UNITED STATES AUTHOR · AUTHORS · DESCRIPTION AND TRAVEL
Graves, John
Most acclaimed
A John Graves reader
1996
Since the publication of his haunting, elegiac Goodbye to a River in 1960, John Graves has become one of Texas' most beloved writers, whose circle of loyal readers extends far beyond the borders of his home state. A "regional" writer only by virtue of his gift for vividly evoking the spirit of the land and its people, Mr. Graves is also admired for the unerring craftsmanship of his prose. Now the University of Texas Press takes great pleasure in publishing A John Graves Reader to introduce his writing to a new generation of readers. This anthology contains selections from Goodbye to a River and his two other major books, Hard Scrabble (1974) and From a Limestone Ledge (1980). It also includes short stories and essays, some of which have never been published before and others that Mr. Graves has reworked especially for this book. All of the pieces in this anthology were chosen by Mr. Graves himself to be, in his words, "representative of my writing, for better or worse." They reflect various stages of his life and writing career - youth in Texas, World War II, sojourns in New York, Mexico, and Europe during the 1940s and 1950s, and his final return to Texas as home and as subject matter - as well as recurring themes in his writing, from the land and the people to fishing, traveling, and the enduring friendships that have enriched his life. For those who have never read John Graves, this anthology will the perfect introduction to the range and excellence of his work. At the same time, those who have read him faithfully for many years will find new pieces to enjoy, as well as old favorites to savor once again.
From a limestone ledge
1980
With the same craft and wit, the highly acclaimed author of Goodbye to a River and Hard Scrabble here writes about nature and man on his own rough "patch" of Texas land. Unsentimentally, gracefully, with a true countryman's earthly good sense, John Graves talks about cows, bees, goats, about the satisfaction of making (and drinking) wines, about snuff and chewing tobacco, about the landscape and thee living. From a Limestone Ledge is a celebration of "the casual but constant observation of detail, the noticingness of a rural life," a treatise on the pleasures and hardships of doing things for oneself, a nostalgic meditation on country ways. At once encyclopedist and raconteur, Graves shares a compulsion to hoard junk, his stubborn refusal to raise chickens the right way, and his preference for visiting, and not living with, goats. In his work, described by the Boston Globe as "civilized, funny, humane," Graves considers every creature and aspect of country life that has lured--or forced-- his attention during two decades of living on, and working, a battered and recalcitrant stock from in the cedar-covered limestone hills of North Central Texas. From a Limestone Ledge will have the deep appreciation of Graves' earlier readers and will win, for his self-reliant way of life as well, new enthusiasts -- Book jacket.