ABOUT THIS BOOK

"If Nationality means anything—and in [the American] case it couldn’t mean race—it must mean the unconscious response of a people to their natural environment."—Mary Austin

Celebrated and controversial author Mary Austin (1866-1934) lived in and wrote about her beloved Southwest, a place that has shaped and been shaped by three distinctive groups: Indian, Spanish, and Anglo. Austin discovered in the Southwest that these cultures blended languages, races, and religions, creating what she believed were unique versions of Catholicism, nature worship, ceremonies, and visions. Those beliefs worked their way through her literary criticism, leading her to ground-breaking ideas of place-based influences, narrative techniques, and dramatic development.

In Mary Austin’s Southwest, editors Blackbird and Nelson shine light on Austin’s work, revealing her to be a significant trailblazer for literary diversity. With thoughtful introductions to selected writings on Austin’s prose, drama, and poetry as well as an annotated checklist of her published Southwestern literary criticism, this collection is a celebration of a rich mixed heritage as expressed through the written word.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

Chelsea Blackbird received her master’s degree in English from Sul Ross State University. She writes and works with her husband on a ranch in west Texas.

Barney Nelson is associate professor of English at Sul Ross State University.

REVIEWS

"Many readers are familiar with Mary Austin as a brilliant nature writer, but few are aware of her achievements as a literary critic. Mary Austin’s Southwest reveals Austin’s breadth and keenness as a critic devoted to multiculturalism, gender issues, and the environment years before these became popular academic topics. In compiling and contextualizing Austin’s critical and theoretical essays, Blackbird and Nelson have done a wonderful service for today’s readers."— Scott Slovic, editor, ISLE: Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents
Acknowledgments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
Part I. The Chisera's Fire: General Introduction . . . . . . . 00
Part II. The Great Regional Ceremony: Introduction to Prose. . 00
 1. One Smoke Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 00
 2. Speaking of Bears . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 00
 3. The Folk Story in America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 00
 4. Supernaturals in Fiction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 00
 5. Folk Literature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 00
 6. The American Form of the Novel. . . . . . . . . . . . 00
 7. Regionalism in American Fiction . . . . . . . . . . . 00
 8. Art Influence in the West . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 00
 9. Non-English Writings II: Aboriginal . . . . . . . . . 00
 10. Regional Culture in the Southwest . . . . . . . . . . 00
Part III. "Teatro de Corrales": Introduction to Drama. . . . . 00
 11. Community Make-Believe. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 00
 12. Gesture in Primitive Drama. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 00
 13. American Indian Dance Drama . . . . . . . . . . . . . 00
 14. Primitive Stage Setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 00
 15. A New Medium for Poetic Drama . . . . . . . . . . . . 00
 16. Letter to the Editor of Theatre Arts Monthly. . . . . 00
 17. A Drama Played on Horseback . . . . . . . . . . . . . 00
 18. Story of the Guadalupe Play, Matachines Dance . . . . 00
 19. The Trail of the Blood. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 00
 20. The Delight Makers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 00
 21. Native Drama in Our Southwest . . . . . . . . . . . . 00
Part IV. A Southwestern Rhythm: Introduction to Poetry . . . . 00
 22. Introduction to The Path on the Rainbow . . . . . . . 00
 23. Letter to the Editor of The Dial. . . . . . . . . . . 00
 24. The Meter of Aztec Verse. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 00
 25. The Road to the Spring. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 00
 26. Indian Poetry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 00
 27. Poetry in the Education of Children . . . . . . . . . 00
 28. Excerpt from "Cactus Country" . . . . . . . . . . . . 00
 29. Geographical Terms from the Spanish . . . . . . . . . 00
 30. Rimas Infantiles of New Mexico. . . . . . . . . . . . 00
 31. Sources of Poetic Influence in the Southwest. . . . . 00
 32. John G. Neihardt's Expression of the West . . . . . . 00
 33. The Body, from The American Rhythm. . . . . . . . . . 00
 34. The Song-Makers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 00
Annotated Checklist of Austin's Articles on Southwest Literature
 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 00
Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 00

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