John Graves, 1920-
Papers, 1957-75, 1995 6 boxes, 3 galley folders (2.5 linear feet) Acquisition: Purchase, 1975-76 (R6540, R6883), and gift, 1995 (G10375)
Access: Open for research
Processed by: Katherine Mosley, 1995
RLIN Record ID: Table of Contents
Scope and Contents
Folder List
Index of Correspondents Biographical Sketch Texas writer John Alexander Graves III was born August 6, 1920, in Fort Worth, Texas. He received a B.A. from Rice University in 1942 and then served in the U. S. Marine Corps during World War II. After being wounded while serving in Saipan, Graves returned to the United States and enrolled at Columbia University; he completed an M.A. in literature in 1948. From 1948-50 Graves taught English at the University of Texas at Austin. Following that, he worked as a freelance writer and travelled to Mexico, Spain, England, and other areas. In 1958, Graves married Jane Cole, a designer for Neiman Marcus; they have two daughters, Helen and Sally. Graves was an adjunct professor of English at Texas Christian University from 1958-65. He then spent three years working for Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall as a consultant and writer on preservation and conservation of the Potomac River Basin. In 1970, Graves moved from Fort Worth to live in a house he had constructed on 400 acres of land near Glen Rose, Texas. That land, which he called Hard Scrabble, was the subject of his next major book. Written in the same vein as GOODBYE TO A RIVER, HARD SCRABBLE: OBSERVATIONS ON A PATCH OF LAND (1974) is a collection of essays incorporating physical description, history, and philosophical comments, as well as fictional characterizations. HARD SCRABBLE, like GOODBYE TO A RIVER, won a Texas Institute of Letters Collins Award. | |
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