Rice alum, author Larry McMurtry receives National Humanities Medal

Описание: Larry McMurtry, the acclaimed American novelist, essayist, screenwriter and bookseller who earned his master’s degree in English from Rice University in 1960, has received a 2014 National Humanities Medal for outstanding achievements in his field, the White House announced Sept. 3.

McMurtry is the author of 29 novels, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning “Lonesome Dove,” three memoirs, two collections of essays and more than 30 screenplays, among them the Academy Award-winning adapted screenplay for “Brokeback Mountain.” He lives in Archer City, Texas.

After receiving his master’s degree, McMurtry was a lecturer of freshman English and creative writing at Rice from 1961 to 1962. He has remained in close contact with the university and been a frequent speaker on campus.

In a 2009 Rice Magazine profile, McMurtry spoke about the university’s impact on his life. “I began reading seriously when I was at Rice,” McMurtry said. “I love Rice and think of it as my intellectual home.”

In recent years, McMurtry has voiced concern about the fate of books. In a 2009 lecture at Rice, McMurtry reflected on what he sees as a looming decline of the printed word as it is replaced by technology such as Google and the Kindle. “I had always thought that books may end, but reading would not,” he said at the time. “I’m not so sure anymore. It’s a mistake to assume that it will go on forever because there doesn’t seem to be anything that goes on forever.”

See more at: http://news.rice.edu/2015/09/04/rice-...