A. C. Greene
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

A. C. Greene (born Alvin Carl Greene Jr.; 4 Nov 1923 – 5 April 2002) was an American writer – important in Texas literary matters as a
memoirist A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobiog ...
, fiction writer, historian, poet, and influential book critic in Dallas. As a newspaper journalist, he had been a book critic and editor of the Editorial Page for the ''
Dallas Times Herald The ''Dallas Times Herald'', founded in 1888 by a merger of the ''Dallas Times'' and the ''Dallas Herald'', was once one of two major daily newspapers serving the Dallas, Texas (USA) area. It won three Pulitzer Prizes, all for photography, and t ...
'' when
John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...
was
assassinated Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have a ...
, which galvanized his role at the paper to help untangle and lift a demoralized city in search of its soul. Leaving full-time journalism in 1968, Greene went on to become a prolific author of books, notably on Texas lore and history. His notoriety led to stints on radio and TV as a talk-show host. By the 1980s, his commentaries were being published by major media across the country. He had become a sought-after source for Texas history, anecdotes, cultural perspective, facts, humor, books, and politics. When the
1984 Republican National Convention The 1984 Republican National Convention convened on August 20 to August 23, 1984, at Dallas Convention Center in downtown Dallas, Texas. The convention nominated President Ronald W. Reagan and Vice President George H. W. Bush for reelection. I ...
was held in Dallas, Greene granted sixty-three interviews about Texas topics to major media journalists."Writer-Historian Greene, 'Dean of Texas Letters'",
San Antonio Express-News The ''San Antonio Express-News'' is a daily newspaper in San Antonio, Texas. It is owned by the Hearst Corporation and has offices in San Antonio and Austin, Texas. The ''Express-News'' is the third largest newspaper in the state of Texas, with ...
, April 6, 2002
Greene's 1990 book, ''Taking Heart'' – which examines the experiences of the first patient in a new
heart transplant A heart transplant, or a cardiac transplant, is a surgical transplant procedure performed on patients with end-stage heart failure or severe coronary artery disease when other medical or surgical treatments have failed. , the most common proce ...
center (himself) – made ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' Editors Choice list.


Career

In 1948, Greene began working as a cub reporter for the ''
Abilene Reporter-News ''Abilene Reporter-News'' is a daily newspaper based in Abilene, Texas, United States. The newspaper started publishing as the weekly ''Abilene Reporter'', helmed by Charles Edwin Gilbert on June 17, 1881, just three months after Abilene was fo ...
'' and wrote book reviews and articles for the entertainment section. From 1952 to 1957, Greene owned and operated the Abilene Book Store, located at 365 Cypress Street, across the street from the Paramount Theater – its slogan: "The Book Center of West Texas." In 1957, he began teaching journalism at Hardin-Simmons University. Greene, in his teens, was known as "A. C." So, in 1953, he legally changed his name from Alvin Carl to A. C. and dropped the Jr. In 1960, Greene became a book editor for the ''Dallas Times Herald''; and in 1963, the ''Times Herald'' promoted him to the editor of the Editorial Page, a role he performed until 1965. Of the
Kennedy assassination John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 un ...
, Greene wrote: Greene left the ''Times Herald'' in 1968 to pursue a Ph.D. at the
University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
and to devote more time to writing books. From 1968 to 1969, Greene was the executive editor of the ''
Southwestern Historical Quarterly The Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) is a non-profit educational organization, dedicated to documenting the history of Texas. It was founded in Austin, Texas, on March 2, 1897. , TSHA moved their offices from Austin to the University of N ...
'', a publication of the
Texas State Historical Association The Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) is a non-profit educational organization, dedicated to documenting the history of Texas. It was founded in Austin, Texas, on March 2, 1897. , TSHA moved their offices from Austin to the University of N ...
. In 1969, he served as President of the
Texas Institute of Letters The Texas Institute of Letters is a non-profit Honor Society founded by William Harvey Vann in 1936 to celebrate Texas literature and to recognize distinctive literary achievement. The TIL’s elected membership consists of the state’s most respe ...
while working on his doctorate at
The University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
. In 1968, Greene was awarded a Dobie-Paisano Fellowship from the
University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
which included a six-month stay at Paisano, a ranch 14 miles southwest of Austin purchased by
J. Frank Dobie James Frank Dobie (September 26, 1888 – September 18, 1964) was an American folklorist, writer, and newspaper columnist best known for his many books depicting the richness and traditions of life in rural Texas during the days of the open rang ...
for use as a writer's retreat. The award and retreat led to Greene's first book, ''A Personal Country.'' In the 1980s, Greene wrote a weekly column on Texas history for the ''
Dallas Morning News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885 by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ''Galvesto ...
''. From 1986 to 1992, Greene served as Founding Coordinating Director of the Center for Texas Studies at the
University of North Texas The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public research university in Denton, Texas. It was founded as a nonsectarian, coeducational, private teachers college in 1890 and was formally adopted by the state 11 years later."Denton Normal School," ...
in Denton. He retired as emeritus director. James Ward Lee, Ph.D. (born 1931) – an author, professor of English at North Texas since 1958, former chairman of the English Department, and co-director of the center – called Greene "The Dean of Texas Letters." Annually, Greene's hometown of Abilene, Texas presents the A.C. Greene Award to a distinguished Texas author for lifetime achievement during the West Texas Book Festival. Past winners include John Graves,
Sandra Brown Sandra Lynn Brown, née ''Cox'' (born March 12, 1948) is an American bestselling author of romantic novels and thriller suspense novels. Brown has also published works under the pen names of Rachel Ryan, Laura Jordan, and Erin St. Claire. Ea ...
, Elmer Kelton, Liz Carpenter, John Erickson, and many others.


