Texas
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By Diane LaGrone
Texas is the land of vaqueros, cotton, and oil wells—as well as all the vibrant images that those things seem to produce. These stereotypical views that most people have of Texas are not too far from reality. It is, however, a land that was, by those struggling to settle the southwest, sacrificially carved from the rawest of resources before it became the state of diverse cultures that we see today. All of these facets of Texas are reflected in its vast literature; the common thread running through it all is a connection with the outdoors. Whether the subject is the Texas Rangers (the ones carrying six-shooters and long rifles, not the baseball players) as glorified by Walter Prescott Webb, or
J. Frank Dobies' longhorns wandering through the land of Sandra Cisneros' "la llorona," or the immortalized small towns of Horton Foote and Katherine Anne Porter, Texas writers continue their love affair with the land in all its dimensions. Texas literature is truly one amazing tale after another, showing each author's pride in the vast, still partially untamed land. In short, a Texan can't write about Texas without writing about the land.Ethnicity and Cowboy Culture
Because much of Texas was originally part of Mexico, much of its culture has roots in a rich Hispanic heritage. Sandra Cisneros has made readers from all over the United States take a new look at the people who were here before the longhorns. She regales her readers with legends from the old country as well as stories from contemporary Hispanic culture. All of her stories ask each reader to contemplate the problems of being in a new land: physical and psychological fears, acceptance or the lack of, a new language, a different culture. She has many contemporaries who are exploring these themes in fiction, non-fiction, and poetry.
J. Frank Dobie tells of the same land described by Cisneros' legends, but he chronicles the roads taken by cowboys and cattle. His blunt, objective style coupled with a hint of the romantic flavor of the Old West has taken many modern readers down those same roads, although many are disbelieving of the hardship and dedication of those trailblazing men. Ben Green and Andy Anderson tell many of the same stories, although they take the reader along on personal journeys with the lone cowboy as he buys, sells, and trades cows, horses, and stories.
Larry McMurtry has continued that tradition with his many descriptions of Texas, ranging from the well-loved Texas Rangers of Lonesome Dove (novel and movie) to his depiction of a small 20th century Texas town in The Last Picture Show. These writers, and the multitudes that are following in their footsteps, show the progression of Texas from the untamed to the tamed, from the time before the land was taken to today's civilization where disputes are settled in courtrooms instead of on the range with a Colt Peacemaker. Much of their work is non-fiction; those who cross over tell stories which are barely distinguishable from fact because the roots of the stories and the writers are deeply imbedded in history.As the cowboys traveled down their dusty trails, settlers came on their heels; many looked for riches, while more looked for other kinds of freedom. The pursuits of these ranchers, fortune hunters, and scalawags necessitated the creation of the still powerful group called the Texas Rangers. They worked long, arduous hours with little pay, never realizing that they would be immortalized both by their own deeds and the words of Walter Prescott Webb and later Larry McMurtry. These men present us with not only the struggles and triumphs of those trying to tame both the land and its people, but also with the inner conflicts they aced when asked to answer hard questions about how to enforce the laws of civilization in a land where men had made their own laws.
All who travel down their roads will sweat through the physical rigors of their journeys as well as through the inevitable questions of honor that are going to arise as men and women expand the bounds of civilization.
Writing What They Know
As the Wild West was being settled, small towns produced yet another setting for both discord and harmony. The celebrated playwright Horton Foote gives us vingettes which read as if he took the advice given to a young Faulkner by Sherwood Anderson: find a postage-size piece of land and write about it. His works ask us to address issues that are still relevant. That is, relationships and what makes them work, priorities in our life, and how to live with mistakes. He also takes Hemingway's words to heart, as he writes about what he knows.
The same can be said of Katherine Anne Porter who wrote about the small towns that she knew growing up; she put a much different Central Texas on the map than did Dobie and Webb. Her small towns show the people who came from the roots of the wild, untamed West, with a just hint of feminist ideals. These small towns grew into the urban sprawls of today, but the issues don't change, just the size of the settings. The size of the cities may increase but it does not cancel out a Texan's love of the land.
The Great Outdoors
Although contemporary writers have not abandoned the outdoor mystique, many of them approach it much differently. Some use new discoveries or imagination to add to the stories of the Old West, while others write of a new terrain to be conquered—the vast outdoor endeavors of sportsmen. Some address the sports that many simply watch, and others tell of men and women competing against themselves, others, and nature.
A.C. Greene chronicles fascinating old and new Texana for the modern reader, much of which interweaves the myths of old with the stories of today. He gives fascinating tidbits of personal stories that somehow fit into the chinks left open by the grand tales of Dobie and McMurtry.
Another more urban lover of the land was Harvey Penick; his land was the carefully laid out set of 18 holes surrounded by a manicured terrain. He told his stories of Texas with the help of Bud Shrake and captivated golfers and non-golfers alike. In a game where men and women often aim for competition-oriented goals like low putting scores, Penick's instruction seems to ask us to rise above puerile aspirations and embrace the game in all of its purity, as we lower our handicap!
Those who want to experience the great outdoors in a much different way can read the men who take us hunting and fishing. Many sports writers allow non-sportsmen to experience catching bass and sea trout, hunting white-tailed deer, and going on a rattlesnake round-up, as well as going beyond the boundaries of the state and even the country to pursue those same adventures. Mike Leggett and Ray Sasser have spent many years telling these tales for daily and monthly publications. They have always included environmental issues as they tell of the fish and animals in Texas; Leggett has added a longer, sadder story in his book Rio Grande. His saga of his journey along this great boundary river from its beginning in Colorado to the Gulf of Mexico breaks the hearts of anyone who values our limited natural resources. As it tells of the lack of environmental protection afforded our rivers, it makes us long for a simpler time when cattle crossings were all that muddied any of our Texas waterways.
A sports writer who chronicles a different type of Texas story is
Dan Jenkins . He takes us inside the state sport (some even call it an obsession), as he describes the world of professional football, destroying many illusions for those who had previously only seen goal line heroics. He broke many hearts when he showed the physical and mental agony which the players endure for the sake of a dream. He makes the reader question the value of the dream but not the heroics of those who pursue it—many for pure personal gratification but more for a pure love of the game.Women Writers
Although the bulk of Texas writing comes from the outdoor genre, another group of Texas writers cannot be ignored: women writers. J. California Cooper writes in the tradition of Morrison and Hurston as she makes us laugh and cry with her descriptions of the female black experiences. Another group that is rising in both popularity and stature is the Heart of Texas Romance Writers of America. While much of their purpose is to help beginning writers, many of their members are widely respected. Evelyn Rogers is one of the most widely published of that group.
The majority of the Texas writers use land or issues relating to it as their base material; perhaps that is only fitting. Texans consider themselves almost a nation unto themselves, which indeed they once were in the 1840s. A sense of nationalism is something that changes very slowly, if at all. Many see Texas as a place to go to still grab land; they need to think twice—Texans are fierce in holding on to it.
Diane LaGrone teaches at Calallen High School in Texas.