Adventures with a Texas Humanist

For the first half of the twentieth century, Texas literature, culture, and folklore were dominated by J. Frank Dobie, the man Lon Tinkle called "Mr. Texas." Dobie's Texas was a land of exuberance and romance, a time when Texas was proud of itself and not loath to let the world know it.

But the culture of the state changed in the 1960s, and the figure who replaced Dobie as the dominant Texas writer and literary icon was Larry McMurtry. The Texas of Larry McMurtry is a far different landscape. The old certainties were replaced by irony and cultural revolution. The high, wide, and handsome posture of Texans was muted by politics, student unrest, and war. In the first two essays in this volume—"The Age of Dobie" and "The Age of McMurtry"—James Ward Lee places the writers, the politicians, and the cultural leaders in the context of each age.

Subsequent chapters discuss writers and trends in Texas literature. Lee discusses long-standing arguments about Texas literature and surveys bodies of work that have had an impact on it.

Another part of the book looks at Texas folklore and culture. "The Uses of Folklore," "The Folkways of the Arklatex," "Texas: Land of Legends and Myths," and "The Texas Sidekick" all study the way Texans live and work and see the world.

The final section of the book is made up of some personal essays by a man whose ideas and attitudes are sometimes odd but always humorous. Lee writes of the life he has led in Texas as a college professor and takes a backward look at his life from boyhood to service in the U.S. Navy.

About the Author:
JAMES WARD LEE is an emeritus professor and former chair of English at the University of North Texas.He is a past president of the Texas Folklore Society and author of many articles, books, and reviews. The humorous essays of Texas, My Texas have made him a popular speaker and writer. His Classics of Texas Fiction discusses many of the best novels written by Texas writers. His latest book is Literary Fort Worth, co-edited with Judy Alter. Lee is acquisitions editor of TCU Press. He lives in Fort Worth.

Review of Texas Books

" . . . gives the reader the sense of having had a wide-ranging conversation with a genial, erudite Texas raconteur."

JUDY ALTER is the author of fiction and nonfiction for both adults and young readers, as well as an enthusiastic cook, blogger, and reader of mysteries. She has won awards from the Texas Institute of Letters, Western Writers of America, the National Cowboy Museum and Hall of Fame, and an Owen Wister Award for lifetime achievement from WWA. Judy was named an Outstanding Woman of Fort Worth in 1989 by the Mayor’s Commission on the Status of Women (for Arts) and named one of the one hundred women, living and dead, who have left their mark on Texas by the

Judy is currently director of Texas Christian University Press in Fort Worth, a position she has held for twenty-two years. A single parent of four and grandmother of seven, she lives in Fort Worth, Texas, with her Australian shepherd, Scooby, and her fluffy gray cat, wywy. Judy entertains frequently, always experimenting and looking for new dishes.

Dallas Morning News