About

By John McChesney, Director of the Rural West Initiative

I spent some of the most enjoyable years of my life as a graduate student at Stanford in the 1960’s. During two of those years I lived in a cottage that Wallace Stegner rented to graduate students. In our many conversations, Wally enlarged my knowledge of and love for the West, particularly the rural West. We argued sometimes, but that was almost always about the war in Vietnam. That led to a rough patch in our relationship. Since then I have read almost everything Stegner wrote and wish that I had used all my time with him soaking up his deep understanding of the American West.

Years later I was stunned to discover, while reading Philip Fradkin's biography of Stegner, that Wally had written an imaginary dialogue between us. It had a lot of things wrong about me, but I was touched. Our arguments had moved him too. Later he told my wife that he had heard me reporting from China and was glad I had found my niche in journalism.

Now, following nearly 30 years with National Public Radio as an editor and correspondent, I'm thrilled to be back at Stanford, directing the Rural West Initiative at the Bill Lane Center for the American West. We hope to stir up a robust conversation about important issues transforming the rural West — and their deep historical dimensions.

Last modified Tue, 5 Jul, 2011 at 7:11