Selected Bibliography for Great Plains Seminar: Regional Literature and the Big Four

This annotated bibliography (always in progress) is designed for convenient use by participants in "The Great Plains from Texas to Saskatchewan: Place, Memory, Identity," the NEH seminar convened at North Dakota State University. See also the more extensive Bibliography on the History of the North American Plains.

Library locations (books): SU = NDSU, TC = Tri-College, TI = Isern personal library, and ILL means you'll have to resort to inter-library loan. Our online catalog at NDSU is ODIN. Library locations (periodical articles): R = Reserve, FT = full text available via EBSCO at NDSU Libraries.

Author	Title	Publication	Notes	Where
Ashcroft, Bill, Gareth Griffiths, and Helen Tiffin	The Empire Writes Back: Theory and Practice in Post-colonial Literatures	Routledge: London, 1989	This is a classic and accessible survey of post-colonialism in literature with emphasis on the post-Commonwealth branch. The application of post-colonial theory to Great Plains literature seems to me long overdue.	TC
Blew, Mary Clearman	Bone Deep in Landscape: Writing, Reading, and Place	Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1999	This is a memoir with a self-conscious sense of place coming from a locality (Havre, Montna) near that of Stegner.	TI
Boardman, Kathleen A.	"Lowry Charles Wimberly and the Retreat of Regionalism"	Great Plains Quarterly 11 (Summer 1991): 143-56	Wimberly, editor of the Prairie Schooner, was a disillusioned regionalist who came to doubt the capacity of region to resist the metropolis and conformity.	R
Bogue, Allan G.	Frederick Jackson Turner : Strange Roads Going Down	Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1998	The indispensable biography of Turner.	SU
Cronon, William	"A Place for Stories: Nature, History, and Narrative"	Journal of American History 78 (March 1992): 1347-76	This piece mentions Webb specifically, but is applicable to all our texts, as Cronon seeks to reconcile his narrative bent as a historian with the post-modern times in which he lives and writes. He speaks for a generation of historians attempting to be more self-conscious about the stories they tell—in this case stories about the plains.
Debo, Angie	Prairie City: The Story of an American Community	New York: Knopf, 1944	The book is largely about Debo’s home town of Marshall, Oklahoma, but her mix of remembrance and research is billed as a composite, a typical town.	SU
Dorman, Robert L.	Revolt of the Provinces: The Regionalist Movement in America, 1920-1945	Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1993	A key secondary work undergirding the seminar. Dorman defines the regionalist movements that are the context for the works of regional autonomy.	SU
Etulain, Richard W.	Telling Western Stories: From Buffalo Bill to Larry McMurtry	Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1999	In particular see Chapter 4, "New Stories," for its correspondence to the delineation of generations of regionalism made in this seminar.	SU
Etulain, Richard W.	Western American Literature: A Bibliography of Interpretive Books and Articles	Vermillion: Dakota Press, 1972	Dated and unannotated, but still useful.	SU
Etulain, Richard W.	"Western Stories for the Next Generation"	Western Historical Quarterly 31 (Spring 2000): 5-23	After confessing his affection for Stegner, Etulain goes on to praise examples of complex story-telling in literature, film, and History, and to call for more "moral" and "hopeful" stories (using those words in senses different from the usual connotations).
Fink, Deborah	Agrarian Women: Wives and Mothers in Rural Nebraska, 1880-1940	Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1992	If you're wondering where the women are in Webb, read Fink. If you suspect that Cather romanticized the farm women of Nebraska, read Fink.	SU
Harrison, Dick	Unnamed Country: The Struggle for a Canadian Prairie Fiction	Edmonton: University of Alberta Press, 1977	An excellent survey written in plain prose—and one that poses the classic issue of cultural interpretation on the plains, that is, should one emphasize the imprint of environment or the importation of culture?	TC
Holman, David Marion	A Certain Slant of Light: Regionalism and the Form of Southern and Midwestern Fiction	Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1995	A study of Southern and Midwestern fiction contrasting the Romantic tradition of the former with the Realistic tradition of the latter. Treats Cather as Midwestern—and ponders why she doesn't fit with others of the region (duh).	TC
Isern, Thomas D.	"The Comedy of the Commons, or, My Life on the Post-Colonial Plains"	[get citation]	This essay asserts that an understanding of post-colonialism is useful for anyone trying to understand life and literature on the Great Plains today.
