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Pastures of the Empty Page: Fellow Writers on the Life and Legacy of Larry McMurtry
A collection of essays that offers an intimate view of Larry McMurtry, America’s preeminent western novelist, through the eyes of a pantheon of writers he helped shape through his work over the course of his unparalleled literary life.
When he died in 2021, Larry McMurtry was one of America’s most revered writers. The author of treasured novels such as Lonesome Dove and The Last Picture Show , and coauthor of the screenplays for Brokeback Mountain and Streets of Laredo , McMurtry created unforgettable characters and landscapes largely drawn from his life growing up on the family’s hardscrabble ranch outside his hometown of Archer City, Texas. Pastures of the Empty Page brings together fellow writers to honor the man and his impact on American letters. Paulette Jiles, Stephen Harrigan, Stephanie Elizondo Griest, and Lawrence Wright take up McMurtry’s piercing and poetic vision—an elegiac literature of place that demolished old myths of cowboy culture and created new ones. Screenwriting partner Diana Ossana reflects on their thirty-year book and screenwriting partnership; other contributors explore McMurtry’s reading habits and his passion for bookselling. And brother Charlie McMurtry shares memories of their childhood on the ranch. In contrast to his curmudgeonly persona, Larry McMurtry emerges as a trustworthy friend and supportive mentor. McMurtry was famously self-deprecating, but as his admirers attest, this self-described “minor regional writer” was an artist for the ages.
When he died in 2021, Larry McMurtry was one of America’s most revered writers. The author of treasured novels such as Lonesome Dove and The Last Picture Show , and coauthor of the screenplays for Brokeback Mountain and Streets of Laredo , McMurtry created unforgettable characters and landscapes largely drawn from his life growing up on the family’s hardscrabble ranch outside his hometown of Archer City, Texas. Pastures of the Empty Page brings together fellow writers to honor the man and his impact on American letters. Paulette Jiles, Stephen Harrigan, Stephanie Elizondo Griest, and Lawrence Wright take up McMurtry’s piercing and poetic vision—an elegiac literature of place that demolished old myths of cowboy culture and created new ones. Screenwriting partner Diana Ossana reflects on their thirty-year book and screenwriting partnership; other contributors explore McMurtry’s reading habits and his passion for bookselling. And brother Charlie McMurtry shares memories of their childhood on the ranch. In contrast to his curmudgeonly persona, Larry McMurtry emerges as a trustworthy friend and supportive mentor. McMurtry was famously self-deprecating, but as his admirers attest, this self-described “minor regional writer” was an artist for the ages.
- GenresEssays
272 pages, Hardcover
Published September 5, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
December 19, 2023
This is a gem of a collection of 38 essays on Larry McMurtry from people who knew him. Almost every one has a surprise about the late Texas author. Some teasers:
* he was a classmate of and friends with Ken Kesey from the earliest days in the Bay Area, when Kesey was part of the CIA experiments with LSD.
* though there were virtually no books in the McMurtry ranch house until he was six, Larry was extremely widely-read, especially with European fiction.
* McMurtry felt that the American West had produced no great novels -- but it did produce some legendary movies.
Editor Getschow writes a well-rounded yet concise introduction. One of the gems of the essays is done by Greg Giddings, a former professional basketball player from Archer City (McMurtry's home town) who meets the author later in life. In their afternoon together, McMurtry makes a list of books that everyone should read for Giddings. Read the essay!
* he was a classmate of and friends with Ken Kesey from the earliest days in the Bay Area, when Kesey was part of the CIA experiments with LSD.
* though there were virtually no books in the McMurtry ranch house until he was six, Larry was extremely widely-read, especially with European fiction.
* McMurtry felt that the American West had produced no great novels -- but it did produce some legendary movies.
Editor Getschow writes a well-rounded yet concise introduction. One of the gems of the essays is done by Greg Giddings, a former professional basketball player from Archer City (McMurtry's home town) who meets the author later in life. In their afternoon together, McMurtry makes a list of books that everyone should read for Giddings. Read the essay!
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June 8, 2023Recent reviews by prominent authors of Pastures of the Empty Page:
"Pastures of the Empty Page is essential reading for both writers and readers. It should be on the bookshelf of everyone who values words, who appreciates insight and unexpected revelations, and who loves Larry McMurtry. As a bonus, it is brilliantly written."
~Luis Alberto Urrea, A 2005 Pulitzer Prize finalist for nonfiction and member of the Latino Literature Hall of Fame, Urrea is the critically acclaimed and best-selling author of 17 books, winning numerous awards for his poetry, fiction and essays.
