Aside from being as busy as a one-armed bartender these days, I've been giving a great deal of thought to some of the issues raised by Chap O'Keefe in the comment trail about ensuring that kids in schools are afforded access to Western novels, as well as claiming genres as "uniquely American", etc.
I want to address some of those points, because I think these are critical issues to be examined. My hope is that some additional discussion and commentary will come from this post.
Westerns in Schools
- I strongly believe that the core foundation for the books that we read later in life is laid down in school. More than that, I believe that reading as a lifelong habit doesn't grab everyone, but only some people. I've talked to many schools here in the US and teachers are doing everything they can to get kids simply to read: they are teaching graphic novels, Stephen King, movie novelizations, you name it. But the bottom line is that exposure to the Western is extremely limited these days and we have to reach out to our future audience where we can get to them - namely, at school.
- I don't think Westerns should be shoved down anybody's throat. On the contrary, the goal of the READ THE WEST program is simply to make them an attractive option for teachers and kids.
- By their very nature, which is to say both historical and relevant to the United States, some people are going to see the reading of Westerns as a political advocacy kind of thing. But I don't think too many of these types of books make contemporary political statements of any kind. That said, they do sometimes make historical/political statements about the history of our country - and that's important, in my opinion, because quite often history texts are dry. Reading about the history of the United States, the frontier, the Civil War, etc. in a fictional context can bring that history to life and foster an interest in where we came from, and how we arrived at where we are today.
- Last point on this for now. Again, speaking to the nature of the Western novel, I want to point out my belief that this genre tends toward moral absolutes. Black hats and white hats, good guys and bad guys. A code of honor - call it the cowboy way or whatever you like. Many genre books today don't have this, and that's fine, but I think a lot of what our young people are exposed to lacks even a moral compass - everything is in shades of gray. In my opinion, this is doing a grave disservice to our young people because they aren't being exposed as often as they should to the possibility that there is such a thing a honor, and that values shouldn't always be put on a sliding scale depending on circumstance.
Claiming Genres
- One of the points raised had to do with the "claiming" of a given genre by any country. The truth is that yes this happens. Britain quite often claims the mystery genre and various forms thereof. They've also claimed many sub-genres of the romance market.
- The Western is the only genre of fiction that is part and parcel of the United States, our literary heritage as a nation has many roots, but this is the one seed we planted for ourselves. It is not something to be ashamed of, but something to be proud of in terms of looking at literature as a whole - all genres - and saying, "What makes this genre unique? Where did it come from? Why is it important?"
- This last point relates to teaching, but it's critical to the issue as a whole: teaching any genre or book shouldn't be just about the content, but about examining why a particular book is what it is. There are many "adult" western series that truly owe their existence to the dime novels of long ago, for example.
A final thought, then I'm back to my current project(s): The future of any genre lies not in reaching the existing readers or (God forbid) the older and/or dying readers. It lies in reaching future readers. If the bookstores don't carry a large Western section (and what they have is mostly reprints, kept in the back), our future readers won't see them. If we don't reach them in school, with age/content appropriate titles, we aren't going to reach them very easily at any point in the future.
Does that mean that Western titles should be taught on the basis of patriotism? No, of course not. Can they be? Certainly. But my contention is that Western novels should be taught as both literature and heritage, fiction and history, a look at our past and perhaps with some sense of who we are today. Not because it's patriotic or a duty, but because that is what makes Westerns unique. Will we get them all? No, but no genre does. The question arises - how many will we get for our efforts. The answer is that I don't know.
But I do know that an overall 10% improvement in Western sales would be a start. A 10% increase in fiction market share would be massive. And that any improvement would be better than the current position.
Regards,
Russell Davis
5 comments:
One western novel that used to be taught in public schools is SHANE. That's certainly a fine example, but there are plenty of others. Maybe it's not taught these days. I don't know.
This is an excellent debate, Russell. I'm looking forward to others' input.
I don't believe that the core foundation for the books read later in life is laid down in school. It begins preschool, in the home. Leastways, that has been my experience in New Zealand with three children and three grandchildren so far. I also hear from my niece in England that it is the case with her boys, too. Children should be read to from picture books at a very early age, perhaps regularly at bedtime. Books of a kind to appeal to the youngest should be available in the home for them to look at, and they should see their parents and older siblings reading and enjoying their reading. This doesn't have to be a major parental campaign -- just something you let happen naturally.
