Where Coyotes Howl and Wind Blows Free: Growing Up in the West ed. by Alexandra R. Haslam, Gerald W. Haslam

Abstract

396 Western American Literature Where Coyotes Howl and Wind Blows Free: Growing Up in the West. Edited by Alexandra R. Haslam and Gerald W. Haslam. (Reno: University of Nevada Press, 1995. 201 pages, $18.50.) This collection of short pieces about growing up in the West emphasizes diversity. As the daughter/father editing team of Alexandra and Gerald Haslam points out in the introduction, west­ erners come from all ethnic, cultural, and economic backgrounds. The collection does an admirable job of reflecting that diversity: not only are a wide variety of ethnic groups represented, but also urban and rural, male and female, and well-known and unknown writers. There’s even a diversity of form, from representations of oral tales, to fiction, nonfiction essays, and even a poem or two. To provide a loose unity, the book is divided into chronological and thematic sec­ tions such as “Deepest Roots” and “Rural Lives.” As the editors rightly point out, few western childhoods fit the popular image of the wild West. But I’m glad they included one piece that epitomizes the myth. Anyone who ever dreamed of being a cowgirl will enjoy Cyra McFadden’s “Rodeo Life.” Other enjoy­ able pieces, such as Wallace Stegner’s “A Frontier Boyhood” and Clark Brown’s “The Way West,” also fit popular notions of the West. In contrast, stories in the “Urban Encounters” section could take place in any big city. Among contributing authors are people we don’t usually associ­ ate with the West: Hmongs, blacks, and even Indians from India in the charming “Grocery Shopping with Aunt Geeta.” One of my favorite selections offers the perspective of an actual adolescent, rather than a reflective adult. In “Stepping Stones in America,” six­ teen-year-old Bao-Tran Truong tells a poignant tale of finding her niche in an American high school after immigrating from Vietnam. My one quibble with the book is that the emphasis on diversity makes it difficult to discern what’s distinctive about the West. Still, the collection offers engaging reading and food for thought. It made me contemplate what was western about my own childhood in Salt Lake City, and it would make an excellent starting point for a high school or college writing assignment. DANA WILLIAMS Salt Lake City, Utah ...