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Wallace Stegner: His Life and Work
A chronicle of the author Wallace Stegner moves from Stegner's prairie childhood in Saskatchewan to his prominence in the environmental movement and literary world
496 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
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About the author
Jackson J. Benson
18 books4 followersJackson J. Benson taught American Literature at San Diego State University. His biography, The True Adventures of John Steinbeck, Writer, won the PEN USA West award for nonfiction.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
June 19, 2024
More than half a century ago, I enrolled in a college course on the short story. The professor was distinguished-looking and highly articulate, with a fondness for discovering literary epiphanies, and for the writings of Bret Harte. I knew nothing about Wallace Stegner personally, and the only thing I recognized about his professional career was that he had co-edited a collection of short stories that was one of the course texts.
My youthful ignorance of Stegner's life and works has been belatedly but amply remediated by Jackson Benson's excellent biography of him. Benson knew Stegner personally, and had his cooperation for the project, but as his subject once playfully predicted, the biography did not come to fruition until after Stegner's death.
Wallace Stegner's fiction was firmly entrenched in the realist tradition, and although it was not purely autobiographical, a good bit of it drew heavily from his own history, including humble origins and a difficult childhood. (Little did I realize that the man lecturing on James Joyce had once lived in a family tent, and traveled from one homestead to another by horse and wagon.) Benson adroitly identifies the factual elements in Stegner's novels and short stories, placing them in the context of Stegner's rich and interesting life. He also offers extended critical but balanced commentary on many of Stegner's writings.
At the time of my encounter with him, Stegner had already achieved considerable distinction if not commensurate recognition; he had published eight novels and a lot of assorted non-fiction. Typecast as a "Western writer" (he was indeed that, but much more), even his later work often failed to attract attention in the Eastern press; neither his Pulitzer Prize novel Angle of Repose nor his National Book Award novel The Spectator Bird received reviews in The New York Times. Although Stegner was anything but self-aggrandizing, his pride was understandably wounded by such exclusions.
As a university professor, Stegner taught a few antagonistic students whose reputations soon exceeded his own, a fact that he sometimes found galling. A strong traditionalist, he was particularly distressed by the attitudes expressed by "hippies" and "acid freaks" who rejected the "system" without proposing any positive replacements. Needless to say, Stegner was not enamored of the acclaim that Ken Kesey received, although he was apparently quite content with the successes of other former students such as Edward Abbey, Wendell Berry, and Larry McMurtry.
Wallace Stegner was not only an author; he was a political and environmental activist. He participated in anti-war demonstrations, he served briefly as an assistant to Secretary of the Interior Stuart Udall during the Kennedy administration, and he held a four-year appointment on the board of the Sierra Club. His passionate environmental concerns frequently showed up in his books and articles.
I remember Stegner as a modest man who exuded delight in sharing his enthusiasm for good literature with his students. You didn't get lectures like Wallace Stegner's from a stuffed shirt. And he wasn't one.
My youthful ignorance of Stegner's life and works has been belatedly but amply remediated by Jackson Benson's excellent biography of him. Benson knew Stegner personally, and had his cooperation for the project, but as his subject once playfully predicted, the biography did not come to fruition until after Stegner's death.
Wallace Stegner's fiction was firmly entrenched in the realist tradition, and although it was not purely autobiographical, a good bit of it drew heavily from his own history, including humble origins and a difficult childhood. (Little did I realize that the man lecturing on James Joyce had once lived in a family tent, and traveled from one homestead to another by horse and wagon.) Benson adroitly identifies the factual elements in Stegner's novels and short stories, placing them in the context of Stegner's rich and interesting life. He also offers extended critical but balanced commentary on many of Stegner's writings.
At the time of my encounter with him, Stegner had already achieved considerable distinction if not commensurate recognition; he had published eight novels and a lot of assorted non-fiction. Typecast as a "Western writer" (he was indeed that, but much more), even his later work often failed to attract attention in the Eastern press; neither his Pulitzer Prize novel Angle of Repose nor his National Book Award novel The Spectator Bird received reviews in The New York Times. Although Stegner was anything but self-aggrandizing, his pride was understandably wounded by such exclusions.
As a university professor, Stegner taught a few antagonistic students whose reputations soon exceeded his own, a fact that he sometimes found galling. A strong traditionalist, he was particularly distressed by the attitudes expressed by "hippies" and "acid freaks" who rejected the "system" without proposing any positive replacements. Needless to say, Stegner was not enamored of the acclaim that Ken Kesey received, although he was apparently quite content with the successes of other former students such as Edward Abbey, Wendell Berry, and Larry McMurtry.
