John Graves died July 31, and today was the first day I heard about it. He died in his sleep at the age of 92 at his little place way back in the Texas Hill Country. He was the best person ever to come out of Texas. Hunter and fisherman, Combat Marine badly wounded on Saipan, teacher, expatriate, writer, naturalist. The same sort of gentle, introspective man’s man my dad was. Life is bittersweet.
Goodbye To A River 1960
Hard Scrabble 1974
From A Limestone Ledge 1980
Myself And Strangers 2004
Shorter works and articles throughout his life.
Yep, one helluva fine writer. I’ve read most of his works over the years and was proud to share them with serious readers and those that wanted a real sense of Texas.
John Graves was a keeper.