Howdy from READ Magazine. Welcome to our wild western issue. This issue gets in touch with the spirit of the American West  from long ago and today.

Jeff Ives has adapted Owen Wister's famous novel The Virginian for our Center Stage read aloud play. This story explores love, friendship, betrayal, and the law in the old west.

Gretel Ehrlich, a real, live cowgirl, gives us her take on the true lives of cowboys in her essay "About Men."

Our LSI explores the west as a setting by picking a part a descriptive paragraph from Ivan Doig's novel This House of Sky.

And no western issue would be complete without a piece from one of the greatest old west writers of all time, Zane Grey. In his story, "Desert Gold," a lone rider makes a mysterious friend.

We reckon you'll enjoy reading this issue as much as we enjoyed making it. If you have any comments, questions, concerns, or if you just want to say hello, you can write to us at read@weeklyreader.com. And don't forget to check out our literary blog, WORD, at www.readandwriting.com

Sincerely,

The Editors at READ Magazine