Day 1, July 6. Gallup, NM

My goal for this project is to explore the way museums and historical sites preserve the memories of two authors: Willa Cather and Laura Ingalls Wilder.  These writers were rough contemporaries whose writings combine elements of autobiography and fiction.  They both deal with the experiences of families moving west during the post-Civil War expansion brought about by the ideals of Manifest Destiny and the Homestead Act of 1862.  What makes these writers particularly interesting, and unites them in popular memory to a certain extent, is that literary critics have colored both of them as reactionaries whose sentimental portrayals of American pioneers limits their literary relevance.

Now, I have conflicting thoughts about this criticism that I hope will become clearer as I explore these sites.  I recently read an excellent book by Joan Acocella titled Willa Cather and Politics of Criticism.  Acocella claims that literary critics who want to interpret Cather as a political writer, or as a writer who should be interpreted mainly in light of her alleged lesbianism, do a disservice to her legacy as one of the greatest writers.  At this point of my trip, I am apt to agree with Acocella's analysis.  I find that Cather is a "prose poet" whose description of alienation and transcendence resonates with me on a intensely deep level.  To reduce her writing by applying fashionable literary interpretation techniques is a crime against her literary genius.

Cather's will stipulated that her estate could not release her personal letters.  There have been some people given access to them, but anyone who sees them needs to sign an agreement not to quote them directly.  Cather clearly wanted her legacy to be determined by her art, not her personal life.  I like to believe that our culture is returning to allowing authors to speak to us on their own terms.

You may say that it is ironic for someone who has this perspective to want to see how people have preserved Willa Cather's memory.  To be honest, I do not know what it is I want to find.  Perhaps by seeing these places I hope to see some of the transcendent beauty that Cather was pointing to in her writings.