Family and growing up

Greene gave much credit for his love of reading, writing, and storytelling to his maternal grandmother, Maude E. Cole (1879–1961). Besides being a writer and poet, she was also an amateur painter. She was a prize-winning and published poet and author, and from 1926 to 1946, a librarian at the Carnegie Library in
Abilene, Texas Abilene ( ) is a city in Taylor and Jones Counties in Texas, United States. Its population was 125,182 at the 2020 census, making it the 27th-most populous city in the state of Texas. It is the principal city of the Abilene metropolitan statis ...
. She was a pioneer in the Texas literary scene. Maude was born Maude Elfie Craghead in 1879 in
Youngsport, Texas Youngsport is an unincorporated community in Bell County, in the U.S. state of Texas. According to the Handbook of Texas, the community had a population of 40 in 2000. It is located within the Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood metropolitan area. History ...
. Later, she changed her name from Elfie to Elizabeth and used Maude E. Cole as her name for the rest of her life and, in 1921, became a widow of Ambrose Hutchinson Cole (1872–1921). She remarried in 1945 to Henry Alden Tileston (1871–1952). Maude, known to the family as "Mibby", regularly took A. C. Greene to the library for full days while she worked. Greene claims that the library had been his babysitter. Maude's mother, Mary Catherine Dockray Craghead Longley, had become a widow of John Lytle Craghead in 1888 and remarried Campbell Longley (1816–1907), a veteran of the Texas Revolution and father of three sons by a previous marriage, one of whom was gunman Bill Longley. A. C. was married twice, first in 1950 to Betty Jo Dozier (1925–1989). They had three sons and a daughter: Geoffrey Carl, Mark Cole (1955–2005), Eliot Bruce, and Meredith Elizabeth. Greene's parents – Alvin Carl Greene Sr. (born in Wills Point, Texas, in 1902), and Johnnie Marie Cole (born in Beaumont, Teas, in 1906) – were killed in 1964 in a two-vehicle accident while traveling from Beaumont to Dallas (after visiting their son David Greene and his new wife, Mary Welch, in
New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster.
; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...
). Their car had been hit by an 18-wheel truck doing 80 mph on U.S. 69, five miles south of
Rusk A rusk is a hard, dry biscuit or a twice-baked bread. It is sometimes used as a teether for babies. In some cultures, rusk is made of cake, rather than bread: this is sometimes referred to as cake rusk. In the UK, the name also refers to a whea ...
, Texas. Greene was at the time. His only living sibling, David Michael Greene (1938-2015), who later moved to
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, was . A. C. and David had a brother John Lytle, but he had died months of age in 1935. A. C.'s four children ranged from to . In 1989, Greene's wife Betty died from cancer. He subsequently remarried Judy Dalton Hyland ''(née'' Julia Hall Dalton; 1933–2012), who in 1979 had divorced John Walton Hyland, M.D. Judy was the daughter of the former
governor of Missouri A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political_regions, political region, ranking under the Head of State, head of state and in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of ...
, John Montgomery Dalton. Through that marriage, he gained two stepdaughters: Julia "Julie" Elizabeth Hyland and Leslie Catherine Hyland. Judy died 8 August 2012 in
Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...
.


Selected published works


Books (1st editions)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Literary criticism by Greene

*''
Larry McMurtry Larry Jeff McMurtry (June 3, 1936March 25, 2021) was an American novelist, essayist, bookseller and screenwriter whose work was predominantly set in either the Old West or contemporary Texas.
Used a Dallas Writer's 'Best Texas Books' List to Fire a Megatonnage Attack,'' by Homer Kint Biffle (born 1932),
Dallas Morning News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885 by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ''Galvesto ...
, September 19, 1982, pps 221 & 216
*


Poetry

*


Stage plays, screenplays and opera

*''The last captive: A Screenplay'' Manuscript (1991) *''A Cherished Design: The Creation of the University of Texas'' (1981) *''The Santa Claus Bank Robbery: A Screenplay'' (1989) *


Oral histories

* ''Transcript: Dallas Mayors Oral history Project, No. 7,'' co-authored with Alan Mason, Oral History Program,
East Texas State University East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...