Isern, Thomas D.	"Nowhere Spelled Backwards: The Quest for Region in the Tussock Grasslands of New Zealand"	Western Historical Quarterly 31 (Winter 2000): 477-85	This essay deals with another plains, but it reflects on the role of intellectuals in defining region by building on the vernacular sense of place.
Isern, Thomas D.	"Thorfinnson Rides Again: A Sense of Place on the Northern Plains"	North Dakota History 67 (2000): 2-9	An essay setting out three eras of Euro-American history on the plains (settlement, consolidation, renewal) and exploring the importance of History to the sense of place.
Isern, Thomas D.	My So-Called Life on the Plains: Confessions of the Last Picture Show Generation	CD, West Fargo: Kindred House, 2005	The Tri-College History of 2004, in which Isern assesses the state of the Great Plains in the late 20^th century, alluding in passing to several authors read in this seminar.	SU
Jensen, Merrill, Ed.	Regionalism in America	Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1951.	Here is a grand diversity of views as to what constitutes the definition and potential of regionalism. The chapter on literary regionalism is spot on, and recommended, but the book is worth sampling throughout. Particular attention might also be given to the final part, which comprises essays on the limits and promise of regionalism.	SU
Luebke, Frederick C.	"Regionalism and the Great Plains: Problems of Concept and Method"	Western Historical Quarterly 15 (January 1984): 19-38	Luebke first sketches the origins and aspects of regionalist thought, then goes on to argue for a culturalist approach to the history of the Great Plains in lieu of Webb's environmentalist approach. An authoritative historical treatment of Great Plains regionalism.
Odum, Howard W., and Harry Estill Moore	American Regionalism: A Cultural-Historical Approach to National Integration	New York: Henry Holt & Co., 1938	An invaluable explanation of the rationale and variety of approaches to regionalism. Odum's generation of regionalists, as social scientists, sought to solve problems and use regions as elements of healthy nation-building.	SU
Quantic, Diane Dufva	The Nature of the Place: A Study of Great Plains Fiction	Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1995	A descriptive survey of regional lit organized according to mythic themes.	SU
Riley, Glenda	The Female Frontier: A Comparative View of Women on the Prairie and the Plains	Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1989	Riley finds the Great Plains not so regionally distinctive in women's lives as in male histories.	SU
Said, Edward W.	Culture and Imperialism	New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1994	A classic of post-colonial theory with a particularly interesting section (for application to the plains experience) on "Resistance and Opposition."	SU
Schwieder, Dorothy	Growing Up with the Town: Family and Community on the Great Plains	Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 2002	A mix of memoir and research, Schwieder reconstructs the town of her girlhood in western South Dakota.	SU
Smith, Henry Nash	Virgin Land: The American West as Symbol and Myth	Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1950	No discussion of the literature of the West can proceed without dealing with Virgin Land. Here are clusters of ideas applicable to discussion of Webb, Cather, and Stegner.	SU
Thacker, Robert	The Great Prairie Fact and Literary Imagination	Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1989	"On the prairie, the great fact is the land itself," writes Thacker in this, the best look-length survey of prairie writing. All four texts of the seminar are discussed here. A unique strength of Thacker's analysis is that he treats the entirety of the plains, Canadian and American.	SU
Turner, Frederick Jackson	The Frontier in American History	New York: H. Holt, 1920	Turner is basic to understanding the historical thought of both Webb and Stegner.	SU
Cather
Acocella, Joan	"Cather and the Academy”	In Geoffrey C. Ward., Ed., The Best American Essays 1996 (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1996)	An excellent introduction to the massive scholarly literature on Cather, showing the uses and abuses to which her works have been subjected by scholars with agendae.	ILL
Arnold, Marilyn	"The Other Side of Willa Cather"	Nebraska History 68 (Summer 1987): 74-82	A nice gossipy profile exploring Cather's irascible yet gracious personality.
