Walks In Literary Sante Fe: A Guide to Landmarks, Legends and Lore [Paperback]

Barbara Harrelson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 13, 2007

Walks in Literary Santa Fe

A Guide to Landmarks,

Legends, and Lore

Barbara J. Harrelson

In Walks in Literary Santa Fe, you will explore the storytelling traditions and cultural history of New Mexico and familiar landmarks. This guidebook reveals the stories of historical and legendary figures that have lived in and written about the Land of Enchantment and its storied capital city. An entertaining reference on regional literature and culture for residents and visitors alike, this volume includes a Southwest literary timeline, Southwest literature bibliography, a list of New Mexico's literary classics, plus contact details for local literary organizations, booksellers, and publishers, along with information on regional writers' retreats and conferences.

A sampling of authors who define the "City Different":

Alice Corbin Henderson

Witter Bynner

Mabel Dodge Luhan

Paul Horgan

Fray Angélico Chávez

Tony Hillerman

N. Scott Momaday

Michael McGarrity

(20070610)

Editorial Reviews

Review

In this handsome little book, author Barbara Harrelson does her best to highlight the region's Native American, Hispanic and Anglo-American literary heritage. Harrelson mentions these literary figures and many more. She also discusses historic preservation and the Santa Fe style of architecture as well as bookshops, libraries, museums and even cathedrals. (Chicago Tribune )

Walks in Literary Santa Fe is a dandy pocket-sized guide to the worlds of Mabel Dodge Luhan and Edward Abbey, among many others. Also covered are Lew Wallace, who wrote Ben-Hur in Santa Fe in the late 19th century, Conrad Richter, Billy the Kid (he didn't write anything, but an awful lot has been written about him), Evan Connell, Jack Schaefer, N. Scott Momaday, and Willa Cather, who set Death Comes for the Archbishop there. Overall, an excellent guide to the literary sites of one of the Southwest's most picturesque places. (Palm Beach Post )

Harrelson also packs in a lot of history here, from the early Spanish colonization to the Manhattan Project. She discusses writers contemporary and historical and places them all in the history of the city and state. The result is a small but comprehensive guide to the town that loves to call itself The City Different. (Santa Fe New Mexican )

In a town known for its visual arts, adobes, landscape and food, Harrelson creates neighborhood walks describing landmarks through the words of and associations with stories and authors. (San Francisco Chronicle )

From the Inside Flap

Explore the storytelling traditions of New Mexico set against the backdrop of the region's history, cultural traditions, and architecture. An entertaining reference on regional literature for residents and visitors alike, this guidebook presents familiar landmarks in a new light, revealing the stories of legendary and historical figures who have lived in and written about the Land of Enchantment.

"Harrelson's Walks in Literary Santa Fe is long overdue. . . . [It] is as enchanting in tone, voice, and persona as the place of which she speaks."

-Robert Franklin Gish, author of numerous books on the literature, history, and culture of the American Southwest

"Walks in Literary Santa Fe offers an engaging and informative way to explore and understand Old Santa Fe's rich cultural history on foot."

-Candelora Versace, Santa Fe writer and founding editor of Southwest BookViews

More than a decade ago, Barbara Harrelson developed Storytellers and the Southwest, a literary walking tour of Santa Fe, which she has been conducting ever since. One of the few literary walking tours in the nation, it is described in Frommer's Santa Fe, Taos & Albuquerque as "a great way to absorb the unique character of Santa Fe." Previously Harrelson was a docent at the Smithsonian's Museum of American History and at Dumbarton Oaks, Harvard University's Center for Byzantine and Pre-Columbian Studies. She is currently an independent writer whose work has appeared in the Bloomsbury Review, the Newark Star-Ledger, the Santa Fe New Mexican, and other publications.

(20070603)

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Gibbs Smith, Publisher (April 13, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1423601823
• ISBN-13: 978-1423601821
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #490,986 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #17 in Books > Travel > Latin America > Mexico > Mexico City
  • #33 in Books > Travel > United States > States > New Mexico

More About the Author

Barbara Harrelson writes about Southwest arts, culture, literature, and history. She has also written histories of distinguished properties, including La Fonda on the Plaza (Santa Fe landmark hotel), and La Posada de Santa Fe. Her work has appeared in the Bloomsbury Review, the Newark Star-Ledger, and the Santa Fe New Mexican, among others. She is a former docent at The Smithsonian's Museum of American History, and at Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Harvard University' center in Washington, DC. The guidebook, Walks in Literary Santa Fe, builds on the literary walking tour Harrelson has conducted since 1996. One of the few such tours in the nation, it is described as "a great way to absorb the unique character of Santa Fe."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great way to enhance walks in a great walking city, November 17, 2008

