The Selected Letters of Wallace Stegner
Edited by Page Stegner
Known by many as “The Dean of Western Writers,” Wallace Stegner influenced
numerous well-known individuals throughout his lifetime with his writing and teaching — and his actions and words set the tone for what would become the modern
environmental movement.
The Selected Letters of Wallace Stegner is a collection of personal letters written by the
Pulitzer Prize winning writer, and handpicked by his son, Page Stegner. The letters —
drafted to many of his distinguished friends and acquaintances, including Ansel Adams,
John Daniel, and William Kittredge — cover a broad range of topics, including literature,
history, conversation, the environment, and Stanford University, where he founded the
creative writing program. While teaching at Stanford, his students included Sandra Day
O'Connor, Edward Abbey, and Wendell Berry.
For a man who had no interest in writing an autobiography, these letters offer an inside
look into Stegner’s unedited thoughts and opinions. The Selected Letters of Wallace
Stegner gives readers an intimate glimpse into the writer’s life, and tells a chapter of
history through detailed correspondence with many of the people who helped shape
literature, politics, and environmentalism in the twentieth century.