Notes Wayne Chatterton 1921-1993 When Golden Taylor and Deb Wylder convened the first meeting of the Western Literature Association, Wayne Chatterton was there as one of its charter members. Although Wayne had written his Ph.D. dissertation on Byron, his interests and his reading went far beyond the confines of his specialty, and he shared the view that the literature of the American West should be the subject of critical study and should be taught. In 1970, following Jim Lee’s suggestion, Wayne founded Boise State’s Western Writers Series. His VardisFisher: TheFrontier and Regional Works (1972) inaugurated the series, and Wayne served as its co-editor for the next 21 years and 110 titles. He also wrote about American authors outside the West, his books on Nelson Algren, Alexander Woollcott, and Irvin S. Cobb appearing in the Twayne’s United States Authors Series. Wayne’s chapter on A. B. Guthrie, Jr., in A Literary History of the American West, stands out as his most heartfelt writing and as a model of literary criticism based on an awareness of the importance of place. After his retirement from teaching, Wayne and his wife, Ardie, began work on a book about the Snake River. When ill health prevented them from completing that book, Wayne began a series of essays about facing old age and death. All that he wrote and established is imbued with his positive and gener ous spirit; for years to come we will be drawing on the considerable legacy he left. JAMES MAGUIRE Boise State University * * * For the next four issues of Western American Literature (November 1993, and February, May, and August 1994), the editor will be Charlotte M. Wright. Please continue to send manuscript submissions for Charlotte’s attention to Western American Literature, Department of English, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322-3200. * * * 144 Western American Literature Announcing The Association for the Study of Literature and Environment The Association for the Study of Literature and Environment (ASLE) has recently been formed to promote the exchange of ideas and information pertaining to the study of literature and the natural world. The organization’s broad focus includes natural history writing, environmental fiction, nature poetry, and other forms of writing which pay attention to the connections between human and inhuman nature. ASLE’s goals are to provide a network for interested scholars, to foster interdisciplinary discussion on the subject of literature and the environment, and to facilitate research and organize confer ence panels in areas of interest to the membership. Annual membership dues—entitling members to all mailings about ASLE activities, to participation in ASLE-sponsored conferences and conference pan els, and to a copy of the ASLE directory—are $10 ($5 for students). Two publications are associated with ASLE: TheAmerican Nature WritingNewsletterand ISLE: Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment. Reduced subscription rates for joining members are $5 for the Newsletter and $8 for ISLE. For more information, or to join ASLE, simply write to: Michael Branch; SecretaryTreasurer , ASLE; English Department; University of Virginia; Charlottesville, VA 229.03. New members should include name, address, phone number(s) (and fax num ber and E-mail address if appropriate), and a check payable to ASLE (please be sure to indicate which of the associated publications you wish to subscribe to). ...