Arnold, Marilyn	Willa Cather: A Reference Guide	Boston: G.K. Hall, 1986	An exhaustive list of references, arranged chronologically and indexed topically.	SU
Aronson, Marilyn A.	"Plains Goddesses: Heroines in Willa Cather's Prairie Novels"	Heritage of the Great Plains 28 (Fall/Winter 1995): 5-16
Bennett, Mildred R.	The World of Willa Cather	New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1951 2^nd Ed., Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1962	A wonderful, exasperating book by a resident of Red Cloud "living in the 'world of Willa Cather.'" Because Bennett drew on informants not available to later writers, subsequent biographers continue to make good use of her material.	SU
Bloom, Harold, Ed.	Antonia	New York: Chelsea House, 1991	A volume in the Major Literary Characters series, gathering together a collection of critical extracts (including the well-known remarks of H.L Mencken) along with a set of critical essays focusing on Antonia. These are a mixed bag, each with its own agenda. Major commentators such as Rosowski summarize their views. Lesser-known writers offer occasional gems—such as Mary Kemper Sternshein's almost offhand closing remarks about young Leo.	TC
Bloom, Harold, Ed.	Willa Cather's My Antonia	New York: Chelsea House, 1987	A volume in the Modern Critical Interpretations series, gathering a group of essays on the work. Of particular interest here is Stegner's essay on Cather. Of the other contributions I think Terence Martin's on memory has special use to us, and Blanche H. Gelfant's on sex is just generally notable.	TC
Boucher, Sandy	Heartwomen: An Urban Feminist's Odyssey Home	San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1982	Generally I find this book rather naive, but its reporting of an interview with Mildred Bennett in Red Cloud (see the "Catherland" chapter) is choice.	ILL
Cather, Willa Sibert	"Nebraska: The End of the First Cycle"	Nation 117 (5 September 1923): 236-38	A much-cited piece that illuminates Cather's understanding of regional history.	R
Cather, Willa	O Pioneers!	Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1913 Willa Cather Scholarly Edition, Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1992 Bison Book Edition, Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1997	For context, contrast, and comparison, read Antonia in juxtaposition with Pioneers. Moorhead State holds an original edition.	SU
Cather, Willa	Obscure Destinies	New York: Knopf, 1932	First of the three stories here published is "Neighbor Rosicky," which you must read as a companion to Antonia.	SU
Cather, Willa	On Writing: Critical Studies on Writing as an Art	New York: Knopf, 1949	Two essays here are important to Cather's style in Pioneers and Antonia: "The Novel Demeuble" and "My First Novels [There Were Two]."	SU
Cherny, Robert W.	"Willa Cather and the Populists"	Great Plains Quarterly 3 (Fall 1983): 206-18	Cather disaproved of Populism and Bryanism. This article includes an interesting discussion of the handling of Populist issues (or characters) in Antonia.	R
Danker, Kathleen	"The Influence of Willa Cather's French-Canadian Neighbors in Nebraska in Death Comes for the Archbishop and Shadows on the Rock"	Great Plains Quarterly 20 (Winter 2000): 35-54	This doesn't touch directly on Antonia, but it is additional discussion of Cather's fascination with her immigrant neighbors.
Faulkner, Virginia, with Frederick C. Luebke, Eds.	Vision and Refuge: Essays on the Literature of the Great Plains	Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1982	See the essay on pp. 93-105 (Bernice Slote, "Willa Cather and Plains Culture") for a casual survey of regional and cultural details incorporated in Cather's work.	SU
Gustafson, Neil	"Getting Back to Cather's Text: The Shared Dream in O Pioneers!"	Western American Literature 30 (August 1995): 151-162
Howarth, William	"The Country of Willa Cather"	National Geographic 162 (July 1982): 70-93	Many are the personal narratives of visitors to Cather country, among which this stands as one of the most professional, although not the most insightful.
