By Hunter H.R. No. 910 77R14619 MMS-D R E S O L U T I O N 1-1 WHEREAS, Governor Rick Perry has declared May 2001 the eighth 1-2 annual Texas Writers Month, and the commemorative poster for this 1-3 year's literary festival pays tribute to the critically acclaimed 1-4 San Angelo author Elmer Kelton; and 1-5 WHEREAS, A novelist who sets his stories in rural Texas, 1-6 Mr. Kelton was born April 29, 1926, in a line camp on a ranch in 1-7 Andrews County and grew up on another ranch near Crane; by the age 1-8 of eight or nine he had determined to become a writer and to 1-9 chronicle the lives of cowboys, an ambition he has fulfilled with 1-10 memorable works that stand as classics in Texas literature; and 1-11 WHEREAS, After service in World War II, Mr. Kelton completed 1-12 a degree in journalism at The University of Texas at Austin and 1-13 began a career covering agriculture and the livestock industry; he 1-14 worked successively for the San Angelo Standard-Times, the Sheep 1-15 and Goat Raisers magazine, and the Livestock Weekly from 1948 until 1-16 his retirement in 1991; and 1-17 WHEREAS, His first novel was published in 1955, and his 1-18 second, appearing in 1956, won the Western Writers of America Spur 1-19 Award for best western novel of the year; among his most well-known 1-20 works are The Day the Cowboys Quit, The Wolf and the Buffalo, and 1-21 The Good Ole Boys; The Time It Never Rained, a book about the 1-22 devastating drought of the 1950s, has been hailed as "one of the 1-23 dozen or so best novels written by an American in this (the 20th) 1-24 century"; and 2-1 WHEREAS, With nearly 50 novels published to date, Mr. Kelton 2-2 has won six Spur Awards, in addition to honors from the Cowboy Hall 2-3 of Fame and the Texas Institute of Letters; the esteem in which he 2-4 is held was capsulized in 1996 when the Western Writers of America 2-5 voted him the best western writer of all time; a former president 2-6 of the Western Writers of America and the West Texas Historical 2-7 Association, he continues to write and to give lectures around the 2-8 country; and 2-9 WHEREAS, Texas Writers Month is sponsored by the Texas 2-10 Writers Project, Inc., a nonprofit organization established in 1998 2-11 to promote reading and appreciation of Texas writers and to raise 2-12 awareness of the literary arts; during this month-long celebration, 2-13 thousands of Texans will take part in programs offered by schools, 2-14 bookstores, libraries, community centers, and arts organizations; 2-15 the extensive scope of this undertaking is due in large measure to 2-16 the organizational efforts of Cary L. Roberts, president of the 2-17 Texas Writers Project; and 2-18 WHEREAS, Texas writers constitute one of our greatest 2-19 cultural resources, for their works enrich our lives in countless 2-20 ways; standing among the finest writers our state has produced, 2-21 Elmer Kelton has contributed significantly to the preservation and 2-22 interpretation of a vital part of our heritage, and it is indeed 2-23 fitting that he be recognized at this time; now, therefore, be it 2-24 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 77th Texas 2-25 Legislature hereby recognize May 2001 as Texas Writers Month and 2-26 honor Elmer Kelton for his distinguished achievement in Texas 2-27 letters; and, be it further 3-1 RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be 3-2 prepared for Mr. Kelton as an expression of high regard by the 3-3 Texas House of Representatives.