Runaway: A Collection of Stories by Mary Clearman Blew (review)

280 WesternAmerican Literature infrequently does the reader pause to read aloud; Stafford’s trees “sip fog from the wind and swallow iron from the earth.” Stafford’s essays do not create a strong sense of place as much as they recreate experiences, thoughts, and insights. Stafford does not present his premises as battle cries toward humanity’s arrogant and blatant despoiling of the earth. Instead, he walks the reader through the doorway created by two pines, to use Muir’s metaphor. Instead of direct instruction, Stafford demon­ strates the power of observation, of taking time to examine and discover for oneself. Gary Braasch shares Stafford’s attitude. His truly exceptional photographs capture his careful observation and appreciation for the wonder ofwoods. Each photograph’s color and composition represent our kinship with trees. Sections of prose alternate with sections of photography, each complementing the other. It is not surprising to note that the text is printed on recycled paper. An epilogue suggests what the reader can do to save trees and lists the names and addresses ofagencies to write to for information. The book’s essays and photog­ raphy are meant to inspire readers tojourney in the company of trees and share an active concern for their global preservation. MARYELLEN ACKERMAN Cape Cod, Massachusetts Runaway: A Collection of Stories. By Mary Clearman Blew. (Lewiston, Idaho: Confluence Press, 1990. 201 pages, $8.95.) Runaway is full of penetrating wisdom; the insights are delivered in strong, modest prose that illuminates character while staying out of the reader’s way. There are few of the self-conscious quirks of style that stale on second reading, nor is there an attempt to persuade the reader of the author’s brilliance. Mary Clearman Blew focuses upon her characters on their own terms and lives through them. The result is a series of portraits, composed in a style that recalls Dorothea Lange more than Diane Arbus: we see the eruptions and abysses that occur in lives we recognize as normal. The faces in these stories are familiar, yet each fictional circumstance brings some hidden thing to light. In “College Bound, 1957” a young woman finds an independence of spirit more stubborn than declarative which sets her out on a life denied to her by her surroundings. “I Beat the Midget”recounts another sort of self-discovery. A young horse-breaker is bound by the depth of his own anger into adult harness, knowing at last his capacity for harm. Reprising this theme is ‘The Snowies, TheJudiths”in which Reviews 281 the consequences of violence are explored as students witness an abrupt, irrational killing. “Bare Trees”portrays the human cost of social disintegration and alcohol­ ism with astringent grace, a sad story that rises far above the common, handwringing attempt. Another favorite was “Kissing My Elbow”which plunges from its pastoral setting into a terse parable on sexuality and aggression, with a vision at once delicate and profound. Throughout, Blew has a sure sense of which detail—of scene, of speech, of each character’s perception—will convey the story’s essence; there are solilo­ quies, but they are rooted in the ground of the tales. The reader is immersed and engaged. The great gift of this book is its familiarity; the characters offer themselves to our kinship, never seeming less than human. Runaway shows a mature, uncondescending style along with that most vital knack: it confronts horror without ever relinquishing compassion or hope. C. L. RAWLINS Boulder, Wyoming Passages West: Nineteen Stories of Youth and Identity. Edited by Hugh Nichols. (Lewiston, Idaho: Confluence Press, 1989. 405 pages, $12.95.) Hugh Nichols has selected nineteen stories by 14 twentieth-century writers from the Mountain West, and his anthology reflects his own deep commitment to the literature of his native region. The recent disappearance from print of collections of fiction byVardis Fisher, WalterVan Tillburg Clark, A. B. Guthrie, Jr., and Dorothy Johnson has added a sense of mission to Nichols’ endeavor. Besides including stories by these writers, he has gathered representative fiction from a new generation, including Raymond Carver, Richard Ford, Mary Blew, and Ivan Doig, so that Passages Westis testimony to the area’s continued literary vitality. The...