The American Spectator

Reader Mail

(Page 2 of 6)

Why Do Liberals Lie? /p>

I am continually amazed by the assertions of the ideologically saturated. Bill Croke's fulminations range across the whole spectrum from truth to absurdity. The things he says about Linda Hasselstrom are not merely wrong, but absurd. His assessment of her work is appalling in its ignorance. He assails various people as academics, but the connection of some of these writers to academe is tenuous at best. But of course, academics are "the enemy" so Mr. Croke tars with a broad brush.

Some of these memoirists, such as Ivan Doig, have written classic, beautiful, elegiac material about life in the rural west. His memoir is one of the great works of American literature, and devoid of ideology, but here he is, on Croke's implicit enemies list.

He errs on small matters as well. There was no such thing as the Missoula Festival of the Book, nor did it cater merely to "literati." The Montana Festival of the Book was organized by the Montana Committee for the Humanities, and its sponsors went out of their way to invite authors from all the realms of literature. It will be held in various cities. Last year the festival featured Jeff Shaara, scarcely one of the' "literati."

p>Reality is simply too complex for people who see the world through ideological lenses, both left and right. br> -- Richard S. Wheeler /p>

Bill Croke replies: I don't recall putting Ivan Doig and Linda Hasselstrom on an "enemies list." And I don't recall making an "assessment" of Hasselstrom's work. I included them as examples on a list of writers who use the memoir form as their primary vehicle to explain the West to themselves and others. The subject of my piece was Judy Blunt, and her recent fall from grace.

The writers named have, I believe, all "taught" at one time or another. Kittredge has retired, thus making a wise career choice and abandoning literature for golf. Limerick still teaches, and I believe so does Doig. As do Clearman Blew and Barnes. I'm not sure what Annick Smith is up to lately. Hasselstrom doesn't teach now, but conducts creative writing workshops on her ranch in South Dakota, where she gets well-off literary wannabes to give her lots of money to teach them to write.

As for Ivan Doig's "memoir," I assume Mr. Wheeler is referring to This House of Sky. A good book, but one that falls far short of "one of the great works of American literature." If Mr. Wheeler believes that, I think he should stick to cranking out his yearly horse opera.

I've heard the literary festival under discussion described as both the "Montana" and "Missoula" "Festival of the Book."

Actually, this letter surprises me. Mr. Wheeler has complained at length about some of the same things I've covered in my own pieces. When did he have his big epiphany? It must have been after he published a piece very much like mine in Chronicles back in '95? '96? I read a reprint of it called "Notes From a Writer of Trash. "

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