Richard W. Etulain examines the emergence of Pacific Northwest prose beginning in the early nineteenth century up to the present. The book provides an introductory overview to a vast subject through “illuminative moments” that illustrate major shifts in the literary history of the region. The book’s focus is on novels, histories, and other nonfiction works that trace Pacific Northwest prose in chronological order through three periods: the frontier, regional, and post-regional eras.

Etulain provides extensive coverage of the writings of notable authors, including novelists Frederic Homer Balch and Mary Hallock Foote, offering an understanding of frontier romantic and Local Color Writers. He also explores the works of H. G. Merriam and novelist H. L. Davis, illustrating regional prose writings. Finally, Etulain includes a panoply of writers who exemplify an emphasis on gender, race and ethnicity, and environmental texts from the post-WWII period.

Illuminative Moments in Pacific Northwest Prose delivers a first-time overview of the region’s literary contributions that will interest both scholars and general readers alike.
 

Richard W. Etulain, PhD, is professor emeritus of history at the University of New Mexico. He studied at Northwest Nazarene College in Idaho, and received his graduate degrees from the University of Oregon. He was a Fulbright Lecturer in Ukraine and taught at the University of the Basque Country. Etulain is an author or editor of more than sixty books and has served as the president of both the Western History and Western Literature Associations.

Preface
Acknowledgments
Chapter One: The Frontier Era in Pacific Northwest Prose
Chapter Two: Emerging Romanticism and Local Color Writing
Chapter Three: The Rise of Regionalism
Chapter Four: Post-Regionalism in the Pacific Northwest
Chapter Five: The Search for a Pacific Northwest Literary History
Bibliography
Index
About the Author