I think moral absolutes are a mistake in any fiction today, including westerns. They tend to open the genre to ridicule by those intent on putting it down. Max Brand died in World War II, but he was already pursuing the path in his books where character traits were mixed, or were changed by the course of the story -- good to bad, bad to good. Coincidentally, writer Candy Proctor has an excellent post at her blog today entitled "The Good, the Bad and the Evil". Scoot over to csharris.blogspot.com and see what you think.
I wasn't aware, looking at the world from NZ, that the Brits have "quite often" been claiming the mystery genre. The nearest I have come across to any claim on the mystery is from America, putting forward Edgar Allan Poe. Today, US mystery fiction seems to be as well represented in the catalogues of British publishers as their home-grown product. And this is the crux of my objection to any nation claiming any genre -- it's on the publishing level where agents and editors in some countries assume that any book other than from a fellow national isn't worth looking at. Believe me, this does happen, especially with westerns. Which is absurd, because the Frontier West of the nineteeenth century has long gone -- the environment changed; human lifestyles quite different -- so anyone anywhere has to work from research of others' records.
I have seen the claims that romances of a certain type spring from a British pattern -- not the Brontes' or Austen's, but that of a UK publisher, Mills & Boon. Sometime mid last century, the wife of a Toronto publisher picked up the M&B library fiction and decided it should be reprinted in paperback for the North American market. This gave rise to the Harlequin imprint. The rest was/is history, for what it's worth.
The western seed surely was planted in the US, but it was also planted very early in other places, too, and has been nurtured in those places even at times when the Americans, it seems, haven't wanted to know, and have certainly neglected, "their" genre. Think of Karl May in Germany, where some readers regard May as the "father of the western" and continue to honor him. Think of Bret Harte, who laid down so many of the stereotypes for later western fiction, but who was quickly obliged to become virtually an economic exile in England and Germany. . . "My chances, for the present at least, are better here . . . with all my patriotism I am forced to confess that I do not stand as high in my own country." By 1880s he could no longer depend on the American audience.
I could continue on: to spaghetti westerns, Louis Masterson (Kjell Hallbing), George G. Gilman (Terry Harknett), J. T. Edson . . .
Even to the Black Horse Western series from London publisher Robert Hale that today gives many, many authors worldwide, including the US, their best and maybe only chance of getting a western into print.
As before, I wish you every success in your campaign.
Like most such periods in history, what we think of now as the "American West" is more myth than reality. It was a time that often brought out the best in those who lived through it--courage and honor-- and that should be celebrated. It was also a time of a shameful genocide and land grab, and that should not be forgotten in the rush to create a heroic image to look back on and flatter the period's modern descendants. I suspect that mythic quality is why Westerns appeals to writers from all over the world. That said, I'm all in favor of anything that inspires young people to read.
Jeez, Chap... write an essay, why don't you? :-)
A couple of quick points, then I have to get back to work.
1) It would be lovely to to think that parents would read to their kids - and many do - but a lot, at least here in the US, don't read to their kids at all. One of the biggest social issues in our country right now is that we have a majority of families where both parents work outside the home and parental involvement in education is much lower than it should be. That said, my point was from an educational point of view, rather than a whole life perspective.
2) There is a place - and a big one - for fiction that shows characters who don't subscribe to any moral absolutes. Even in Westerns. BUT... it's my belief that young people especially need to understand the "poles" before they can understand the entire spectrum. Some Westerns can provide this - and should - while others, aimed at an older audience, can explore that middle ground.
3) I agree that any nation claiming a genre can create a situation where an author from another place can run into trouble. However, I believe that comes from editorial blindness, not any real basis in truth. The same arguments can be made to say "a man can't write a female protagonist" or "a white person can't write as a black person". It's all BS and being proven more and more to be BS. I simply view the Western as part of the literary heritage of the US, and it should be viewed in that light from time to time.
Thanks, as always, for your comments!
Hi Candice,
Thanks for stopping by. I enjoyed reading your blog as well.
You're right about the mythic quality of the American West, and how often critical issues (like the massive land grabs, treaty violations and genocide of Native Americans) are overlooked. I hope and believe that there's a place for both types of books in the future of Westerns.
One of the books I most enjoyed editing a number of years ago was THE EDUCATION OF RUBY LOONFOOT by Paxton Riddle. This book was an account of one Anishinabe girls experience in the Catholic boarding school system. Not a pure Western, by definition, but a part of the history of the West.
In either case, however, engaging young people in reading (really of any kind) is a powerful and positive thing. The core idea behind READ THE WEST is to do just that - give them the books, movies, and teaching guides to experience the West (in all its forms, mythic or otherwise) and then see if we don't strike a spark. :-)
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