West: A Treasury of Art and Literature

Splicing essays, memoirs, letters, stories, articles, poems and Native American songs and chants with paintings, drawings and photographs, this magnificent album conjures a sense of the American West as frontier, manifest destiny, site of brutal conquest and visionary realm where Americans seek to redefine themselves. John Wesley Powell's harrowing reconstruction of his historic expedition through the Grand Canyon in 1869, Emma Mitchell New's somber, moving account of life on the Kansas frontier, N. Scott Momaday's exploration of his mystical feeling of connectedness to his Kiowa ancestors are distinctive voices among the eclectic selections, including writings by Mark Twain, Leslie Marmon Silko, James Welch and Rudolfo Anaya. Artwork by George Catlin, Thomas Hart Benton, Georgia O'Keeffe, David Hockney, Jaune Quick-to-See Smith and others complete a chronicle of exploration, conquest, settlement and development. Contemporary writers Ivan Doig, Pam Houston and Wallace Stegner investigate the West's promise and possibilities. T.H. Watkins (The Great Depression) and writer/photographer Joan Watkins have created a stirring, serendipitous treasury. (Nov.)