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.