Salt Lake City News

NEW WEST BOOK REVIEW

Bargaining for Eden
by Stephen Trimble
University of California Press
319 pages, $29.95

The contemporary story of the American West is being written in town halls across the region where neighbors stand at odds with one another over their vision for the prized landscapes that surround them.

Every area has its Eden besieged by developers, and each one inevitably becomes buried in controversy, and sometimes scandal.

For author Stephen Trimble, the Eden was northern Utah’s Snowbasin, and its controversies, complete with a billionaire developer, backroom Congressional deals and the Olympic scandals that would soon mar the 2002 Salt Lake Olympics, outdo most.

Stephen Trimble will present his book at the Tattered Cover (LoDo) on October 4 (2 p.m.) and at the Utah Humanities Book Festival at the Salt Lake City Main Library on October 25. [more]

Western Book Roundup

It seems like every week I have some new information to mention about bestselling Colorado writer David Wroblewski, so here's today's tidbit: Rachel Deahl of Publishers Weekly reports: "…48-year-old debut author David Wroblewski has made an unusual request—he's asked would-be producers to pitch their film ideas to him in person so he can choose who’s most deserving of the film rights. The unusual (and demanding) move, if nothing else, will make a quick acquisition unlikely." This seems to be characteristic of Wroblewski, who took over a decade to craft his hit novel. He continues to be more concerned with quality than speed. (Via Texas Pages.)

The September 11 edition of The Economist reported that libraries and reading are thriving in Wyoming. (Via The Book Bench.) The article featured Burns, Wyoming's library, noting, "This town of just 300 people has a public library containing 11,500 books."

Also in the Roundup: Casper College hosts the 22nd annual Equality State Book Festival, The Wasatch Journal sponsors a Western short story contest, and the Mountains and Plains Independent Booksellers Association's annual trade show hits Colorado Springs. [more]

Western Book Roundup

Yesterday, Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper announced that this year's pick for One Book, One Denver will be Dashiell Hammett’s The Thin Man.

A few weeks ago I mentioned that Random House had dropped plans to publish former Missoulian Sherry Jones' novel, The Jewel of Medina, because the publisher feared that the book, told from the perspective of one of Muhammad's wives, could "incite violence." According to AFP, a British publisher, Gibson Square, announced that it will publish the book, releasing it in the U.K. next month. (Via Galleycat.)

Also in the Roundup: Another honor for David Wroblewski, Denver short stories in the Rocky Mountain News, and readings by Doreen Orion and Stephen Trimble. [more]

New West Book Review

Spiral Jetta: A Road Trip Through the Land Art of the American West
By Erin Hogan
University of Chicago Press
180 pages, $20

My husband announced one day that he and my daughter had been out making "land art." The next time I walked out back I saw what he meant: they had gathered dozens of dandelions and arranged them in a yellow streak flowing down a channel in a boulder, the sort of thing artist Andy Goldsworthy did in Thomas Riedelsheimer's beautiful documentary Rivers & Tides. I'm a little hesitant to admit this, but we're land art junkies. We've been to see Goldsworthy's work at the Storm King Art Center in New York, and we've made a pilgrimage to Dia: Beacon, the New York museum that is the hub of the Dia Foundation, which funds and maintains much of the land art in the American West.

But we haven't been to see Robert Smithson's famous "Spiral Jetty" in Utah, and we live only one state away from it, so we can't claim any real cred, unlike Erin Hogan, who braved endless miles, desert heat, poor directions, rutted roads, loneliness, and dubious bar company to take readers to the "Spiral Jetty" and beyond in her endearing first book, Spiral Jetta. [more]

Western Book Roundup

As many have noted, the Los Angeles Times published its last freestanding book review section this weekend. That leaves the San Francisco Chronicle as the only paper west of the Mississippi with a separate newspaper book review section (the New York Times Book Review, Washington Post Book World, and the Chicago Tribune's books section also remain). Although the LA Times will incorporate some book criticism into the rest of the paper, its coverage of books will diminish. That's unfortunate, given the attention to Western books that the paper has provided, such as Nick Owchar's recent piece for the Times' book blog, Jacket Copy, analyzing Jim Harrison's introduction to a new edition of James Welch's The Death of Jim Lonely. (According to the National Book Critics Circle's interview with editor David L. Ulin, Jacket Copy and other online features will continue.)

Also in the Roundup: the Mountains and Plains Independent Booksellers Association announces its annual regional book award winners, Colorado puts out the call for a poet laureate, poet Maria Melendez reads in Salt Lake, and more on Rick Bass's Why I Came West. [more]

Access Granted

Turns out Montana isn't the only state with contentious stream access issues. On Friday, the Utah Supreme court issued what sportsmen in the state are calling a landmark decision essentially giving the public the right to wade and fish natural streams.

According to an article in the Salt Lake Tribune, the case stems from a running conflict between a group of landowners who own land on the Weber River and a couple, Kevin and Jodi Conatser, who like to float the river. [more]

Western Book Roundup

Popular western novelist Zane Grey's one-room cabin in Oregon will now be preserved for everyone, according to Jeff Barnard of the Associated Press. (Via Texas Pages.) Barnard writes: "One of the most popular sites on the Rogue River is a rude one-room cabin of peeled logs and hand-split shingles. The cabin was once owned by Zane Grey, best known for his Western novels including 'Riders of the Purple Sage.' But now the 32 acres and the buildings on it belong to everyone."

Also in the Roundup: Utah State's Chris Cokinos wins this year's John Burroughs Prize, and Westword names NewWest.Net/Books the "Best Literary Blog" in the 2008 Best of Denver issue. [more]

Western Book Roundup

This week brought some sad news for the Idaho book community: Sun Valley Online reports that Gary Hunt, the owner of Iconoclast Books in Ketchum and the Sun Valley Mall, was killed in a car accident Saturday morning. Sun Valley Online established the blog Gary Hunt Remembrances for people to leave their messages about the man whom they describe as "a kind soul and passionate family and business man."

Also in the Roundup: Oregon native Benjamin Percy makes the long list for the Frank O'Connor Prize, Idaho's Brandon R. Schrand receives several honors, Deanne Stillman interviews Larry McMurtry, and Las Comadres launch a Latino book club to meet in Utah and New Mexico, among other states [more]

LET'S GET OUR WORDS STRAIGHT

Have you ever heard somebody say they prefer "multiple use" over Wilderness? I have what seems like a thousand times, and every time I hear it, I say to myself, wrong!

So, it seems like a good time to say it out loud because the words, "multiple use" have been lost in the Wilderness. [more]

The handling of the raid of the Yearning for Zion Ranch polygamous compound in Eldorado, Texas, and the subsequent detainment of the entire community continues to draw strong reactions here in Utah. Connor Boyack, a website designer in Lehi, Utah circulated a petition calling for the release from custody or foster care of all Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS) women and children gathered up in the raid, and an apology from the State of Texas. The petition received 2000 signatures before he forwarded it to Texas Governor Rick Perry, along with a letter noting, [more]