John Alexander Graves III (August 6, 1920 – July 31, 2013) was an American writer known for his book '' Goodbye to a River''.

Biography

Early life

As a child growing up in

Fort Worth Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

and at his grandfather's ranch in Cuero, Graves was keenly interested in the landscape around him. He graduated from Rice Institute (now

Rice University William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University, is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. Established in 1912, the university spans 300 acres. Rice University comp ...

) in 1942. He subsequently served as a captain in the Marine Corps during World War II, until being wounded by a Japanese grenade on the island of

Saipan Saipan () is the largest island and capital of the Northern Mariana Islands, an unincorporated Territories of the United States, territory of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean. According to 2020 estimates by the United States Cens ...

. After the war, he went to graduate school at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, receiving his master's degree in 1948. While still at Columbia, in 1947, he published the short story "Quarry" in ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

''; he continued to publish fiction in magazines through the 1950s.

Adult life

Following an early marriage and divorce, he traveled widely, spending considerable time in Spain and the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

, but returned to Texas in 1957 to care for his father, who was gravely ill. According to the Southwestern Writers Collection, which holds many of Graves's papers, "In November of that year, Graves completed a three-week canoe trip down part of the Brazos River that he feared was about to be changed forever by dams. His narrative chronicle of the trip was first published as a magazine article in ''

Holiday A holiday is a day or other period of time set aside for festivals or recreation. ''Public holidays'' are set by public authorities and vary by state or region. Religious holidays are set by religious organisations for their members and are often ...

'', and later Graves added history, philosophy and folklore which resulted in his first major book, '' Goodbye to a River'' (1960). The book attracted national attention and critical praise for its original style. It won the Carr P. Collins Award of the Texas Institute of Letters in 1961 and was nominated for a

National Book Award The National Book Awards (NBA) are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. ...

that year." In 1970, Graves and his family moved onto a property near Glen Rose, Texas that Graves had named Hard Scrabble. His writing about the farm and country life continued, with ''Hard Scrabble: Observations on a Patch of Land'', published in 1974, and ''From a Limestone Ledge'' (1980). The latter, which collected essays that Graves had published in ''

Texas Monthly ''Texas Monthly'' (stylized as ''TexasMonthly'') is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Downtown Austin, Texas. Founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy, ''Texas Monthly'' chronicles life in contemporary Texas, writing on politics, the Natura ...

'' magazine, was also nominated for a National Book Award. Graves continued to write about the environment and about Texas. On July 31, 2013, he died at his home near Glen Rose, Texas, at the age of 92.

Archival sources

The John Graves Papers
1920-2006 (49 linear feet) are housed at the Wittliff Collections,

Texas State University Texas State University (TXST) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in San Marcos, Texas, United States, and another campus in Round Rock, Texas, Round Rock. Since its establishment in 1899, the university has ...

in San Marcos.

References

*''John Graves, Writer'', (excerpt a

{{DEFAULTSORT:Graves, John American male writers Columbia University alumni Writers from Fort Worth, Texas Rice University alumni 2013 deaths 1920 births United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II People from Glen Rose, Texas People from Cuero, Texas United States Marine Corps officers Military personnel from Texas

Biography

Early life

Adult life

Further reading

Archival sources

References