Ron Carlson

Ron Carlson sees patterns in lives. He sees love, struggle that is sometimes rewarded and bravery. He also sees love turned cannibal, defeat, poltroonery and the doping effects of contemporary life. But the outcome of his stories, whether upbeat or the opposite, tends to be an outpouring instead of an evaporation of spirit. So he is a warm writer, and this makes the collection in "The News of the World" relatively unusual.

The Signal A Novel Ron Carlson Viking: 184 pp., $25.95 -- Ron Carlson's new novel is a love story and a wilderness adventure that mounts to a climax of shocking, and satisfying, violence. It's a tale from the woods and it begins when Mack, a young Wyoming rancher who's been messing himself up and has just gotten out of jail, arranges to meet his estranged wife, Vonnie, for a trek into the Wind River mountain range he knows so well.

Fans of the big-hearted Southwestern writer Ron Carlson will welcome this selection of 33 short stories reprinted from three previous collections now out of print. Carlson's last new collection, "At the Jim Bridger," came out a year ago. The people of his Southwest do not live in the tradition-haunted enclaves of Latinos and Navajo, or in the even more ancient Indian pueblos or the more recent 150-year-old Mormon settlements of Utah and Arizona, although Mormons do make some appearances.

Ron Carlson Writes a Story From the First Glimmer of an Idea to the Final Sentence Ron Carlson Graywolf Press: 112 pp., $12 paper -- RON CARLSON has come to trust the process of writing a story, "a process involving radical, substance-changing discovery." When he began teaching some 25 years ago, he taught the craft, "because it was teachable." ("Vision, of course, is not teachable. . . . What a person chooses to write about is not teachable.

The Signal A Novel Ron Carlson Viking: 184 pp., $25.95 -- Ron Carlson's new novel is a love story and a wilderness adventure that mounts to a climax of shocking, and satisfying, violence. It's a tale from the woods and it begins when Mack, a young Wyoming rancher who's been messing himself up and has just gotten out of jail, arranges to meet his estranged wife, Vonnie, for a trek into the Wind River mountain range he knows so well.

Ron Carlson Writes a Story From the First Glimmer of an Idea to the Final Sentence Ron Carlson Graywolf Press: 112 pp., $12 paper -- RON CARLSON has come to trust the process of writing a story, "a process involving radical, substance-changing discovery." When he began teaching some 25 years ago, he taught the craft, "because it was teachable." ("Vision, of course, is not teachable. . . . What a person chooses to write about is not teachable.

RON CARLSON is waiting for the cable guy. It's been more than a week now and he's trying a cowboy tactic, quietly saying exactly when he'll be available -- something like staring a bull in the eyes to mesmerize it. Four months in Southern California and he's become the cable-guy whisperer. Carlson's home reflects what he is: a workingman. A sofa, some chairs. Out on the patio, an empty can for cigarette butts. In the bathroom, a bar of soap and a toothbrush.

As you might lean out an attic window at an exaggerated angle to check your roof's soundness--somebody is holding your feet--Ron Carlson uses touches of fantasy that get agreeably out of hand for a better view of the virtues and verities of his middle class. Most of the time someone is holding his feet, yet the grip is disturbingly shaky. Sometimes the fantasy comes down on the reassuring side.

RON CARLSON is waiting for the cable guy. It's been more than a week now and he's trying a cowboy tactic, quietly saying exactly when he'll be available -- something like staring a bull in the eyes to mesmerize it. Four months in Southern California and he's become the cable-guy whisperer. Carlson's home reflects what he is: a workingman. A sofa, some chairs. Out on the patio, an empty can for cigarette butts. In the bathroom, a bar of soap and a toothbrush.

Fans of the big-hearted Southwestern writer Ron Carlson will welcome this selection of 33 short stories reprinted from three previous collections now out of print. Carlson's last new collection, "At the Jim Bridger," came out a year ago. The people of his Southwest do not live in the tradition-haunted enclaves of Latinos and Navajo, or in the even more ancient Indian pueblos or the more recent 150-year-old Mormon settlements of Utah and Arizona, although Mormons do make some appearances.

As you might lean out an attic window at an exaggerated angle to check your roof's soundness--somebody is holding your feet--Ron Carlson uses touches of fantasy that get agreeably out of hand for a better view of the virtues and verities of his middle class. Most of the time someone is holding his feet, yet the grip is disturbingly shaky. Sometimes the fantasy comes down on the reassuring side.

Ron Carlson sees patterns in lives. He sees love, struggle that is sometimes rewarded and bravery. He also sees love turned cannibal, defeat, poltroonery and the doping effects of contemporary life. But the outcome of his stories, whether upbeat or the opposite, tends to be an outpouring instead of an evaporation of spirit. So he is a warm writer, and this makes the collection in "The News of the World" relatively unusual.

Wallace Stegner: An article about author Wallace Stegner in Saturday's Calendar incorrectly gave the first name of Ron Carlson, who runs the fiction-writing program at UC Irvine, as Rob.

Eastern Airlines' announcement Friday that it will suspend service to and from San Diego on Aug. 31 will have little impact on San Diego travelers, according to local travel agents. "Other airlines will pick up the slack, so you probably won't even notice it," said Ron Carlson of Ambassador Travel downtown. Executives at the Miami-based airline announced that Eastern will eliminate three daily flights from Lindbergh Field--to Kansas City, Phoenix and Tucson--as part of a massive cost-cutting.