Robert Laxalt
Encyclopedia
Robert Laxalt was a Basque-American
writer
from Nevada
.
in Nevada. This book was especially well received in the ranch
ing areas of Nevada and adjacent states, and led to creation of several "Basque Festivals" in those areas. Laxalt also served as a consultant to the Library of Congress
on Basque culture, and helped start the Basque Studies program at the University of Nevada
.
Robert was the younger brother of Paul Laxalt
, former Nevada governor (1967-1971) and U.S. Senator (1974-1987). Sweet Promised Lands local popularity likely played a role in his brother Paul's early political victories.
Robert Laxalt founded the University of Nevada Press
, which published almost all of his books written after 1964. This raised the prominence of the University of Nevada Press, but also limited the distribution and probably the critical attention given to Robert's books. He also served as the writer-in-residence at the University of Nevada Reno, and in 1988 became the first occupant of the Distinguished Nevada Author Chair at that university.
Laxalt was chosen along with Walter Van Tilburg Clark
to be the first writer inducted into the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame when it was established in 1988 by the Friends of the University of Nevada Libraries.
Basque-American
Basque Americans are citizens of the United States who are of Basque ancestry. According to the 2000 US census, there are 57,793 Americans of full or partial Basque descent...
writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
from Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
.
Biography
Sweet Promised Land (1957), Laxalt's first and possibly best-known book, was based on the history of his father, Dominique, and his return to the homeland after forty-seven years as an immigrant sheepherderShepherd
A shepherd is a person who tends, feeds or guards flocks of sheep.- Origins :Shepherding is one of the oldest occupations, beginning some 6,000 years ago in Asia Minor. Sheep were kept for their milk, meat and especially their wool...
in Nevada. This book was especially well received in the ranch
Ranch
A ranch is an area of landscape, including various structures, given primarily to the practice of ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle or sheep for meat or wool. The word most often applies to livestock-raising operations in the western United States and Canada, though...
ing areas of Nevada and adjacent states, and led to creation of several "Basque Festivals" in those areas. Laxalt also served as a consultant to the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
on Basque culture, and helped start the Basque Studies program at the University of Nevada
University of Nevada, Reno
The University of Nevada, Reno , is a teaching and research university established in 1874 and located in Reno, Nevada, USA...
.
Robert was the younger brother of Paul Laxalt
Paul Laxalt
Paul Dominique Laxalt of Nevada was a former Republican District Attorney, Lieutenant Governor, Governor and U.S. Senator. In the media, the words "son of a Basque sheepherder" often accompanied his name. He was one of Ronald Reagan's closest friends in politics...
, former Nevada governor (1967-1971) and U.S. Senator (1974-1987). Sweet Promised Lands local popularity likely played a role in his brother Paul's early political victories.
Robert Laxalt founded the University of Nevada Press
University of Nevada Press
The University of Nevada Press is a university press that is run by the Nevada System of Higher Education. It was founded by Robert Laxalt in 1961....
, which published almost all of his books written after 1964. This raised the prominence of the University of Nevada Press, but also limited the distribution and probably the critical attention given to Robert's books. He also served as the writer-in-residence at the University of Nevada Reno, and in 1988 became the first occupant of the Distinguished Nevada Author Chair at that university.
Laxalt was chosen along with Walter Van Tilburg Clark
Walter Van Tilburg Clark
Walter Van Tilburg Clark was an American novelist, short story writer, and educator. He ranks as one of Nevada's most distinguished literary figures of the 20th century and is known primarily for his novels, his one volume of stories, as well as his uncollected short stories...
to be the first writer inducted into the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame when it was established in 1988 by the Friends of the University of Nevada Libraries.
Basque identity
From the Basque Oral History Project:- Laxalt brought Basque identity to the forefront of those living in the Western States. Born on a livestock ranch during the Great Depression, he saw his father went out on the road doing whatever he could to make a living cause the depression. His mother heard that there was a Basque hotel in Carson City for sale called the French Hotel. The business went pretty well and even during Prohibition the hotels served wine. The clientele were more American than Basque. The politicians took a liking to Paul at the time, said he'd be governor some day. Eventually his father bought some ewes again and started buying private land so he would be able to run his sheep. He never wanted to be big again, because it was too risky.In the hotel there were also many miners, prospectors and buckaroos. In town, the Basques would wear their best suits every day. His father almost went crazy staying in the hotel, wanted to be outside in the mountains running sheep and cattle.
- They knew most of the other families in the area, would travel around all the time. His father had only one American sheepherder, but he lost sheep. The significance of the Basque hotels were that they were a home away from home for the sheepherders, where they could speak Basque, play cards and have good food. About the herders, what they did and how they felt about their lifestyle. Who were the best sheepherders according to someone, scots and irishmen but the Basques would always stay with the sheep and never leave them.
Books by Robert Laxalt
- The Violent Land: Tales the Old Timers Tell, 1950
- Sweet Promised Land 1957
- A Man in the Wheatfield 1964. Selected by the American Library Association as one of the six notable works of American fiction that year.
- Nevada, 1971
- In a Hundred Graves: A Basque Portrait, 1972
- Nevada: A Bicentennial History, 1977
- A Cup of Tea in Pamplona, 1985. Nominated for a 1985 Pulitzer Prize in fiction.
- A Basque Hotel 1989. Nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.
- A Time We Knew: Images of Yesterday in the Basque Homeland, 1990
- The Child of the Holy Ghost 1992
- A Lean Year and Other Stories (16 short stories), 1994
- The Governor's Mansion 1994
- Dust Devils 1997
- A Private War: An American Code Officer in the Belgian Congo, 1998
- The Land of My Fathers: A Son's Return to the Basque Country, 1999
- Time of the Rabies, 2000
- Travels With My Royal: A Memoir of the Writing Life, available May 2001
External links
- Center for Basque Studies: Robert Laxalt
- "Robert Laxalt: A Basque Pioneer in the American Literary West" (Adobe Acrobat *.PDF document) by David Rio
- Obituary in the Las Vegas Review-JournalLas Vegas Review-JournalThe Las Vegas Review-Journal is published in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. It is the largest circulating daily newspaper in Nevada, and one of two daily newspapers in Las Vegas . It is the flagship publication of Stephens Media LLC...
- Nevada Writers Hall of Fame