| Books Rebecca Solnit's West The prolific writer and scholar locates the epicenter of our changing world on the left coast. By S.J. Culver
Posted Friday, Jun 07, 2013, at 02:00 PM ET  Typically, the term "outsider artist" describes a particular kind of creator whose identity resides outside the boundaries of the widely held idea of who creates art—notably, outsider artists are often mentally ill, criminal, or very young. Since Roger Cardinal coined the term 40 years ago, many other labels have sprung up to describe the work of artists on the edges of the mainstream (indie, alternative, DIY), but true outsider art resides beyond the fringes of a market niche, in the dark chasm of the unseen, the unheard, and the unlabeled. What to call, then, an artist like Rebecca Solnit—an independent scholar who has produced 17 books on topics varying from visual art to disaster politics, but who is by no means a household name? Solnit has a dedicated readership, but her claims and ideas often radically challenge mainstream beliefs and systems. She belongs to no institution or organization, and her work often has the idiosyncrasies of an autodidact. Her outsider tendencies are even present in her style: Her circuitous, associative, indirect mode of argument doesn't conform to the standard assertion–evidence–analysis routine of most research-based writing. Solnit is, decidedly, somewhat other. For many writers this position might long ago have become a liability, but Solnit has transformed her outsiderness into an asset. In particular, it's helped her develop a compelling and unique position on her great subject, the American West. The West is a kind of lodestone for Solnit; even when she's writing about ... To continue reading, click here.
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