New Stories from the Southwest

"A bold collection.... Mr. Horton picked well; these stories so assuredly conjure the Southwest the authors' pens might as well have been dipped in cactus juice, tobacco spit or tequila. The traditions of American Indians, Tejanos, even the occasional Yankee transplant are documented with a tempered mix of reverence and impudence." "As varied and bold as the colorful landscape of the American Southwest.... New Stories from the Southwest is an amazing collection. Grade: A" "D. Seth Horton's excellent New Stories From the Southwest is a satisfying departure from the usual in that all 19 of its authors have something to say about how their stories came about.... In this collection, emerging voices tell the tales. They are stories of the Southwest but not necessarily by authors who live here." "At a time when fiction itself seems fragile, these are the kinds of voices that could help keep the spark of literary fiction glowing outside the academy as well. We look forward to more of them in the nextversion of New Stories from the Southwest." "Place as a literary concept in the stories collected here functions as a world where anything can happen, usually does, and the fascinating characters experience their human conflicts on a universal stage." "Regional writing is only regional if it's akin to an in-joke: something written from and to those who share a common experience of the place and culture. It becomes universal when its return address is a special area like the Southwest, but its outgoing address is everywhere. These stories are love letters—sometimes very tough love—from and about a unique part of this country with just such a return address, and sent to readers everywhere. You can return that love by reading and enjoying them."