Murphy, David	"Jejich Antonie: Czechs, the Land, Cather, and the Pavelka Farmstead"	Great Plains Quarterly 14 (Spring 1994): 85-106	This is a rich, rich piece on the interaction of ethnic culture and plains landscape that is essential to Antonia, focusing on the material culture of the farmstead.
Murphy, John J.	"Nebraska Naturalism in Jamesian Frames"	Great Plains Quarterly 4 (Fall 1984): 231-37	Antonia has always been a problem for critics intent on categorization (regional, Realistic, Romantic). This article helps to explain some of the ambivalence.	R
	My Antonia	VHS, Gideon Productions, 1995	You think this might be pretty good because it has Jason Robards in it, but the screenplay is lame, the ending abrupt. It's a tough novel to adapt to film, no doubt. 92 minutes.
Newstrom, Scott	Willa Cather	http://www.gustavus.edu/oncampus/academics/english/cather/	This site, hosted on a Gustavus Adolphus University server, offers a good collection of links and documents, including, for instance, Cather's high school graduation address.
O'Brien, Sharon	Willa Cather: The Emerging Voice	New York: Oxford University Press, 1987	This work treats Cather's life and writing through publication of O Pioneers! Although a generally fascinating account, O'Brien's work is best known for its frank treatment of Cather's lesbianism, which O'Brien adroitly places in the context of the times.	SU
Olson, Paul A.	"The Epic and Great Plains Literature: Rolvaag, Cather, and Neihardt"	Prairie Schooner 55 (Spring/Summer 1981): 263-85	Olson considers Antonia the most clearly epic of the works treated and develops the analogy to Virgil's Aeneid.
Rosowski, Susan J.	The Voyage Perilous: Willa Cather's Romanticism	Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1986	For this seminar, Rosowski's work is key. Her development of Cather's Romanticism is persuasive and methodical; her prose is wonderfully accessible. The chapter devoted to Antonia begins, "It was as if everything Cather had written until now had been in preparation for My Antonia." I recommend this as the first thing to read about Antonia.	TC
Rosowski, Susan J., Ed.	Approaches to Teaching Cather's My Antonia	New York: Modern Language Association of America, 1989	For the understanding of Cather's conception of region and sense of place, see the essays by Sally Allen McNall, Robert W. Cherny, Paul A. Olson, and Robert Thacker.	TC
Schach, Paul	"Russian Wolves in Folktales and Literature of the Plains: A Question of Origins"	Great Plains Quarterly 3 (Spring 1983): 67-78	This is essential background for the notable, chilling set piece in Antonia.	R
Slote, Bernice	"Willa Cather as a Regional Writer"	Kansas Quarterly 2 (1970): 7-15	A useful piece for explicating Cather's regional roots, but one tinged by the apparent discomfort of the author with consigning Cather to the realm of "regional." Unknowingly, Slote's hedging on this question places Cather as a regionalist exactly as J. Frank Dobie would define one.
Welsch, Roger L., and Linda K. Welsch	Cather's Kitchens: Foodways in Literature and Life	Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1987	Thankfully, Cather is not one of those Great Plains authors who celebrates asceticism; she (and perhaps more so, Roger) takes delight in food and foodways.	TC
Willa Cather Pioneer Memorial		http://www.willacather.org/	Information about Catherland, the state designation of the western half of Webster County, Nebraska—local sites with reference to Cather's works.
Woodress, James	Willa Cather: A Literary Life	Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1987	A thoroughgoing and laudable biography that methodically treats key Cather works, using and emphasizing their capacity to reveal elements of Cather's life.	SU
Zitter, Emmy Stark	"Making Herself Born: Ghost Writing and Willa Cather's Developing Autobiography"