{"product_id":"john-graves-writer-mark-busby-9780292714946","title":"John Graves, Writer","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eRunner-up, Violet Crown Award, Writer's League of Texas, 2008\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Renowned for \u003ci\u003eGoodbye to a River\u003c\/i\u003e, his now-classic meditation on the natural and human history of Texas, as well as for his masterful ability as a prose stylist, John Graves has become the dean of Texas letters for a legion of admiring readers and fellow writers. Yet apart from his own largely autobiographical works, including \u003ci\u003eHard Scrabble, From a Limestone Ledge\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eMyself and Strangers\u003c\/i\u003e, surprisingly little has been written about Graves's life or his work. \u003ci\u003eJohn Graves, Writer\u003c\/i\u003e seeks to fill that gap with interviews, appreciations, and critical essays that offer many new insights into the man himself, as well as the themes and concerns that animate his writing. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e The volume opens with the transcript of a revealing, often humorous symposium session in which Graves responds to comments and stories from his old friend Sam Hynes, his former student and contemporary art critic Dave Hickey, and co-editor Mark Busby. Following this is a more formal interview of Graves by Dave Hamrick, who draws the author out on issues relating to each of his major works. John Graves's friends Bill Wittliff, Rick Bass, Bill Broyles, John R. Erickson, Bill Harvey, and James Ward Lee speak to the powerful influence that Graves has had on fellow writers. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e In addition to these personal observations, nine scholars analyze essential aspects of Graves's work. These include the place of \u003ci\u003eGoodbye to a River\u003c\/i\u003e within environmental literature and how its writing was a rite of passage for its author; Graves as a prose stylist and a literary, rather than polemical, writer; the ways in which Graves's major works present different aspects of a single narrative about our relationship to the land; the question of gender in Graves's work; and Graves's sometimes contentious relationship with \u003ci\u003eTexas Monthly\u003c\/i\u003e magazine. Mark Busby introduces the volume with a critical overview of Graves's life and work, and Don Graham concludes it with a discussion of Graves's reception and literary reputation. A bibliography of works by and about Graves rounds out the book. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eJohn Graves, Writer\u003c\/i\u003e confirms Graves's stature not only within Texas letters, but also within American environmental writing, where Graves deserves to be more widely known. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Mark Busby\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0292714947\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780292714946\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Texas Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 02\/01\/2007\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 286\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.33lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.18h x 6.39w x 0.96d","brand":"Mark Busby","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":48064813564159,"sku":"9780292714946","price":34.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_254a3d11-7392-43bd-a3f7-e973322a42a6.jpg?v=1768671202","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/john-graves-writer-mark-busby-9780292714946","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}