Selected articles

* ''Upwardly Mogul: Move Over, Hollywood. Make Way for Joe Camp. Joe Camp?''
Texas Monthly ''Texas Monthly'' (stylized as ''TexasMonthly'') is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Downtown Austin, Texas. ''Texas Monthly'' was founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy and has been published by Emmis Publishing, L.P. since 1998 and is ...
November 1976 pps. 141–145


Manuscripts and papers


''A.C. Greene Papers, 1964–1997, bulk 1993–1994''
University of Texas at Arlington The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA or UT Arlington) is a public research university in Arlington, Texas. The university was founded in 1895 and was in the Texas A&M University System for several decades until joining the University of Te ...
Library
''A.C. Greene Papers 1967–1969, 1973''
Southwestern Writers Collection The Wittliff Collections (
Bill Wittliff William Dale Wittliff (January 21, 1940 – June 9, 2019), sometimes credited as Bill Wittliff, was an American screenwriter, author, and photographer who wrote the screenplays for ''The Perfect Storm (film), The Perfect Storm'' (2000), ''Barbaro ...
was publisher of Encino Press)
Albert B. Alkek Library The Albert B. Alkek Library is the architectural centerpiece and intellectual hub of the Texas State University San Marcos campus. It offers library patrons the opportunity to explore, create and discover in an expansive seven-story building that ...
Texas State University Texas State University is a public research university in San Marcos, Texas. Since its establishment in 1899, the university has grown to the second largest university in the Greater Austin metropolitan area and the fifth largest university ...
,
San Marcos San Marcos is the Spanish name of Saint Mark. It may also refer to: Towns and cities Argentina * San Marcos, Salta Colombia * San Marcos, Antioquia * San Marcos, Sucre Costa Rica * San Marcos, Costa Rica (aka San Marcos de Tarrazú) ...


Awards and honors


Texas Institute of Arts and Letters

* 1964 – Inducted as a member * 1964 – Co-winner, Stanley Walker Award for Best Newspaper Writing: ''No Life Is Lived Without Influence,'' The
Dallas Times Herald The ''Dallas Times Herald'', founded in 1888 by a merger of the ''Dallas Times'' and the ''Dallas Herald'', was once one of two major daily newspapers serving the Dallas, Texas (USA) area. It won three Pulitzer Prizes, all for photography, and t ...
* 1969 – Fellow,
Texas Institute of Letters The Texas Institute of Letters is a non-profit Honor Society founded by William Harvey Vann in 1936 to celebrate Texas literature and to recognize distinctive literary achievement. The TIL’s elected membership consists of the state’s most respe ...
& recipient of the Dobie Paisano Fellowship while studying at
The University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
* 1973 – Friends of the Dallas Public Library Award for Book Offering Most Significant Contribution to Knowledge: ''The Santa Clause Bank Robbery'' * 1974 – Co-winner, Texas Collectors Institute Award for Best Book Design: ''A Christmas Tree'', by A. C. Greene, illustrated by Ancell Nunn, designed by
William D. Wittliff William Dale Wittliff (January 21, 1940 – June 9, 2019), sometimes credited as Bill Wittliff, was an American screenwriter, author, and photographer who wrote the screenplays for '' The Perfect Storm'' (2000), ''Barbarosa'' (1982), ''Raggedy ...
* 1974 – Co-winner, Texas Collectors Institute Award for Best Book Design: ''Dallas, the Deciding Years, A Historical Portrait'', by A. C. Greene, designed by
William D. Wittliff William Dale Wittliff (January 21, 1940 – June 9, 2019), sometimes credited as Bill Wittliff, was an American screenwriter, author, and photographer who wrote the screenplays for '' The Perfect Storm'' (2000), ''Barbarosa'' (1982), ''Raggedy ...
* 1987 –
Lon Tinkle Julien Lon Tinkle (March 20, 1906 – January 11, 1980) was a historian, writer, book critic, and professor who specialized in the history of Texas. Tinkle spent most of his life in Dallas, Texas, where he graduated from and later taught at S ...
Award, for a distinguished career in letters associated with the State of Texas


