Cormac McCarthy
The Southwestern Writers Collection (SWWC), a part of The Wittliff Collections at the Alkek Library, Texas State University-San Marcos, has acquired the papers of author Cormac McCarthy.
The $2 million purchase was funded by a combination of individual and foundation support raised specifically for acquisitions by The Wittliff Collections (the Southwestern Writers Collection and the Southwestern & Mexican Photography Collection) and university funds allocated for library collection development at Texas State.
McCarthy, 74, who lived in El Paso and now lives in New Mexico, has been widely hailed for his bleak, violence-filled novels, many of which are set in the Southwest, along the U.S.-Mexico border. In 1992, McCarthy won the National Book Award for the New York Times bestseller “All the Pretty Horses.” His 2006 novel “The Road” won a Pulitzer Prize, and his 2005 novel "No Country for Old Men" was the basis for a recent Coen brothers movie that is considered an Oscar contender for best picture.
James A. Michener said of McCarthy’s first novel, The Orchard Keeper, published by Random House in 1965, “His use of words is remarkable, for he lures from them a very special music…. But what is best, I think, is his acute observation and his ability to describe things in new ways. The specific gravity of his writing is high indeed….”
Connie Todd, curator of the writers collection, claims “To be in a position to make his archives available to people who love his work as much as I do and preserve them forever — as long as ever is — is a great responsibility and one that we welcome."
