The Michener Center for Writers at The University of Texas at Austin presents acclaimed author T. C. Boyle at the University’s Avaya Auditorium on Thursday, November 19, at 7:30 p.m. The event is held in conjunction with The Texas Institute for Literary and Textual Studies (TILTS) public forum, exploring the placement of environmentalism within the humanities. Boyle will be reading a fictional work rooted in the environmentalist themes presented by the TILTS symposium. [Read more…] about Author T. C. Boyle on campus for a night of literature and discussion
T. C. Boyle
T. C. Boyle papers, now open for research, show his passion for literature and literacy
In a contribution to George magazine titled “If I Were President,” T. C. Boyle states that as President of the United States, he would establish a litocracy, fight to change the illiteracy that has America in its grip, and replace currency with books. Although Boyle has not achieved the presidency, he has used his roles as an author and teacher to advocate for a more literary society. The correspondence in the T. C. Boyle papers at the Ransom Center provides evidence of Boyle’s tireless promotion of books and reading, and not just of his own (although his often hilarious promotional letters to Viking representatives and booksellers show that as well).
Boyle writes to one of his former high school students, Chris Finer, now a high school librarian in New Hampshire, that “My object is to fire people up about literature.” Students in English classes from around the country send letters to Boyle, and his responses are often included in the archive. In a letter to a class at Weymouth High School (East Weymouth, Massachusetts), Boyle tells the students—half of whom intended to enroll in junior college after graduation and half with no plans for the future—that he had not read very much as a teenager, either, but later discovered that “reading and books were my weapons against the world. I could take myself away from my life, I could learn things school didn’t teach me, I could seize power and grow into the monster I now am. All because of reading. And, of course, writing.”
Boyle encourages not only readers but also writers, from students to colleagues to strangers from all walks of life. He praises their work, exhorts them to write, and sends blurbs to their publishers. One reason Boyle is supportive of other authors is because as a young man, he himself had received inspiration and encouragement from older mentors, the teachers and writers whom he has referred to as “guiding lights” and “heroes.” In 1971, he wrote to Harry Roskolenko asking for career advice and direction. Roskolenko wrote back with praise for Boyle’s talent, contact information for a magazine editor, and especially the advice to “WRITE.” Boyle followed both Roskolenko’s advice and his example of supporting aspiring writers.
Top image: T. C. Boyle tours the Ransom Center in 2012 with Megan Barnard, Assistant Director for Acquisitions and Administration. Photo by Alicia Dietrich.
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T. C. Boyle’s recommended books featured in web exhibition

The American Writers Museum Foundation has launched the online exhibition Power of the Word: Leaders, Readers and Writers, which invites visitors to join in a discussion of how literary works influence lives.
This online exhibition of the American Writers Museum includes writer T. C. Boyle, whose archive was recently acquired by the Ransom Center. Boyle identifies the works world leaders could read to understand America, his favorite childhood books, and the international writers who have influenced him.
The mission of the American Writers Museum Foundation is to establish the first national museum in the United States dedicated to engaging the public in celebrating American writers and exploring their influence on history, identity, culture, and daily lives.
James Salter wins 2012 PEN/Malamud Award

James Salter, whose archive is housed at the Ransom Center, will receive the 2012 PEN/Malamud Award, which honors excellence in the art of the short story.
Salter is the author of more than a dozen books, including novels Light Years (1975), A Sport and a Pastime (1967), The Arm of Flesh (1961), and The Hunters (1957); the memoirs Gods of Tin (2004) and Burning the Days (1997); and the short story collection Dusk and Other Stories (1988), which won the 1989 PEN/Faulkner Award.
His latest novel, All That Is, will be published in October.
Other Ransom Center authors who have received the PEN/Malamud Award include T. C. Boyle and Andre Dubus.
Salter will be presented the award on December 7. The award was established by the family of Bernard Malamud, whose archive also resides at the Ransom Center.
T. C. Boyle visits Ransom Center before tonight’s event at BookPeople

Writer T. C. Boyle, whose archive was recently acquired by the Ransom Center, visited today while in Austin for a book tour stop promoting the paperback edition of his novel When the Killing’s Done.
Author T. C. Boyle’s archive acquired
The Ransom Center has acquired the archive of novelist and short-story writer Tom Coraghessan “T. C.” Boyle, author of such acclaimed works as The Tortilla Curtain (1995) and World’s End (1987). Spanning more than 30 years from the 1970s through the present, the archive covers the breadth of Boyle’s prolific career.
“I am very pleased and honored to have my papers safely ensconced at the Ransom Center so that they may be preserved and made available to scholars,” said Boyle. “With such an archive, there is always the danger of damage or even destruction, especially when the papers are stored in filing cabinets and cardboard boxes in the basement of a very old house. I am vastly relieved to know that they are now safe.”
Boyle is the author of 22 books of fiction, and his short stories have appeared in The Atlantic, Esquire, Harper’s, McSweeney’s, and The New Yorker. He was awarded the PEN/Faulkner Prize for best novel of the year in 1988 for World’s End and the PEN/Malamud Prize in 1999 for T. C. Boyle Stories (1998). Boyle is currently a professor of English at the University of Southern California.
The collection includes manuscripts, correspondence, professional files, and teaching material. Nearly every published title is represented by a binder of manuscript notes, research material, drafts, and proofs. Also included are about 140 short-story files.
If you’re in Austin, don’t miss the chance to see Boyle at BookPeople on March 19.
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