Past Washington writers remembered

Washington is a big and varied state, in every possible way, from sea level and Seattle to Mt. Rainer’s summit and Palouse grain fields. Writers have been explaining our region in words since explorers first arrived. Fifty of Washington’s best writers from the 1870s through the 1960s are summarized for your exploration in Peter Donahue’s “Salmon Eaters to Sagebrushers: Washington’s Lost Literary Legacy,” newly published by Washington State University Press.

The book’s title comes from Nard Jones’ (1904-1972) 1947 “Evergreen Land,” a portrait of our state. Jones was a historian and journalist a...