How Fair Is It to Label Wallace Stegner a Plagiarist?

Boy, did you make a mountain out of a molehill! The article on Wallace Stegner (“Tangle of Repose,” by Susan Salter Reynolds, March 23) brought out the dialogue between Stegner and Janet Micoleau, a granddaughter of Mary Hallock Foote, that supports his use, and the method of his use, of Foote’s material. The acknowledgment page of Stegner’s “Angle of Repose” makes this crystal clear. It was to me when I read the book years ago, and it still is to anyone with a degree of common sense. To bring in feminism and plagiarism now is pure catering. Any disappointment should remain a matter for Micoleau and her relatives, not for Stegner.

Bob Telford

Long Beach

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Pardon me, but it’s my understanding that we have a word for Stegner’s behavior: plagiarism. If the Pulitzer committee had any gumption, it would rescind Stegner’s 1972 prize for “Angle of Repose” and retire in blushing embarrassment. The fact that Stegner would lift entire paragraphs from Foote’s work, and do so without attribution, beggars belief. His actions mock the sweat and tears of every writer who sits daily in front of a blank page and fights through the fear of the act of creation. What a disgrace.

Elizabeth George

Huntington Beach

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Foote’s descendants must recognize that it’s impossible (and undesirable) to control the meanings taken from historical figures. But at the same time, Stegner arrogantly appropriated someone else’s artistry without paying adequate tribute. This was undoubtedly encouraged by Foote’s gender. Still, there is good news: This flap may help draw attention to Foote, a wonderful, underappreciated figure in the history of California.

Ellen Carol DuBois

Los Angeles