Thomas Francis McGuane III (born December 11, 1939) is an American writer. His work includes ten novels, short fiction and screenplays, as well as three collections of essays devoted to his life in the outdoors. He is a member of the
American Academy of Arts and Letters
The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, Music of the United States, music, and Visual art of the United States, art. Its fixed number ...
, the
NCHA Members Hall of Fame and the Fly Fishing Hall of Fame. McGuane's papers, manuscripts, and correspondence are located in the
Montana State University Archives and Special Collections and are available for research use. In 2023, he was given the first Award for Excellence in Service to the MSU Library for the advancement of scholarship and access to unique materials.
McGuane's early novels were noted for a comic appreciation for the irrational core of many human endeavors, multiple takes on the
counterculture
A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Ho ...
of the 1960s and 1970s. His later writing reflected an increasing devotion to family relationships and relationships with the natural world in the changing
American West
The Western United States (also called the American West, the Western States, the Far West, the Western territories, and the West) is census regions United States Census Bureau
As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the mea ...
, primarily
Montana
Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...
, where he has made his home since 1968, and where his last five novels and many of his essays are set. He has three children, Annie, Maggie and Thomas.
Early life
McGuane was born in
Wyandotte,
Michigan
Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
, the son of
Irish Catholic
Irish Catholics () are an ethnoreligious group native to Ireland, defined by their adherence to Catholic Christianity and their shared Irish ethnic, linguistic, and cultural heritage.The term distinguishes Catholics of Irish descent, particul ...
parents who moved to the Midwest from
Massachusetts
Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
. His primary education included boarding school at
Cranbrook School, but also included work on a ranch in
Wyoming
Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...
, and fishing and hunting. A difficult relationship with his alcoholic father would later shadow much of his fiction. McGuane prefers to consider his roots
matrilineal
Matrilineality, at times called matriliny, is the tracing of kinship through the female line. It may also correlate with a social system in which people identify with their matriline, their mother's lineage, and which can involve the inheritan ...
, on which he is descended from a rich storytelling clan.
He envisioned himself as a writer from a very young age, admiring what he perceived as the adventurous life of a writer as much as the prospect of writing. When he was ten years old, he got into a physical altercation with a friend over differing descriptions of a sunset. He began a serious devotion to writing by the age of 16.
[
]
Career
After briefly attending the University of Michigan
The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...
and University of Olivet, McGuane graduated from Michigan State University
Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...
, where he received a BA in English in 1962 and met the writer Jim Harrison. He and Harrison became lifelong friends, bonding over a love for nature. At the Yale School of Drama
The David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University is a graduate professional school of Yale University, located in New Haven, Connecticut. Founded in 1924 as the Department of Drama in the School of Fine Arts, the school provides training in ...
, where he obtained an MFA in 1965, he studied playwriting and dramatic literature. A Stegner Fellowship
The Stegner Fellowship program is a two-year creative writing fellowship at Stanford University. The award is named after American Wallace Stegner (1909–1993), a historian, novelist, short story writer, environmentalist, and Stanford faculty m ...
to Stanford University
Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
in 1966–67 allowed him to finish his first published novel, '' The Sporting Club'', published in 1969.[
Upon completing his Stegner Fellowship, McGuane and his first wife, Rebecca Portia Crockett, began to divide their time between ]Livingston, Montana
Livingston is a city and the county seat of Park County, Montana, United States. It is in southwestern Montana, on the Yellowstone River, north of Yellowstone National Park. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 8,040.
Hist ...
, and Key West
Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida, at the southern end of the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it con ...
, Florida
Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
. When the screen rights to ''The Sporting Club'' were purchased, he bought ranch property in Montana's Paradise Valley. His second novel, ''The Bushwhacked Piano'', appeared in 1971. Jonathan Yardley
Jonathan Yardley (born October 27, 1939) is an American author and former book critic at ''The Washington Post'' from 1981 to December 2014, and held the same post from 1978 to 1981 at the '' Washington Star''. In 1981, he received the Pulitzer ...
in ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' called McGuane "a talent of Faulknerian potential," while Saul Bellow
Saul Bellow (born Solomon Bellows; June 10, 1915April 5, 2005) was a Canadian-American writer. For his literary work, Bellow was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, the 1976 Nobel Prize in Literature, and the National Medal of Arts. He is the only write ...
described McGuane as "a language star." The novel won the Rosenthal Award of the American Academy of Arts and Letters
The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, Music of the United States, music, and Visual art of the United States, art. Its fixed number ...
.[
McGuane's third novel, ''Ninety-Two in the Shade'' (1973), is perhaps his best known. It 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. ...
.
In 1973, he crashed his Porsche on an icy Texas highway. While not seriously injured, he was left speechless for several days.