By 

Robert C. Ross (New Jersey) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Walks In Literary Sante Fe: A Guide to Landmarks, Legends and Lore (Paperback)

Barbara Harrelson writes: "Today Santa Fe is called the 'City Different', but New Mexico writer Erna Fergusson called it the 'City Incongruous'. In the 1928 Santa Fe Fiesta Program, she told visitors that 'Santa Fe's welcome to you includes this cordial invitation: to have your kind of a good time. Be yourself, even if it includes synthetic cowboy clothes, motor goggles, and a camera.'

"Incongruous Santa Fe invites you to walk its historic streets, browsing in its shops, galleries, and museums. It is best to explore Santa Fe in comfortable walking shoes -- carrying water to drink -- with map and guidebook, watching out for old streets with uneven sidewalks (or no sidewalks). It's no wonder that Santa Fe is one of the top walking cities in the country."

Harrelson leads walks for visitors, writes regular columns for local and national publications, and has put together this excellent guide filled with factoids about the many writers and poets that found Santa Fe fascinating. A few of the many personalities include D. H. Lawrence, Willa Cather, Robert Frost, Thornton Wilder, Carl Sandburg, John Galsworthy, Sinclair Lewis, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Alice Corbin Henderson, Witter Bynner, Spud Johnson, Mary Austin, Haniel Long and Oliver La Farge. Harrelson estimates that over a hundred authors and poets live full or part time in Santa Fe today.

Two other books deal with authors who found homes or inspiration in Santa Fe. Santa Fe and Taos: The Writer's Era, 1916-1941 (Southwest Heritage Series), according to Mike Smith's Review here on Amazon, "details the dramatic histories of both the Santa Fe and Taos writers' colonies, and does so clearly and entertainingly, drawing effectively from the authors' rich knowledge of New Mexico history in general. It's full of terrific photographs, and well worth whatever you pay for it."

Mike Smith also gives Literary Pilgrims: The Santa Fe and Taos Writers' Colonies, 1917-1950 by Lynn Cline five stars: "Everyone from Mary Austin to Willa Cather is explored here, as are D.H. Lawrence and Frank Waters. Among my recent research on the many writers of Santa Fe, this was certainly among the best books I discovered on the subject."

Walks In Literary Sante Fe is portable, clearly written and very useful to visitor and resident alike.

Robert C. Ross 2008

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exploring Santa Fe With A Friend, June 7, 2007

By 

Bob A. Gabbert "Bob" (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Walks In Literary Sante Fe: A Guide to Landmarks, Legends and Lore (Paperback)

Barbara Harrelson has put together a wonderful way to explore the very interesting city of Santa Fe. More than just a guide book to Santa Fe, it is more like a knowledgible friend taking you by the hand and leading you on adventures both historical and modern.

For example. How many of us know that the English writer D. H. Lawrence owned a ranch a few miles from Taos, New Mexico, and his wife Frieda lived out the rest of her life there after D. H. died. They are both buried on the ranch.

Have this book in hand when you explore Santa Fe and the surrouning area, or when you just want to curl up in a comfortable chair in your home to learn something about the history of the Southwest.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A crash course in the city's literary history, October 19, 2007

By 

Mike Smith (Albuquerque, NM) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Walks In Literary Sante Fe: A Guide to Landmarks, Legends and Lore (Paperback)

Santa Fe is home to an amazing abundance of well-known and talented authors--literally dozens of them--and this little book is an amazing guide to the city's incredible literary history.

The book is divided into two easy walking tours--one in the plaza area and one around Canyon Road--and using those two tours to give the book a structure, this very readable little volume gives a concise and clearly written crash course in the city's literary past. What's even cooler is that you can't really tell such a history without incorporating facts from the city's broader history, so by the time you reach the last page, you're guaranteed to know the City Different much better than you ever did. It'll make you see the place differently, for sure.

This is one of three great books about literary Santa Fe (that I know of), and certainly the fastest read of the bunch. For anyone who lives in New Mexico, and especially for anyone who lives in or visits Santa Fe, I couldn't recommend it more highly.

The author also gives actual walking tours of the city (which inspired this book), and if you ever get a chance to take one, you really should. They're as good as the book--except you'll need to find a place to park.