TABLE OF CONTENTS

LEE GUTKIND . From the Editor
LEE GUTKIND . Creative Nonfiction in the Crosshairs
BRENDA MILLER . A Different Person
LAURIE LYNN DRUMMOND . Girl, Fighting
ERIN O'NEILL WHITE . East Wind
DIANA HUME GEORGE . Zane Grey on a Carousel in Indian Territory
SALLIE TISDALE . On Being Text
THEORDORE WEEZNER . Hoop Sex
KATE KRAUTKRAMER . Roadkill
ERICA CROWELL . Drowning by Numbers
MICHAEL PEARSON . Innocents Abroad, 2002
COVER TO COVER. Reviews of New Books

ABOUT THIS ISSUE

In the lead essay in this issue, "Creative Nonfiction in the Crosshairs," Editor Lee Gutkind responds to the recent barrage of criticism from journalists and critics of the genre.

In her essay "Zane Grey on a Carousel in Indian Territory," Diana Hume George exposes long-standing stereotypes of Native American men as sexual predators, inspired by a hackneyed Hallmark made-for-TV Easter special.

In "Hoop Sex," novelist Theodore Weesner, author of "Car Thief" and other highly praised fiction, explores the inherent sexuality in recreational sports, specifically basketball.

Over the years Creative Nonfiction has introduced readers to many exciting new writers, including Lauren Slater and Mark Bowden. In this issue, we're proud to feature an essay by Erin O'Neill White, a creative-writing instructor and M.F.A. candidate at the University of Massachusetts. Her "East Wind" deftly fuses memoir and travelogue in a lyrical reflection on foreign landscapes, both physical and familial.

And finally, in the spirit of creative nonfiction, two of our contributors give behind-the-scenes, first-person accounts of two very different worlds: police work and literature-textbook publishing. Laurie Lynn Drummond tells funny, often frightening stories about her days as a police officer in Baton Rouge, La. "Girl, Fighting" is an excerpt from her unpublished collection, "Losing My Gun." Her new book, "Anything You Say Can and Will Be Used Against You," was just published by HarperCollins. Sallie Tisdale, author of the best-selling "Talk Dirty to Me," discusses the complications of having work reprinted, reproduced, edited and degraded by inane "review questions" in introductory literature textboooks.

These and 4 other authors lend their voices to the timely Creative Nonfiction controversy.