Instant Gratification Very few readers today could sit still long enough to get through the first page of a Dickens novel. Oh, they might make it through a film of one of his novels, but read it? Not likely. And that is fine on some accounts. Different readers prefer different books. Yet, in the 19th … Continue reading Why Are Readers So Impatient?
Category: Twentieth Century Literature
Why Writers Write—I think!
Whenever I have a Q & A with elementary students, someone inevitably asks me why I write. I always manage some sort of answer which I believe to be true, but I never feel satisfied with that answer. I say something to the effect that I grew up loving to read and wanted to see … Continue reading Why Writers Write—I think!
Elizabeth Crook, Sharon Creech, and Ann Patchett
I’ve been out this morning watching the deer watch me. At about 6 a.m., I made my coffee and took it outside to go on a stroll around the premises with our cats. The early morning on our farm/ranch is perfect these summer days, and I can’t help but admire God’s lovely handiwork. We had … Continue reading Elizabeth Crook, Sharon Creech, and Ann Patchett
The Stories We Read and Write
I have completed reading two good books the last couple of weeks, and I want to talk about them in a bit. But first, I want to discuss a couple of the writing projects I'm excited about. I just completed writing Classroom Guides for my two middle-grade fiction books, Ranch Girl and the Orphan Lamb … Continue reading The Stories We Read and Write
Literary Texas: Sandra Cisneros
I am a woman, and I am a Latina. Those are the things that make my writing distinctive. —Sandra Cisneros In 2015, Texas State University's Alkek Library acquired Sandra Cisneros’ literary archive. The archive, housed at the Wittliff Collections, includes manuscripts, correspondence, diaries, journals, and numerous other items pertaining to her life and work, a … Continue reading Literary Texas: Sandra Cisneros
Literary Texas: John Graves
Texas State University in San Marcos owns an interesting item, for an institution of higher learning, that is. It is an old, maple canoe paddle and is highly valued there. "The paddle, part of the university's Wittliff Collections of papers and artifacts from Southwestern literature, was used by John Graves on a trip down the … Continue reading Literary Texas: John Graves
Literary Texas: Larry McMurtry, Part 2
The main building of McMurtry's famous bookstore Booked Up. Who would think that Larry McMurtry’s world and that of Chip Gaines’ (former star of HGTV’s Fixer Upper) would ever collide? But as of December 2022, it has. More about that later. Larry McMurtry left Houston and Texas in 1969. By this time, he had published … Continue reading Literary Texas: Larry McMurtry, Part 2
Literary Texas: Larry McMurtry
Archer City's "Last Picture Show." I have a confession to make as I write this piece. I have read only one book by Larry McMurtry and that a nonfiction book titled Paradise. I cannot now find the book (a common problem for me) nor can I remember it well. I did, however, see the movie … Continue reading Literary Texas: Larry McMurtry
Literary Texas: Robert E. Howard
Robert E. Howard, another rural, small-town Texan born around the turn of the twentieth century, made a lasting mark on the fiction world. He was, though, quite different from both the high church architect of literary fiction Katherine Anne Porter and the son-of-the-Texas-soil Fred Gipson despite this fact of time and space, a space that … Continue reading Literary Texas: Robert E. Howard
Literary Texas: Fred Gipson, Part 2
Fred Gipson (1908-1973) published his most famous work Old Yeller in 1956. A prolific author of short stories, fiction and non-fiction books, articles, and movie scripts, he was born in the ruggedly beautiful Texas Hill Country. It was a place he loved and could never leave for long. When, after its publication in 1956, Walt … Continue reading Literary Texas: Fred Gipson, Part 2