Inlandia: A Literary Journey through California's Inland Empire

Edited by Gayle Wattawa; Introduction by Susan Straight

A groundbreaking anthology from the land east of Los Angeles

Showcasing poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and other literature by such luminaries as Joan Didion, Raymond Chandler, M.F.K. Fisher, and others, Inlandia puts a new literary region on the map.

A land of dramatic landscapes and increasingly dynamic human developments, the Inland Empire is becoming much more than just "the area east of Los Angeles." Unique in its own history and a microcosm of America at large, it is a land of startling racial, socio-economic, and ideological diversity that has long produced innovative and passionate writing.

Inlandia is a fascinating study of the journey of a people bound by geography yet striving for self-identity and artistic recognition, and of a land that is becoming both more prosperous and endangered. Over eighty writers are represented in the anthology, with material ranging from Indian stories and early explorers' narratives to pieces written by local emerging authors.

Reviews

"Stunning in its power and quality."—Los Angeles Magazine

"Inlandia...celebrates a localism as fine-tuned to particulars as Hamlin Garland's or Willa Cather's Great Plains stories."—D.J. Waldie, Los Angeles Time Book Review

"The anthology's scope gives Inland dwellers one more reason to celebrate the region's cultural heritage."—The Press-Enterprise

About the Editor

Gayle Wattawa made her way to California via the mountains of Colorado and the suburbs of Washington, D.C. She attended the University of California, Berkeley, where she received degrees in English literature and mathematics. She is currently the acquisitions editor for Heyday Books.