He reassessed his career and changed his focus to Hollywood's lucrative screenwriting opportunities. He entered a period where he became known as "Captain Berserko" and wrote screenplays for '' Rancho Deluxe'' (1975),[ shot in Livingston; '' The Missouri Breaks'' (1976), directed by ]Arthur Penn
Arthur Hiller Penn (September 27, 1922 – September 28, 2010) was an American filmmaker, theatre director, and producer. He was a three-time Academy Award nominee for Academy Award for Best Director, Best Director, and a Tony Awards, Tony Awa ...
and starring Jack Nicholson
John Joseph Nicholson (born April 22, 1937) is an American retired actor and filmmaker. Nicholson is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of the 20th century, often playing rebels fighting against the social structure. Over his five-de ...
and Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American actor. Widely regarded as one of the greatest cinema actors of the 20th century,''Movies in American History: An Encyclopedia'' ; and self-directing a film adaptation of '' 92 in the Shade'' (1975), starring Peter Fonda
Peter Henry Fonda (February 23, 1940 – August 16, 2019) was an American actor, film director, and screenwriter. He was a two-time Academy Award nominee, both for acting and screenwriting, and a two-time Golden Globe Award winner for his a ...
, Warren Oates
Warren Mercer Oates (July 5, 1928 – April 3, 1982) was an American actor best known for his performances in several films directed by Sam Peckinpah, including '' The Wild Bunch'' (1969) and ''Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia'' (1974). ...
, Margot Kidder
Margaret Ruth Kidder (October 17, 1948 – May 13, 2018) was a Canadian and American actress and activist. She amassed List of Margot Kidder performances, several film and television credits in her career spanning five decades, including her bes ...
and Harry Dean Stanton
Harry Dean Stanton (July 14, 1926 – September 15, 2017) was an American actor. In a career that spanned more than six decades, Stanton played supporting roles in films including ''Cool Hand Luke'' (1967), '' Kelly's Heroes'' (1970), '' Dilling ...
.
The early 1970s included an affair with actress Elizabeth Ashley
Elizabeth Ann Cole (born August 30, 1939), known professionally as Elizabeth Ashley, is an American actress of theatre, film, and television. She has been nominated for three Tony Awards, winning once in 1962 for '' Take Her, She's Mine''. Ash ...
, divorce from first wife Becky (who went on to marry Peter Fonda), marriage to actress Margot Kidder, the birth of their daughter, Maggie, and his second divorce—all in less than a year.
McGuane published his most autobiographical novel, ''Panama'', in 1978. The character Catherine was said to be a literary embodiment of McGuane's third wife, Laurie Buffett, sister of Jimmy Buffett
James William Buffett (December 25, 1946 – September 1, 2023) was an American singer-songwriter, author, and businessman. He was known for his tropical rock sound and persona, which often portrayed a lifestyle described as "island escapis ...
, one of McGuane's Key West comrades. With the exception of positive reviews 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 ...
'' and ''The Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...
'', the novel was mercilessly panned by critics as self-absorbed and a testament to wasted literary talent—notwithstanding McGuane's protests that he considered it his best novel.
An ongoing struggle ensued between McGuane and his reviewers concerning their expectations for his fiction, and their sense of how much McGuane's celebrity was intruding upon his work. The upheaval of the period concluded with the deaths of McGuane's father, mother, and sister in the span of 30 months.
McGuane was presented the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement
The American Academy of Achievement, colloquially known as the Academy of Achievement, is a nonprofit educational organization that recognizes some of the highest-achieving people in diverse fields and gives them the opportunity to meet one ano ...
by Council member David McCullough
David Gaub McCullough (; July 7, 1933 – August 7, 2022) was an American popular historian. He was a two-time winner of both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. In 2006, he was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United S ...
at the 1993 Academy of Achievement Summit in Glacier National Park, Montana. In 1993 McGuane received an honorary doctorate from Montana State University.
McGuane won the 2016 Robert Kirsch Award the lifetime achievement of the ''Los Angeles Times'' Book Prize, was a finalist for the National Magazine Award
The National Magazine Awards, also known as the Ellie Awards, honor print and digital publications that consistently demonstrate superior execution of editorial objectives, innovative techniques, noteworthy enterprise and imaginative design. Or ...
in 2013 for his story "River Camp", and was a finalist for the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award
__NOTOC__
The Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award—named in honour of Frank O'Connor, who devoted much of his work to the form—was an international literary award presented for the best short story collection. It was presented betwe ...
in 2015 for his work ''Gallatin Canyon''.
In 2018, he appeared in conversation with Richard Powers
Richard Powers (born June 18, 1957) is an American novelist whose works explore the effects of modern science and technology. His novel ''The Echo Maker'' won the 2006 National Book Award for Fiction.[New York Public Library
The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second-largest public library in the United States behind the Library of Congress a ...]
. In 2024 he appeared in a film about his time spent fishing and writing in the Florida Keys with other notable writers such as Jim Harrison, Richard Brautigan, Russell Chatham, and Jimmy Buffett.
Life after ''Panama''
After ''Panama'', McGuane's novels changed considerably. Beginning with ''Nobody's Angel'' in 1981, the setting has consistently been in Montana, usually in the fictitious town of “Deadrock” (presumably a play on “Livingston”).
He moved from Paradise Valley to a different property in the Boulder River valley near McLeod, Montana.
Larry McMurtry
Larry Jeff McMurtry (June 3, 1936March 25, 2021) was an American novelist, essayist, and screenwriter whose work was predominantly set in either the Old West or contemporary Texas. observed that McGuane's nonfiction writing displays a markedly contrasting inner peace and natural spirituality. McGuane's paeans to fly fishing (''The Longest Silence''), horses (''Some Horses'') and the outdoors (''An Outside Chance'') capture his belief in the redemptive potential of nature and sporting ritual.
Selected works
;Fiction
* ''The Sporting Club'' (1969, novel)
* ''The Bushwacked Piano'' (1971, novel)
* ''Ninety-Two in the Shade'' (1973, novel)
* ''The Missouri Breaks'' (1976, screenplay, paperback original)
* ''Panama'' (1978, autobiographical novel)
* ''Nobody's Angel'' (1981, novel)
* ''In the Crazies: Book and Portfolio'' (1984; ltd. ed. of 185)
* ''Something to Be Desired'' (1985, novel)
* ''To Skin a Cat'' (1986, short stories)
* ''The Best American Short Stories'' (1986, story contribution, "Sportsmen")
* ''Keep the Change'' (1989, novel)
* ''Nothing but Blue Skies'' (1992, novel)
* ''The Cadence of Grass'' (2002, novel)
* ''The Best American Short Stories'' (2004, story contribution, "Gallatin Canyon")
* ''The Best American Short Stories'' (2005, story contribution, "Old Friends")
* ''The Best American Short Stories'' (2006, story contribution, "Cowboy")
* ''Gallatin Canyon'' (2006, short stories)
* ''Driving on the Rim'' (2010, novel)
* ''Crow Fair'' (2015, short stories)
* ''The Best American Short Stories 2015'' (2015, story contribution, "Motherlode")
* ''Cloudbursts'' (2018, short stories)
;Non-fiction
* ''An Outside Chance'' (1981)
* ''Best American Sports Writing, 1992'' (1993)
* ''Live Water'' (1996)
* ''The Best American Essays (1997, essay contribution, "Twenty-fish Days")
* ''The Best American Sports Writing'' (1997, essay contribution, "The Way Home")
* ''Some Horses'' (1999)
* ''The Longest Silence'' (2000)
* ''Upstream: Fly Fishing in the American Northwest'' (1999)
* ''Horses'' (2005)
* ''The Best American Sports Writing'' (2005, essay contribution, "Seeing Snook")
* ''The Best American Mystery Stories'' (2012, essay contribution, "The Good Samaritan")
* ''The Best American Mystery Stories'' (2015, essay contribution, "Motherlode")
;Screenplays
* '' Rancho Deluxe'' (1975)
* '' 92 in the Shade'' (1975)
* '' The Missouri Breaks'' (1976)
* ''Tom Horn
Thomas Horn Jr., (November 21, 1860 – November 20, 1903) was an American scout, cowboy, soldier, range detective, rodeo performer, and Pinkerton agent in the 19th-century and early 20th-century American Old West. Believed to have committ ...
'' (1981)
* ''Cold Feet
''Cold Feet'' is a British comedy-drama television series produced by Granada Television for the ITV (TV network), ITV network. The series was created and principally written by Mike Bullen as a follow-up to his 1997 Comedy Premieres, Comedy ...
'' (1989)
References
;Notes
;Bibliography
*American Audio Prose Library. "Interview with Tom McGaune". 1985
*"The Art of Fiction" (Thomas McGuane interview) '' Paris Review'' (Fall 1985)
*Garcia, Guy D. "He's Left No Stone Unturned". ''Time
Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'' (December 25, 1989)
*McMurtry, Larry. "On the Big Two-Hearted River". ''New York Review of Books
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz
* ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013
* ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995
* "New" (Daya song), 2017
* "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...
'' (June 27, 2002)
*Torrey, Beef (ed.
"Conversations with Thomas McGuane"
*Yardley, Jonathan. Review of ''The Bushwhacked Piano''. ''New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' (March 14, 1971)
External links
*
*
"A Conversation with Thomas McGuane," by Liz Lear, Key West, 1984
Edited by Beef Torrey
"The Late Style of Thomas McGuane", Mark Kamine, The Believer.
"Overlooked classics: Nothing But Blue Skies by Thomas McGuane", The Guardian UK
"A Conversation with Thomas McGuane," Identity Theory
"MSU Library Trout & Salmonid Lecture 2016 - Tom McGuane", Montana State University
"Thomas McGuane papers 1960s-2010s", Montana State University Library
"Tom McGuane, Angling Oral History", By Jim Thull and Thomas McGuane, Montana State University Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:McGuane, Thomas
1939 births
Living people
20th-century American novelists
21st-century American novelists
American male novelists
American people of Irish descent
Angling writers
Cranbrook Educational Community alumni
Michigan State University alumni
People from Livingston, Montana
People from Wyandotte, Michigan
Stegner Fellows
The New Yorker people
Novelists from Michigan
Writers from Montana
Yale University alumni
20th-century American male writers
21st-century American male writers
Film directors from Michigan
Film directors from Montana
Screenwriters from Michigan
Screenwriters from Montana
Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters