Ron Scheer
Sunday, April 12, 2015
Ron Scheer, the retired academic who devoted the last years of his life to a blog and reference books dealing with the literature of the West, is dead. I faithfully read his superb web log, Buddies in the Saddle, and learned much from it.
His primary interest was early western literature, and much of his blog was devoted to unearthing long-forgotten novelists who wrote of the West and helped shape our understanding of it. These reviews were unique, because they dealt with numerous attributes, such as plot and characterization and treatment of non-Anglo characters, that he studied systematically. They have been gathered into two fine volumes that belong in the library of anyone seriously interested in the literature of the West.
He also reviewed contemporary western writers, offering shrewd and generous insights into modern western literature. He preferred the literature of the real West, rather than the mythological one, and for that reason he largely ignored the high body-count gunfighter stories that choke the mass market racks. His careful avoidance of those dismaying books is one of the reasons I so admired him, and awaited each blog entry with eagerness.
His researches comprise an amazing legacy. I feel far more informed and enlightened about the formative books that influenced the American Western novel. His lively interests led him to create a glossary of western terms, alongside his reviews of early novels. Among the things I learned from him was that many early western writers were women. In later years, western fiction was largely a male enterprise.
He struggled with a brain tumor for the last year or so, with grace and dignity and courage. He added immeasurably to my life, and I count it a privilege to have met him, if only briefly, and to call him a friend and colleague. He called these changes portals, and now he has passed through the last one.
Rest in peace, Ron.
Ron Scheer, the retired academic who devoted the last years of his life to a blog and reference books dealing with the literature of the West, is dead. I faithfully read his superb web log, Buddies in the Saddle, and learned much from it.
His primary interest was early western literature, and much of his blog was devoted to unearthing long-forgotten novelists who wrote of the West and helped shape our understanding of it. These reviews were unique, because they dealt with numerous attributes, such as plot and characterization and treatment of non-Anglo characters, that he studied systematically. They have been gathered into two fine volumes that belong in the library of anyone seriously interested in the literature of the West.
He also reviewed contemporary western writers, offering shrewd and generous insights into modern western literature. He preferred the literature of the real West, rather than the mythological one, and for that reason he largely ignored the high body-count gunfighter stories that choke the mass market racks. His careful avoidance of those dismaying books is one of the reasons I so admired him, and awaited each blog entry with eagerness.
His researches comprise an amazing legacy. I feel far more informed and enlightened about the formative books that influenced the American Western novel. His lively interests led him to create a glossary of western terms, alongside his reviews of early novels. Among the things I learned from him was that many early western writers were women. In later years, western fiction was largely a male enterprise.
He struggled with a brain tumor for the last year or so, with grace and dignity and courage. He added immeasurably to my life, and I count it a privilege to have met him, if only briefly, and to call him a friend and colleague. He called these changes portals, and now he has passed through the last one.
Rest in peace, Ron.
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