Subscribers to Western American Literature include scholars and critics of literature as well as more general readers interested in the literary heritage of the American west.  Subscription information is available from the Western Literature Association by clicking the tab on the right.