Other awards and honors

* 1964 – Honoree as editor of the editorial page of the
Dallas Times Herald The ''Dallas Times Herald'', founded in 1888 by a merger of the ''Dallas Times'' and the ''Dallas Herald'', was once one of two major daily newspapers serving the Dallas, Texas (USA) area. It won three Pulitzer Prizes, all for photography, and t ...
and book editor, 12th Annual Southwest Journalism Forum, Press Club of Dallas Foundation, and the
Southern Methodist University , mottoeng = "The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , prov ...
Department of Journalism * 1990 – Fellow,
Texas State Historical Association The Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) is a non-profit educational organization, dedicated to documenting the history of Texas. It was founded in Austin, Texas, on March 2, 1897. , TSHA moved their offices from Austin to the University of N ...
* The
University of North Texas Press The University of North Texas Press (or UNT Press), founded in 1987, is a university press that is part of the University of North Texas. External links * Press North Texas, University of 1987 establishments in Texas Publishing companies e ...
, has a series of books named ''The A. C. Greene Series'' named in his honor for books on Texas and the Southwest
A. C. Greene Award
been presented annually in September 2001 to a distinguished Texas author for lifetime achievement. It is a feather of the West Texas Book Festival and is sponsored by Friends of the Abilene Public Library, the
Abilene Reporter-News ''Abilene Reporter-News'' is a daily newspaper based in Abilene, Texas, United States. The newspaper started publishing as the weekly ''Abilene Reporter'', helmed by Charles Edwin Gilbert on June 17, 1881, just three months after Abilene was fo ...
, and the
Scripps Howard Foundation The Scripps Howard Fund is a public charity that supports philanthropic causes important to the E. W. Scripps Company, an American media conglomerate which owns television stations, cable television networks, and other media outlets. The goal of t ...
. * Chautauqua Award for lifetime achievement in preserving history, Dallas County Heritage Society * 1998 – Lifetime Achievement Award, Texas Book Festival, hosted by
Laura Bush Laura Lane Welch Bush (''née'' Welch; born November 4, 1946) is an American teacher, librarian, memoirist and author who was First Lady of the United States from 2001 to 2009. Bush previously served as First Lady of Texas from 1995 to 2000. ...


Formal education

* 1940 – Graduated from Abilene High School * Attended
Phillips University Phillips University was a private university Enid, Oklahoma. It opened in 1906 and closed in 1998. It was affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). It included an undergraduate college and a graduate seminary. The university wa ...
* 1948 – Bachelor of Arts,
Abilene Christian University Abilene Christian University (ACU) is a Private university, private Churches of Christ, Christian university in Abilene, Texas. It was founded in 1906 as ''Childers Classical Institute''. ACU is one of the largest private universities in the Sout ...
* 1968 – Did post-grad work at
The University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
, towards a PhD


References

;General references *''Talking with Texas Writers: Twelve Interviews'' by Patrick Bennett (interviews with
Larry McMurty Larry Jeff McMurtry (June 3, 1936March 25, 2021) was an American novelist, essayist, bookseller and screenwriter whose work was predominantly set in either the Old West or contemporary Texas.
), A. C. Greene, John Graves, ''et al.'',
Texas A&M University Press Texas A&M University Press (also known informally as TAMU Press) is a scholarly publishing house associated with Texas A&M University. It was founded in 1974 and is located in College Station, Texas, in the United States. Overview The Texas A&M ...
(1980) *''Biography Index: A Cumulative Index to Biographical Material in Books and Magazines,''
H.W. Wilson Company The H. W. Wilson Company, Inc. is a publisher and indexing company that was founded in 1898 and is located in The Bronx, New York. It provides print and digital content aimed at patrons of public school, college, and professional libraries in bot ...
, New York
''Vol. 17: September 1990—August 1992'' (1992) ''Vol. 29: September 2003—August 2004'' (2004)
*''Contemporary Authors: A Bio-Bibliographical Guide to Current Writers in Fiction, General Nonfiction, Poetry, Journalism, Drama, Motion Pictures, Television, and Other Fields,''
Gale Research Gale is a global provider of research and digital learning resources. The company is based in Farmington Hills, Michigan, west of Detroit. It has been a division of Cengage since 2007. The company, formerly known as Gale Research and the Gale G ...
, Detroit
''Volumes 37–40,'' 1st revision (1979) ''New Revision Series: Volume 14'' (1985) ''New Revision Series: Volume 92'' (2001)
;Inline citations


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Greene, A. C. 1923 births 2002 deaths American columnists American male journalists American opera librettists 20th-century American historians American male non-fiction writers Historians of Texas Abilene High School (Abilene, Texas) alumni Abilene Christian University alumni University of North Texas faculty People from Abilene, Texas People from Dallas Western (genre) writers 20th-century dramatists and playwrights Journalists from Texas 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American journalists Historians from Texas