The Passing of Two Literary Giants

by Pa Rock

Reader

Two of America's pre-eminent authors passed away this week, both on Thursday.

Beverly Cleary, the author most closely associated with bringing realism to children's and adolescent literature died at the age of one-hundred-and-four in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California.  Ms. Cleary was a former winner of the National Book Award, the Newbury Medal, the National Medal of Arts, and the "Living Legend" award from the Library of Congress.  She has been credited with writing that makes young girls feel confident about themselves.   Her best loved characters are the memorable Henry Huggins, and Henry's neighbor Beezus Quimby and her little sister, Ramona Quimby.  Their adventures have entertained children for generations.

I will admit to never having read any of Beverly Cleary's many books and that even includes during time that I spent taking children's and adolescent literature courses in college - and that omission, I am certain, is my loss.

I have, however, had a great deal of exposure to the other author who died on Thursday.  Larry McMurtry passed away in his hometown of Archer City, Texas, at the age of eighty-four.  Archer City was the dusty Texas town that served as Thalia in the movie "The Last Picture Show, which was based on a novel by McMurtry.  "The Last Picture Show" was, in my opinion, the best American movie ever made.

My first experience with Larry McMurtry's work was watching the movie "Hud," a Paul Newman film that was released in 1963.  It was based on McMurtry's first novel, "Horseman, Pass By."  In college I read his book, "All My Friends are Going to be Strangers," and I liked that so well that I re-read it just a few years ago.  And then in the mid-1980's I joined the rest of the world in reading "Lonesome Dove," McMurtry's epic novel of the old west that went on to win the Pulitzer Prize.  McMurtry later won an Oscar for co-scripting the movie "Brokeback Mountain" with Diana Osana, another exceptional motion picture.

Larry McMurtry's writing credits, especially for novels and screenplays, seem almost endless, and his works have been brought to life by some of the most talented actors in the history of American film.  He wrote five pages a day, and only five pages,  throughout most of his life, and those pages quickly piled up into a monumental body of work.

The impact that both of these late authors had on the landscape of American culture is profound.  Beverly Cleary and Larry McMurtry, though they had little in the way of common interests, both used their time on earth to tell tales that will forever influence how we see ourselves and the world around us. Both were gifted storytellers and true giants of American literature - and both will be sorely missed.