"A brilliant and insightful collection of essays and personal recollections about one of America’s most important writers. Honest, funny, and compelling: this will go down as one of our great literary histories."
~Philipp Meyer, author of American Rust, The Son and other novels.
"No Texas man of letters loomed larger than Larry McMurtry. This wonderful encomium from friends and admirers gets at the peculiar magic behind McMurtry's long and incredibly eclectic career as a celebrated novelist, screenwriter, bibliophile, and student of the American West."
~Hampton Sides, author of In the Kingdom of Ice, Ghost Soldiers, Blood and Thunder, Hellhound On His Trail, and other bestselling works of narrative history and literary non-fiction.
October 10, 2023
It was the summer of 2008, during an Archer City Writer’s Workshop, I met Larry McMurtry. Our group sat in his living room and asked him questions about writing. Someone in the group, maybe me, asked him, “How do you begin writing a book?” He replied, “I write the last chapter first.”
Pastures of the Empty Page shares what writers at various stages of their journey to their empty pages experienced as they came to fathom and fraternize with McMurtry. Multi-award-winning authors, greenhorn journalism students, and the “I’m too old to be a writer” share their often life-changing encounters with the “Minor Regional Writer.” Pastures of the Empty Page is a must-read for those seeking heartfelt insight into a great author.
McMurtry shunned the Archer City Writer’s Workshop the first year of its existence. He changed his opinion in the second year of the workshop and opened his bookstores and home to attendees. McMurtry would have been pleased to know that all proceeds from Pastures of the Empty Page go to the "The Archer City Writers Workshop: A Living Legacy to Larry McMurtry." From what I have learned about him, he would never let anyone see the idea pleased him.
David Wallis
Pastures of the Empty Page shares what writers at various stages of their journey to their empty pages experienced as they came to fathom and fraternize with McMurtry. Multi-award-winning authors, greenhorn journalism students, and the “I’m too old to be a writer” share their often life-changing encounters with the “Minor Regional Writer.” Pastures of the Empty Page is a must-read for those seeking heartfelt insight into a great author.
McMurtry shunned the Archer City Writer’s Workshop the first year of its existence. He changed his opinion in the second year of the workshop and opened his bookstores and home to attendees. McMurtry would have been pleased to know that all proceeds from Pastures of the Empty Page go to the "The Archer City Writers Workshop: A Living Legacy to Larry McMurtry." From what I have learned about him, he would never let anyone see the idea pleased him.
David Wallis
September 3, 2023
Larry McMurtry inspired many budding writers to stay the course, not through his verbal encouragement but through being a successful writer in a culture that focused more on machismo than erudition. This collection of essays though repetitive does describe how he fostered the world of regional writers and went beyond what success most of them could imagine. McMurtry won a Pulitzer Prize, an Emmy, an Academy Award and a National Humanities Medal. He encouraged all his students and friends to read as widely as he did, recommending a range of authors from George Kennan and Flannery O’Connor to Marie Leslie Silko. His greatest accomplishment was encouraging a generation of readers to continue on their journey.
January 1, 2025
It provides a personal and intimate introduction to a literary icon. I am taking inspiration from it and 2025 will be a year of Larry McMurtry for me.
November 1, 2023
Larry McMurtry touched many people's lives.
In Pastures of the Empty Page: Fellow Writers on the Life and Legacy of Larry McMurtry, 38 writers whose lives intersected with or were profoundly influenced by the legendary author looked back and paid homage to the literary cowpoke.
Their perspectives offer glimpses into how much of an impact he had in shaping their own literary destinies. The writers featured in the collection include Skip Hollandsworth who had the envious job of interviewing McMurtry and his brother, Charlie, who endured the cowboy life on the family ranch Larry left behind.
On a personal note, I was blessed to have met McMurtry during an Archer City Writers Workshop inside the Spur Hotel several years ago. Admittedly, I was nervous. I did not know what to say as I knew my writing skills at the time were (and still are) nowhere near his level. Fortunately, he allowed me to sit next to him and pose for a picture, which I still have on my phone.
Before he left, he signed my favorite book by him, Walter Benjamin at the Dairy Queen. I did not know it then, but the book played a role in increasing my desire to travel down two-lane highways and write about and photograph places like restaurants. I learned to just listen to the locals who often stopped by these places so I could catch glimpses of what life was like in that community with a camera phone and a pen.
Dairy Queens, like local mom and pop establishments combine the functions of a bar, filling station and general store; "they were simple local roadhouses where rambling men and stay-at-homes could meet. To them would come men of all crafts and women of all dispositions," McMurtry wrote in Walter Benjamin.
I thank you, Mr. McMurtry, for your influence on my travel writing career and to the talented writers who shared their memories of him in Pastures.
My own memories of my meeting Larry McMurtry and having him pose for a photo of the two of us inside his gigantic book barn on the Town Square still stirs in me the sort of passion and excitement that I experience every time I set out on the open road.
In Pastures of the Empty Page: Fellow Writers on the Life and Legacy of Larry McMurtry, 38 writers whose lives intersected with or were profoundly influenced by the legendary author looked back and paid homage to the literary cowpoke.
Their perspectives offer glimpses into how much of an impact he had in shaping their own literary destinies. The writers featured in the collection include Skip Hollandsworth who had the envious job of interviewing McMurtry and his brother, Charlie, who endured the cowboy life on the family ranch Larry left behind.
On a personal note, I was blessed to have met McMurtry during an Archer City Writers Workshop inside the Spur Hotel several years ago. Admittedly, I was nervous. I did not know what to say as I knew my writing skills at the time were (and still are) nowhere near his level. Fortunately, he allowed me to sit next to him and pose for a picture, which I still have on my phone.
Before he left, he signed my favorite book by him, Walter Benjamin at the Dairy Queen. I did not know it then, but the book played a role in increasing my desire to travel down two-lane highways and write about and photograph places like restaurants. I learned to just listen to the locals who often stopped by these places so I could catch glimpses of what life was like in that community with a camera phone and a pen.
Dairy Queens, like local mom and pop establishments combine the functions of a bar, filling station and general store; "they were simple local roadhouses where rambling men and stay-at-homes could meet. To them would come men of all crafts and women of all dispositions," McMurtry wrote in Walter Benjamin.
I thank you, Mr. McMurtry, for your influence on my travel writing career and to the talented writers who shared their memories of him in Pastures.
My own memories of my meeting Larry McMurtry and having him pose for a photo of the two of us inside his gigantic book barn on the Town Square still stirs in me the sort of passion and excitement that I experience every time I set out on the open road.
January 6, 2024
Pastures of the Empty Page, edited by George Getschow, far surpassed my modest expectations. The modest part is a statement about how much I generally enjoy books like this, not about this book in particular. This book will appeal to a wide range of readers, whether big fans of McMurtry or not.
This collection of essays/remembrances is, as you would expect, largely in praise of the writer. For readers who simply like to read about mentorship, formal or informal, this is a fascinating collection. Yet what we also get is a snapshot, or perhaps a series of snapshots, of a human being who happens to be a writer. Even any phrases that might give us pause ("his women") becomes a reflection of someone who uses such a phrase without the usual expected possessiveness.
His weaknesses or flaws (if anyone wants to judge that harshly) are presented in ways that show him to be very much like the rest of us with our own foibles. Maybe not appreciated by everyone but certainly accepted by those who matter.
I think I might prefer this to an actual biography of McMurtry. His writing was hit or miss with me, I tended to either get pulled in or not care, though it was never about his writing, just a case of personal preference. This collection tells me most of what I would want to know about him, told by those with whom he shared his ideas, his time, and his compassion. I imagine that for those who loved his work even more, this will whet your appetite for a more detailed biography.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
This collection of essays/remembrances is, as you would expect, largely in praise of the writer. For readers who simply like to read about mentorship, formal or informal, this is a fascinating collection. Yet what we also get is a snapshot, or perhaps a series of snapshots, of a human being who happens to be a writer. Even any phrases that might give us pause ("his women") becomes a reflection of someone who uses such a phrase without the usual expected possessiveness.
His weaknesses or flaws (if anyone wants to judge that harshly) are presented in ways that show him to be very much like the rest of us with our own foibles. Maybe not appreciated by everyone but certainly accepted by those who matter.
I think I might prefer this to an actual biography of McMurtry. His writing was hit or miss with me, I tended to either get pulled in or not care, though it was never about his writing, just a case of personal preference. This collection tells me most of what I would want to know about him, told by those with whom he shared his ideas, his time, and his compassion. I imagine that for those who loved his work even more, this will whet your appetite for a more detailed biography.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
March 15, 2025
This book was a 4.75. This book made me remember why I love reading Larry McMurtry and brought me back to my Texas roots as well. Even though I've lived in Houston and Austin most of my adult life, I spent most of my formative years in Wichita Falls, a few miles from Archer City. Reading these essays that reminded me how important that part of Texas was to McMurtry made me realize why I appreciated his works so much. He really did capture the feel of that place and time, the transition from cattle ranching to oil production that these tiny towns were experiencing. There were only a couple of essays I had a hard time getting through but most were beautifully written and a wonderful tribute to such a talented individual. Multiple times the writers pointed out his approachable and humble manner showing that not only was McMurtry a great talent, he was also a good and generous friend who especially appreciated the women in his life. This book makes me want to go back and read a bunch of his books. He makes me proud to be a North Texan.
