My Texas
by Peggy
genre:
Nonfiction
description:
A bookstore column celebrating Texas Writers Month.
chapters
chapter 1:
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chapter 1
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updated 08/22/07
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May is Texas Writer’s Month, and that got me to thinking (always a dangerous prospect). What exactly makes someone a “Texas Writer?” Residence in the state (current or ever)? Setting of the story? Theme? For me, it’s a combination of all of those things, but the most important attribute is voice. I grew up in Texas, and other than a four-year aberration known as graduate school, I’ve lived here all of my life. If I can hear the characters speaking and they sound like people I’ve known, then you’re what I think of when I think of Texas Writers.
Don’t get me wrong—the other stuff is important, too. There’s enough Texas Pride in me to believe that only someone who has spent time here can ever understand (or accurately describe) the people & places I know. There’s so much mythology and legend mixed in with the idea of Texas that only someone who’s experienced the state first hand can chart a course through the sea of contradiction that is being a Texan.
An example, you ask? Look no further than Neal Barrett, Jr.’s wonderful Interstate Dreams. Part of the book takes place in Austin, and Barrett nails the city. As far as I know, Mama Lucy’s Vishnu & Jesus Barbecue does not exist, but if it did, it would exist in Austin, and it would look, sound, and smell exactly as Barrett described it. His Austin is familiar to me, and his characters are, too. I was going to say “even the strange ones,” but maybe the more accurate phrase is “especially the strange ones.” Barrett excels at highlighting the quirks without losing the characters.
The characters are also at the heart of the works of Joe R. Lansdale. Joe doesn’t always introduce us to the best kind of people, but even the worst of them ring true. When you read Lansdale’s Hap & Leonard books (Savage Season, Mucho Mojo, The Two-Bear Mambo, Bad Chili, and Rumble Tumble) or the Edgar-nominated The Bottoms, you can hear that East-Texas twang, and like Barrett, his most colorful characters are outrageous, but never unbelievable.
Small town Texas shines in the works of Jeff Abbott, Susan Wittig Albert, and Nancy Bell. Elmer Kelton shows us the cowboy side of Texas, and Texas history comes alive in the works of Stephen Harrigan (Gates of the Alamo), Elizabeth Crook (Raven’s Bride), and Steven Saylor (A Twist at the End). You can even experience the more fantastical side of Texas in the works of Sean Stewart (Mockingbird) and William Browning Spencer (Resume with Monsters is our May Dark Forces Book Group selection).
Texas writers are as many and varied as the versions of Texas they describe. I’ve told you about the authors who describe my Texas, but maybe your Texas is different than mine. Fair enough. I’m sure there’s a writer out there who understands your Texas. Why don’t you take a look at our Local Authors section, and find the one who’s right for you?
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Don’t get me wrong—the other stuff is important, too. There’s enough Texas Pride in me to believe that only someone who has spent time here can ever understand (or accurately describe) the people & places I know. There’s so much mythology and legend mixed in with the idea of Texas that only someone who’s experienced the state first hand can chart a course through the sea of contradiction that is being a Texan.
An example, you ask? Look no further than Neal Barrett, Jr.’s wonderful Interstate Dreams. Part of the book takes place in Austin, and Barrett nails the city. As far as I know, Mama Lucy’s Vishnu & Jesus Barbecue does not exist, but if it did, it would exist in Austin, and it would look, sound, and smell exactly as Barrett described it. His Austin is familiar to me, and his characters are, too. I was going to say “even the strange ones,” but maybe the more accurate phrase is “especially the strange ones.” Barrett excels at highlighting the quirks without losing the characters.
The characters are also at the heart of the works of Joe R. Lansdale. Joe doesn’t always introduce us to the best kind of people, but even the worst of them ring true. When you read Lansdale’s Hap & Leonard books (Savage Season, Mucho Mojo, The Two-Bear Mambo, Bad Chili, and Rumble Tumble) or the Edgar-nominated The Bottoms, you can hear that East-Texas twang, and like Barrett, his most colorful characters are outrageous, but never unbelievable.
Small town Texas shines in the works of Jeff Abbott, Susan Wittig Albert, and Nancy Bell. Elmer Kelton shows us the cowboy side of Texas, and Texas history comes alive in the works of Stephen Harrigan (Gates of the Alamo), Elizabeth Crook (Raven’s Bride), and Steven Saylor (A Twist at the End). You can even experience the more fantastical side of Texas in the works of Sean Stewart (Mockingbird) and William Browning Spencer (Resume with Monsters is our May Dark Forces Book Group selection).
Texas writers are as many and varied as the versions of Texas they describe. I’ve told you about the authors who describe my Texas, but maybe your Texas is different than mine. Fair enough. I’m sure there’s a writer out there who understands your Texas. Why don’t you take a look at our Local Authors section, and find the one who’s right for you?
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