Literary America, 1903–1934: The Mary Austin Letters ed. by Thomas Matthews Pearce

Abstract

Reviews 55 ',in the order in which they were written. This is not the order in which they,were printed in the Times, for Lummis wired some dispatches while mailing others, and postal vagaries are not new, much as they may have iiltensified. In addition, dispatches from other sources to the Times (such ,1i5those from Associated Press) are interspersed whenever editor Thrapp I()und them of value. In the end, however, it is not the historical event but the reporter's J(!sponse to it that comes through, often in surprising fashion. A prime eiample is his article of May 2, 1886, on "The Cowboy, a Good Fellow but No Indian Fighter," one of the shrewdest, most devastating, yet most kindly appraisals of that bewildering type that has yet seen print. And the point '1:S, here it sees print, and at least one much-spoken-of, little-read literary figure proves a writer, after all. ARTHUR FRIETZSCHE San Luis Obispo) California Literary America) 1903-1934: The Mary Austin Letters. Selected and edited by Thomas Matthews Pearce. (Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, ]979. 296 pages, $17.95.) Contributions in Women's Studies, No.5. A feminist, writer, and friend of the Indian, Mary Austin knew many of the leading literary, social, and political figures of her day, a range of acquaintance that justifies the title of T. M. Pearce's selected edition of her l~tters. The subtitle - The Mary Austin Letters - is a misnomer, however, SID:e all but seven of the 115 letters included in Literary America were Wfltten to Austin, not by her. Almost all the letters do, though, show us ~ustin as her contemporaries saw her, and Pearce gives a detailed introductIon to each letter, as well as a comprehensive index and biographical sketches of selected literary figures mentioned in the letters. Indeed, Pearce's introductions constitute the books' major strength, ~a~ing it a literary and intellectual history of the period, although one ~nl!ted by Austin's range of correspondents and fragmented by the gaps ~tween the subjects of each letter. Pearce evidently wishes to convey a full ~lew of Austin's life from 1903 to 1934; and to achieve that effect he even Includes letters that are far from complimentary to Austin, the most striking ~xample being Arthur Davison Ficke's devastating critique of American Alhythm. But because so few of her own letters are included, Mary Austin Seems less of a presence in the book than do some of her friends. Among 56 Western American Literature her correspondents were many western writers, and Pearce selected letters' from such westerners as Ina Coolbrith, Andy Adams, Stewart Edward White: Edwin Markham, Jack London, Alice Corbin Henderson, Sinclair LeWis' Willa Cather, Witter Bynner, Robinson Jeffers, and Eugene Manlov~ Rhodes. Other important writers and leaders - Herbert Hoover, Van wyck1 Brooks, and Sherwood Anderson, to name a few - wrote letters to Austin' that Pearce has also included in this edition. Unfortunately, Pearce does not' explain his criteria for selection. He says only that the letters were selected. from the Mary Austin Collection in the Huntington Library. He does nag say how many letters are in that collection nor how many letters by and to Austin are held in other collections. Without knowing more about existing. Austin letters, the reader will probably wonder why Literary Americ;.' includes more discussion of Austin's lesser works (especially her plays) than' of The Land of Little Rain. Pearce's arrangement of the letters is less than ideal. He groups letter~; not only according to Austin's place of residence, but also by writer, and', therefore the reader must jump back and forth chronologically. Letter 59; (January 31,1927) is followed by Letter 60 (February 28, 1931), Letter61~ (December 23, 1923), and Letter 62 (March 1'1, 1921) - an extremei example, but one that's illustrative of the problem. ,'~ Nevertheless, some of the individual letters in this selection are of sudr! importance and are prefaced by such informative introductions by Pearce; that Literary America should be in every public and college library. Eugene Manlove Rhodes' puns and Jack London's statements about his intentions' in writing The Sea Wolf and Martin Eden are...