 | This article has multiple issues. Please helpimprove it or discuss these issues on thetalk page.(Learn how and when to remove these messages) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
|
| Part of a series on |
| Westerns |
|---|
 |
| Literature | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||||
| Oral literature | ||||||
| Major written forms | ||||||
| ||||||
| Prose genres | ||||||
| ||||||
| Poetry genres | ||||||
| ||||||
| Dramatic genres | ||||||
| History | ||||||
| Lists and outlines | ||||||
| Theory andcriticism | ||||||
 Literature portal | ||||||
Western fiction is a genre of literature set in theAmerican Old West frontier and typically set from the late eighteenth to the late nineteenth century.[1] Well-known writers of Western fiction includeZane Grey from the early 20th century andLouis L'Amour from the mid-20th century.[2][3] The genre peaked around the early 1960s, largely due to the popularity oftelevised Westerns such asBonanza. Readership began to drop off in the mid- to late 1970s and reached a new low in the 2000s. Most bookstores, outside a few west American states, only carry a small number of Western fiction books.
The predecessor of the Western inAmerican literature emerged early with tales of thefrontier. The most famous of the early 19th-century frontier novels wereJames Fenimore Cooper's five novels comprising theLeatherstocking Tales. Cooper's novels were largely set in what was at the time theAmerican frontier: theAppalachian Mountains and areas west of there. As did his novelThe Prairie (1824), most later Westerns would typically take place west of theMississippi River.[4]
The notable writerWashington Irving was inspired by Cooper and wrote tales of the American frontier beginning withA Tour on the Prairies which related his recent travels on the frontier. In 1834, he was approached by fur magnateJohn Jacob Astor, who convinced him to write a history of his fur trading colony inAstoria, Oregon. Irving made quick work of Astor's project, shipping the fawning biographical accountAstoria in February 1836.
The Western as a specialized genre got its start in the "penny dreadfuls" and later the "dime novels".[5] Published in June 1860,Malaeska; the Indian Wife of the White Hunter is considered the first dime novel.[6] These cheaply made books were hugely successful and capitalized on the many stories that were being told about themountain men,outlaws, settlers, and lawmen who were taming the western frontier. Many of these novels were fictionalized stories based on actual people, such asBilly the Kid,Buffalo Bill,Wyatt Earp (who was still alive at the time),Wild Bill Hickok, andJesse James.
By 1900, the new medium ofpulp magazines helped to relate these adventures to easterners. Meanwhile, non-American authors, like the GermanKarl May, picked up the genre, went to full novel length, and made it hugely popular and successful in continental Europe from about 1880 on, though they were generally dismissed as trivial by the literary critics of the day.[7] One of the most famous pulp works of the era wasJohnston McCulley's firstZorro novel,The Curse of Capistrano (1919).
Popularity grew with the publication ofOwen Wister's novelThe Virginian (1902) and especiallyZane Grey'sRiders of the Purple Sage (1912). The firstHopalong Cassidy stories byClarence Mulford appeared in 1904, both asdime novels and inpulp magazines. When pulp magazines exploded in popularity in the 1920s, Western fiction greatly benefited (as did the authorMax Brand, who excelled at the Western short story). Pulp magazines that specialised in Westerns includeCowboy Stories,Ranch Romances,Star Western,West, andWestern Story Magazine.[8] The simultaneous popularity ofWestern movies in the 1920s also helped the genre.
In the 1940s several seminal Westerns were published, includingThe Ox-Bow Incident (1940) byWalter van Tilburg Clark,The Big Sky (1947) andThe Way West (1949) byA.B. Guthrie Jr., andShane (1949) byJack Schaefer. Many other Western authors gained readership in the 1950s, such as Ray Hogan,Louis L'Amour, andLuke Short.
The genre peaked around the early 1960s, largely due to the tremendous number ofWesterns on television. The burnout of the American public on television Westerns in the late 1960s seemed to have an effect on the literature as well, and interest in Western literature began to wane.[citation needed] In 1968 Charles Portis publishedTrue Grit, which became the most successful work of the era.