Wallace Stegner was not only an author; he was a political and environmental activist. He participated in anti-war demonstrations, he served briefly as an assistant to Secretary of the Interior Stuart Udall during the Kennedy administration, and he held a four-year appointment on the board of the Sierra Club. His passionate environmental concerns frequently showed up in his books and articles.
I remember Stegner as a modest man who exuded delight in sharing his enthusiasm for good literature with his students. You didn't get lectures like Wallace Stegner's from a stuffed shirt. And he wasn't one.
July 28, 2022
This is a biography worthy of my favorite fiction writer. I became an immediate fan of Wallace Stegner as soon as I read Crossing to Safety, and I would consider The Big Rock Candy Mountain to be one of my top three favorite stories. I admire the way Stegner approaches characters, and this biography helped explain what makes Stegner such a singular and exceptional writer. Reading this makes me want to read everything he’s written—I want to reread all his fiction that I’ve enjoyed over the past decade and then read all of his non-fiction, including a biography of Powell that draws together the history of the west, the spirit of conservation, and the story of a one-of-a-kind explorer. If Stegner found a subject fascinating or important, it is guaranteed that he will write about it with engaging imagery and vivid emotional honesty. I’m in awe of his care with words and his unwavering sense of what makes writing work.
May 7, 2023
Phew. This book has been in-progress for a LONG time but I have my reasons!
Stegner is one of my favorite authors. What an amazing, prolific writer! He wrote 60 books, fiction and non-fiction - plus essays, articles, taught writing, travelled a lot with his wife, gave lectures and won a Pulitzer prize, not to mention a tremendous amount of work on conservation of natural resources and years of study of the 'west.'
This biography is well-written and very thorough...at times a bit more than I needed- but I learned a lot. I have not read every novel he wrote but am inspired to do so now.
If you have not read his work, the book will be less meaningful to you but it may encourage you to check him out. {I hope I just did that in less than 423 pages of rather small print.}
Stegner is one of my favorite authors. What an amazing, prolific writer! He wrote 60 books, fiction and non-fiction - plus essays, articles, taught writing, travelled a lot with his wife, gave lectures and won a Pulitzer prize, not to mention a tremendous amount of work on conservation of natural resources and years of study of the 'west.'
This biography is well-written and very thorough...at times a bit more than I needed- but I learned a lot. I have not read every novel he wrote but am inspired to do so now.
If you have not read his work, the book will be less meaningful to you but it may encourage you to check him out. {I hope I just did that in less than 423 pages of rather small print.}
August 25, 2013
Wallace Stegner was an American author, known for writing about the West. As the title suggests, this book looks at his life, and delves into some criticism of his works, as well.
Generally, I like biographies. For me, I would have liked more “life” and less “works” in this book. I enjoyed the first part of the book, when it focused on his childhood in Southern Saskatchewan (close to where I grew up), and his teenage years in Salt Lake City, and some of his time as a university student. From there, he went on to write, as well as teach at Harvard and Stanford. This is where the book was often “interrupted” with criticism of his various works. Maybe this would have been more interesting for me, if I'd read some of them (I've only read his childhood autobiography, Wolf Willow). Admittedly, a lot of his fiction was based on people in his life, so it did sort of parallel, but there was more criticism than I was interested in and that's where I would often (though not always) lose focus on the book. Overall, I thought it was o.k.
Generally, I like biographies. For me, I would have liked more “life” and less “works” in this book. I enjoyed the first part of the book, when it focused on his childhood in Southern Saskatchewan (close to where I grew up), and his teenage years in Salt Lake City, and some of his time as a university student. From there, he went on to write, as well as teach at Harvard and Stanford. This is where the book was often “interrupted” with criticism of his various works. Maybe this would have been more interesting for me, if I'd read some of them (I've only read his childhood autobiography, Wolf Willow). Admittedly, a lot of his fiction was based on people in his life, so it did sort of parallel, but there was more criticism than I was interested in and that's where I would often (though not always) lose focus on the book. Overall, I thought it was o.k.
March 9, 2011
Even for fans, this book details a life and mind far more amazing than we would have envisioned.
February 8, 2022
I’ve always liked his writing. Now I know more about he he was. Wallace Stegner is one of my new heroes. This was a very thorough and informative biography.
January 7, 2023
I really liked this biography. Though it lags a bit in the middle, Benson does a fine job pulling together the story of a brilliant writer, conservationist, professor, and man. Stegner was a writer who “cultivated the qualities of kindness, consideration, and generosity” (413) through his work, whose own life bore testimony to the magnitude of these virtues. Reading about his life, especially his profound involvement in the conservation movement, was fun and deeply colored the bit of his fiction I have read. His clear and poetic prose stems from a deep love for both the world and honesty, loves that make him worth trusting and reading. While I would have liked more consistency concerning the depth of literary analysis of Stegner's novels (though Benson’s analysis of All the Live Little Things, a book I hope to read soon, was exceptional) and clearer writing on Stegner’s literary/philosophical influences, this was a wonderful biography of a wonderful man. It made me love Stegner all the more.
