From the archives of the Southwestern Writers Collection at Southwest Texas State University, former curator Richard Holland has selected from among thousands of Larry L. King's letters dealing with the daily warp and woof of an American writer alternately giddy with success and doubting his own talents. The result is a crazy ride of almost fifty years on a roller coaster of many dips, loops, and steep climbs. As a Texas farm boy, young Lawrence Leo King wrote postcards or tablet-paper letters of advice and/or instruction to -- among others -- FDR, Winston Churchill, quarterback Sammy Baugh, writer James M. Cain, upcoming football opponents, pen pals in distant lands, and relatives. As a young newspaperman, his complaints of "jackass rules" so bedeviled J. Edgar Hoover that the top G-man handed him off to subordinates and, ultimately, "The Bureau" quit responding. King has feuded in public print with Burt Reynolds, Norman Podhoretz, Tommy Tune, his own book editors and publishers, Universal Picture moguls, his collaborators in writing projects, professional critics, and some "fans" who had the temerity to write less than admiring letters. Norman Mailer, William Styron, Willie Morris, Dan Jenkins and Bud Shrake are just a few of the many writers with whom King long has corresponded. Politicians include former Speaker of the House Jim Wright, Congressman Mo Udall, and Senator Ralph Yarborough. Show-biz types count directors Mike Nichols and Peter Masterson and actors Dan Blocker and Henderson Forsythe. But it is to old Texas friends that King truly lets his hair down in telling intimate secrets of the salts and sours of the literary life that has been his for almost fortyyears. A high-school dropout who became a Nieman Fellow at Harvard, a Communications Fellow at Duke and held an endowed chair at Princeton, "Larry L. King" has accomplished thirteen books and seven stage plays as well as television documentaries, screen plays, short stories and hundreds of magazine essays. His honors include the Stanley Walker Journalism Award, the Helen Hayes and Molly Goldwater awards as a playwright, a television "Emmy, " nominations for a Broadway "Tony, " and a National Book Award. H now lives in Washington, D.C. Richard Holland is the former Head of Special Collections and Curator of the Southwestern Writers Collection at Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos. He lives in Austin, Texas.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 5.0 / 5.0
An irreverent look at life from a literary raconteur:
Judging from these often humorous, sometimes poignant, but always brash and candid letters, it is probably safe to assume that few writers have had such widely varied experiences as has Larry L. King. Spanning over 40 years, King's fascinating and provocative letters--along with his no-holds-barred reminiscences interspersed among them--provide a virtual autobiography of this novelist, playwright, essayist, and commentator. What makes this epistolary volume especially interesting is that King suffers no... more info
Not for parents of small children:
Parents of small children desperately need sleep, so I cannot recommend that they read this book--it has kept me awake for two nights in a row. It's as hard to put down as any thriller, and a whole lot funnier than most.
An hilarious and candid look at the writing life:
King's book of letters take you inside the heart and head of one of America's most perceptive and humorous writers. Roy Blount once said that King writes like an angel would if it grew up in West Texas and drank. It's hard to improve on Blount's assessment. King's rollicking missives, directed to friends, family, politicians, critics, and fellow writers offer a fascinating portrait of the writing life. There's also the vicarious thrill of reading someone else's mail. Stories range from fellow author William... more info
A fascinating view of a writer's life:
This book takes the reader inside the head and heart of a working writer and reveals the triumphs and the despair that are staples of a writer's life. There are a lot of famous people in it, too.