October 10, 2023
Through this book, I’ve gotten to know Larry McMurtry in more depth, and through these portraits of a writer, I have gotten to know a place, and through a place, the man in context, all reflecting back a portrait of me as a fellow human and writer. Each reflection changes the lighting of the portrait. Both this place and this man have shaped my writing life without me knowing it until now when I read this book. It’s a wonder to discover what was always there. I’m grateful for this book for sharing the stories of a man and a place that shaped a country and many of its writers. It's part of the country we tend to forget, but it’s the backbone of all that exists today, a place that made all of us.
October 22, 2023
By the time I’d finally finished my first McMurtry book, McMurtry had already been dead by over a year. It was an early edition of Lonesome Dove, the pages yellowed with time & the spine showing signs of frequent use. It was my late Grandfather’s copy & it took me three years to finish it. Whether or not that’s because I was too busy with other things or the thought of finishing it would take him away from me is up in the air. Since then, I’ve read Horseman, Pass By & Last Picture Show, with a few re-readings of what is regarded as his best work every now and then. He & I went to the same college, I know people that’ve met him. I can almost imagine shaking his hand. Larry McMurtry & his writing have come to mean a great deal to me. It’s nice to see how his writing’s impacted others.
October 30, 2023
I was delighted to read Pastures of the Empty Page. The essays present recollections of McMurtry's character, family history, idiosyncrasies, interests, friends, social engagements and so on. Different aspects of his life. What a wonderful way to get to know him through the eyes of fellow writers.
May 24, 2024
This book is catnip for people who have followed Larry McMurtry's writings. The authors connected with McMurtry in reality but some only through his writing. They are all authors of some sort; so the remembrances are cogent and often charming. The format tended toward redundancy, however. This book made me want to reread McMurtry's books.
September 12, 2023
Pastures of the Empty Page is a brilliant, well-edited collection on the life and legacy of American literary giant Larry McMurtry. This is an important book and should be in the library of anyone who has a love for the written word.
October 25, 2023
Even if you've never been compelled to read anything by Larry McMurtry this book by people who knew and loved him, or were in some way touched by his life and work, will make you want to. I don't think I've been this touched by a book in years.
October 13, 2023
Huge McMurtry fan. It was great to read what other writers thought of him, and how he influenced their lives.
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December 25, 2024Abandoned. Every essay made me consider how there is only one Great Texan writer from history and certainly none of these authors had as much talent as he did.
September 9, 2025
UT Press sent me this book as a thank you for something, perhaps for a donation to Texas Book Festival.
Anyway, I'm enjoying all these angles on Larry McMurtry by writers who knew him or wished they did. I have a feeling that this book could become suggested reading in Creative Writing classes.
Some of the essayists in this anthology I'd never heard of while several of them are people I've met.
In some cases, we know of each other. However, all of us have more than a passing interest in the Archer City native who referred to himself as a "minor regional novelist".
I loved reading the essayists summaries of Larry's themes i.e. characters feeling trapped, fully formed female protagonists, and the death of ranching. My favorite essay was by Larry's screenwriting partner, Diana Ossana.
Anyway, I'm enjoying all these angles on Larry McMurtry by writers who knew him or wished they did. I have a feeling that this book could become suggested reading in Creative Writing classes.
Some of the essayists in this anthology I'd never heard of while several of them are people I've met.
In some cases, we know of each other. However, all of us have more than a passing interest in the Archer City native who referred to himself as a "minor regional novelist".
I loved reading the essayists summaries of Larry's themes i.e. characters feeling trapped, fully formed female protagonists, and the death of ranching. My favorite essay was by Larry's screenwriting partner, Diana Ossana.
November 21, 2023
Great stuff.
My review, forZYZZYVA magazine, is linked below:
https://www.zyzzyva.org/2023/11/16/hi...
My review, forZYZZYVA magazine, is linked below:
https://www.zyzzyva.org/2023/11/16/hi...
December 19, 2024
A beautiful tribute to Larry McMurtry by those who knew him and loved his writing. I only gave it 4 stars because you had to love the author to appreciate the tribute. While I enjoyed many McMurtry classics I learned from this book that several more deserve my attention. Soon they will have it.
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