Literary El Paso

Acknowledgments

xvii Editing Literary El Paso confirmed my belief that writers are the most generous of souls. Nearly all the writers in the book were quick to suggest their own favorite El Paso writers and the writers who influenced their work. It was their enthusiasm and belief that this would be an important book that made this experience so enjoyable. During my years as Associate Director of Texas Western Press, the publishing house founded by Carl Hertzog, it was my privilege to help produce the books, in some cases multiple books, of some of the authors in this anthology and to serve on the Press editorial board with several others. Literary El Paso was a homecoming of sorts, and a happy one. Thanks are due to James Lea for the estate of Tom Lea, Philip Sonnichsen for the estate of C.L. Sonnichsen, Cecilia Burciaga for the estate of José Antonio Burciaga, Teresa Sánchez for the estate of Ricardo Sánchez, Concha Rivera for the estate of Tomás Rivera, Ana Duran for the estate of Abelardo Delgado, and Robert Seltzer for the estate of Amado Muro for sharing their time and memories for this project. Special thanks to Dagoberto Gilb who generously smoothed my path more than once. Thanks to Robert Stakes who suggested me for this project and to Dale Walker for taking the suggestion to TCU Press. Judy Alter, Susan Petty, and Melinda Esco of TCU Press made my first experience on the other side of book publishing a very rewarding one. Their patience, good humor, and enthusiasm for the book carried it over the rough spots with ease. Susan Petty, a gifted editor, is also bright, funny, and should consider a second career in talking people off of high ledges. Karen Marasco, friend and events coordinator at Barnes and Noble, tirelessly promoted this book throughout the entire process. Claudia Rivers, Acknowledgments xviii head of Special Collections at the University of Texas at El Paso library, shared her encyclopedic knowledge. Benjamin Alire Sáenz, Elroy Bode, Maceo Dailey, and Nancy Hamilton offered valuable insights and suggestions for the book proposal and introduction. The UTEP community was a rich resource for Literary El Paso. The English Department and the Department of Creative Writing were enthusiastic and helpful. David Ruiter, Ezra Cappell, and Daniel Chacón were already suggesting events to launch the book six months before it was finished. Feedback and encouragement from friends Walt and Vicki Fisher, Mimi and Jay Gladstein, Carl and Margaret Jackson, Robert and Cathy Nava, Charles and Gloria Ambler, Joe and Laura Gomez, Rebecca Quiñones, and Brad McLaughlin are greatly appreciated. Thanks to Harmon and Jeanne Hosch, Jack and Lillian Bristol, and Wynn and Kym Anderson for getting me out of town and away from the computer and for twenty years of great trips and great fun, and to John and Michael for wonderful times in El Paso and Los Angeles. Special thanks to dear friends Richard and Karen Jarvis for celebrating every completed phase of the book and being a tireless audience. I am blessed with a large and noisy tribe of a family, who provides endless entertainment. Our stepfather Forrest brought our wonderful sisters Debbie Thompson and the joyous Sandy Hough to us. My hilarious brothers Michael and Brian Hatfield are relentless practical jokers. My sister Frances, boon companion, gives boundless encouragement and love in equal measure and has been there in the toughest of times, always. Leroy and Golda Hatfield have been the anchor and rock for this family. Frances, Sandy, and my childhood friend Gail Vincent Adams are fellow adventurers on our women-only retreats, and the dearest of friends. Their love is a treasure. Monte Hough, Mark Forry, and Mary Kay Hatfield are the best of all in-laws. My nieces and nephews, too numerous to name, are a joy to our family. They try hard to be as much fun as their aunts and uncles. Keep trying. And most of all, love and thanks to Howard and my son John Patrick, who understood the year-long obsession with Literary El Paso and were readers, computer problem solvers, and listeners, even to my whining about the scanning process. All of that and more. ...