Western novels, films and pulps gave birth toWestern comics, which were very popular, particularly from the late 1940s untilc. 1967, when the comics began to turn to reprints. This can particularly be seen atMarvel Comics, where Westerns beganc. 1948 and thrived until 1967, when one of their flagship titles,Kid Colt Outlaw (1949–1979), ceased to have new stories and entered the reprint phase. Other notable long-running Marvel Western comics includedRawhide Kid (1955–1957, 1960–1979)Two-Gun Kid (1948–1962), andMarvel Wild Western (1948–1957).
DC Comics published the long-running seriesAll-Star Western (1951–1961) andWestern Comics (1948–1961), andCharlton Comics publishedBilly the Kid (1957–1983) andCheyenne Kid (1957–1973).Magazine Enterprises'Straight Arrow ran from 1950 to 1956, andPrize Comics'Prize Comics Western ran from 1948 to 1956.
Fawcett Comics published a number of Western titles, includingHopalong Cassidy from 1948 to 1953. They also published comics starring actors known for their Western roles, includingTom Mix Western (1948–1953) andGabby Hayes Western (1948–1953). Similarly,Dell Comics publishedRoy Rogers comics from 1948 to 1961, andMagazine Enterprises publishedCharles Starrett as the Durango Kid from 1949 to 1955.
The Franco-Belgian comic-seriesLucky Luke byMorris (cartoonist) andRené Goscinny is one of the most famous and estimated Western-comics in Europe.
The popular Westerncomic stripRed Ryder was syndicated in hundreds of American newspapers from 1938 to 1964.
In the 1970s, the work ofLouis L'Amour began to catch hold of most Western readers and he has dominated the Western reader lists ever since.[citation needed]George G. Gilman also maintained a cult following for several years in the 1970s and 1980s.[citation needed]Larry McMurtry's andCormac McCarthy's works remain notable. Specifically, McMurtry'sLonesome Dove and McCarthy'sBlood Meridian (both published in 1985) are recognized as major masterpieces both within and beyond the genre.Elmer Kelton, mostly noted for his novelsThe Good Old Boys andThe Time it Never Rained, was voted by the Western Writers of America as the "Best Western Writer of All Time". Early in the 1970s Indiana novelistMarilyn Durham wrote two popular Western novels,The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing andDutch Uncle.
Western readership as a whole began to drop off in the mid- to late 1970s.[citation needed] A partial exception was an innovation,[citation needed] the so-called adult Western. AsRobert J. Randisi puts it, "it's a western novel with sex in it. That's right, the cowboy has sex with women. A new idea? Probably not, but heretofore this had not been seen in western novels (certainly not by Max Brand, Zane Grey, Owen Wister or Louis L'Amour). What these books actually showed was that men and women really did have sex in the old west. (Back when I started the series a rigidly traditional western writer of my acquaintance insisted to me that "women did not have orgasms in the old west.")."[9]
Readership of Western fiction reached a new low in the first decade of the twenty-first century, and most bookstores, outside a few western states, only carry a small number of Western fiction books. Nevertheless, several Western fiction series are published monthly, such asThe Trailsman,Slocum,Longarm andThe Gunsmith; these are all adult Westerns. Canadian authorGuy Vanderhaeghe wrote a trilogy of Western novels:The Englishman's Boy,The Last Crossing, andA Good Man. Other more recent Western authors includeIvan Doig andWilliam Kittredge. The genre has seen the rumblings of a revival, and 2008 saw the publication of an all-Western short story magazineGreat Western Fiction which was published by Dry River Publishing inColorado. Nevertheless, the magazine was short-lived and folded after only two issues.[10] One of the most successful Western novels in recent times wasThe Sisters Brothers (2011) byPatrick deWitt.
Western authors are represented by theWestern Writers of America, who present the annualSpur Awards and Owen Wister Award for Lifetime Achievement. The organization was founded in 1953 to promote the literature of the American West. While the founding members were mostly Western fiction writers, the organization began getting a number of other members from other backgrounds such as historians, regional history buffs, and writers from other genres.
Western Fictioneers, founded in 2010, is a professional writers' group that encourages and promotes the traditional Westerns. It is the only professional writers' organization composed entirely of authors who have written Western fiction. Fans of the genre may join as patron members. The Western Fictioneers' annual Peacemakers competition awards prizes in many categories of Western writing.[11]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