“By giving so much of himself, risking so much of himself, he bound his readers to him, and it is this quality, above all, that will lead to a wider recognition of his greatness of spirit and the rich vibrancy and continuing relevance of his fictional creations.” (421)
“By giving so much of himself, risking so much of himself, he bound his readers to him, and it is this quality, above all, that will lead to a wider recognition of his greatness of spirit and the rich vibrancy and continuing relevance of his fictional creations.” (421)
January 16, 2024
Wallace Stegner is my favorite author, so I was happy to find this excellent biography in a local used book store. Written by Jackson Benson, an English professor at San Diego State University, the book is a thorough and insightful treatment of both Stegner's professional accomplishments and his personal life, from the time he was a small boy in Saskatchewan to his retirement years in Los Altos, CA.
Along the way we learn about Stegner's family, his academic stops at the University of Iowa, the University of Wisconsin, Harvard, the University of Utah, and Stanford University, and the backstory behind many of his most famous works, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Angle of Repose, The Big Rock Candy Mountain, The Gathering of Zion, and Crossing to Safety.
Stegner is portrayed as a disciplined, thoughtful, hard-working writer and teacher who became not only the premier author of the American West, but also a staunch environmentalist and caring mentor to his students. The book is a great read and a fascinating study of the factors that influenced Stegner's characters and style.
I now look forward to going back and re-reading many of Stegner's works with the perspective this book provides.
Along the way we learn about Stegner's family, his academic stops at the University of Iowa, the University of Wisconsin, Harvard, the University of Utah, and Stanford University, and the backstory behind many of his most famous works, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Angle of Repose, The Big Rock Candy Mountain, The Gathering of Zion, and Crossing to Safety.
Stegner is portrayed as a disciplined, thoughtful, hard-working writer and teacher who became not only the premier author of the American West, but also a staunch environmentalist and caring mentor to his students. The book is a great read and a fascinating study of the factors that influenced Stegner's characters and style.
I now look forward to going back and re-reading many of Stegner's works with the perspective this book provides.
December 14, 2019
I recognized his name and bought a used copy of this book. Most of the the book was an unexpected surprise. Although I should have recognized his name and work earlier, I am fairly sure I read one of the works on early days of Salt Lake City and his Mormon heritage when I married a Mormon. Many of the places he writes about I have seen, visited or hiked through. The country he tried to protect is beautiful and now, having read this book, I will continue to see the awe and also the history. Much of the country needs to be protected, especially among the Colorado River and extending through and including the Navajo lands.
May 11, 2024
Book 23 of 2024: Wallace Stegner: His Life and Work by Jackson J. Benson (1996, Viking Press, 472 p.)
I've read a lot of Stegner's fiction and non-fiction. He is one of my favorite authors.
Benson has written a solid bio and literary summary and critique of most of Stegner's work. Having read his semi-autobiograph cal novels (Big Rock Candy Mountain, Recapitulation, and Crossing to Safety (among is other fiction), I was familiar with the broad strokes of his life.
This was a GREAT bio and provided great summaries of his work (novels, short stories, histories, arricles, speeches, etc.). I alao enjoyed the descriptions of the writing process he underwent.
Recommended.
I've read a lot of Stegner's fiction and non-fiction. He is one of my favorite authors.
Benson has written a solid bio and literary summary and critique of most of Stegner's work. Having read his semi-autobiograph cal novels (Big Rock Candy Mountain, Recapitulation, and Crossing to Safety (among is other fiction), I was familiar with the broad strokes of his life.
This was a GREAT bio and provided great summaries of his work (novels, short stories, histories, arricles, speeches, etc.). I alao enjoyed the descriptions of the writing process he underwent.
Recommended.
January 7, 2020
Just a fascinating review chronicalling the life of America's greatest writer of the West.
May 8, 2023
I read this fast. A scholar would read it slow. But I remember loving Angle of Repose a long time ago and wanted to get to know the author, especially since he loved California, as I do.
August 23, 2011
Interesting man with strong roots not just in the 'West' but Utah. A man of principal and a deep love for his wife, partner, editor and critic. Interesting how he has always fused his personal life into the web of the story line. Very often he wrote about people he knew or who had impacted him. He is an excellent writer with an ability to convey a womans point of view. This ability must stem from his own strong mother and then his strong wife. Very interesting if....you like his works.
September 27, 2009
Increased my desire to write and too focus on relationships.
January 3, 2016
A beautiful description of Stegner and his many contributions to the American West.
January 4, 2017
Interesting, however a bit too much detail for me.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews