A.C. Greene

A Guide to the A.C. Greene Papers, 1967-1969, 1973, n.d.

Collection 017

7 folders

Acquisition: Donation from Bill Wittliff and A.C. Greene from 1988 to 1993.

Access: Direct inquiries to the Archivist, Southwestern Writers Collection, Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas 78666-4604. Some materials may not be photocopied without the permission of The University of Texas at Arlington.

Processed by: Jennifer B. Patterson, June 1994; Inventory revised by Brandy Harris

Biographical Sketch

Alvin Carl Greene (1923- ) was born and raised in Abilene, Texas. He left Texas during World War II and served in the U.S. Navy and Marines. After a four-year stint in the military, Greene received a B.A. from Abilene Christian College in 1948 and began working as a reporter for the Abilene Reporter-News. He remained on the staff for 12 years and also ran a bookstore in Abilene from 1952 to 1957.

In 1960, Greene joined The Dallas Morning News as book editor and editorial columnist. Eight years later he left to concentrate on writing and received a Dobie-Paisano fellowship which allowed him to finish his acclaimed book, A Personal Country, in 1969. Greene went on to publish many books and articles in the 1970s and 1980s. The range of Greene's writing has been very broad, although he is closely tied to the subject of Texas. His books cover cities in Texas, historical events in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, personal reminiscences, and literary criticism. He also worked at KERA-TV in Dallas as news commentator from 1970 through 1977 and has reviewed books for the MacNeil/Lehrer News Hour. Greene has taught journalism at Hardin-Simmons University, The University of Texas at Austin, and Southern Methodist University.

Health problems in the late 1980s kept him from writing, but after receiving a heart transplant Greene recovered and published a book, Taking Heart, about his illness. Greene is a member of PEN International, the Writers Guild of America, and the Texas Institute of Letters. He was most recently Coordinating Director of the Center for Texas Studies at the University of North Texas in Denton, but has retired and is living in Salado with his wife.

Scope and Content Note

Seven folders of works, published materials, photographs, correspondence, cards, and programs highlight the work of A.C. Greene. The collection has been divided into three series: Works (1967, 1969, 1973, n.d.), Photographs (1968), and Cards and Programs (1969, n.d.). The bulk of the collection consists of manuscripts collected by Bill Wittliff. Multiple drafts of the essay "Paisano" are included in one folder, following the work from annotated typewritten draft to television script to published work. Also of note are screenplays that Greene adapted from his books The Last Captive and The Santa Claus Bank Robbery. The collection includes published magazine articles, photographs, and cards and programs relating to Greene.

See also acc. nos. 88-052, 91-046, and 92-053 for photographs of A.C. Greene by Bill Wittliff. Books by and about Greene have been cataloged separately.