While there have been, and continue to be, many fine authors from the great state of Texas there are three I might deem as the most significant. These writers have had a unique impact on the culture of not only their home state, but arguably upon the nation itself if not the whole world.
1. John Howard Griffin - In the Deep South of the 1950’s, a color line was etched in blood across Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia. Journalist John Howard Griffin (from Mansfield, Texas) decided to cross that line. Using medication that darkened his skin to deep brown, he exchanged his privileged life as a Southern white man for the disenfranchised world of an unemployed black man in 1959. What happened to John Howard Griffin—from the outside and within himself—as he made his way through the segregated Deep South is recorded in his searing work of nonfiction titled Black Like Me. I never had the pleasure of meeting this author as he died when I was two. However, I did read his work while I was in college in the 1990s. His audacious, still chillingly relevant eyewitness history is a work about race and humanity every American should read and is widely recognized now for its contributions to the North Texas written word.
2. Max Lucado - He is a well-known Christian author who was born in San Angelo, Texas. He has written dozens of books including You Are Special, Just Like Jesus, and When God Whispers Your Name. His approachable and relatable writing style has earned him a massive following, and his books have been published in multiple languages and sold millions of copies worldwide. I began reading his work when I was in high school and while I did not care for his foray into fiction, I still find a lot of value in his nonfiction. I even had the opportunity to visit his church in San Antonio a few times and enjoyed his sermons in person.
3. Tim O'Brien - Born in Austin, Texas and having served in Vietnam, Tim O'Brien is an American novelist best known for his book The Things They Carried. A powerful exploration of war and its effects on soldiers, The Things They Carried was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize and is widely considered one of the best books on the subject. I had the pleasure of attending a writers' conference where he spoke and later had the opportunity to interview him. I found both encounters enjoyable and enlightening. You can see that interview in Proud to Be: Writing by American Warriors, Vol. II.How about you? What authors do you feel have made some of the most significant contributions to American society?
