Beginnings - by Horton Foote (Paperback)

About the Book

"Beginnings" tells the gritty and rich story of Foote's adult life. Never losing his charm or genuineness, he often returns to the hometown that nurtured him as a storyteller and has inspired his writing for the past 60 years. From one of the most moving and distinctive voices of modern times, this is a rare, personal look at a fascinating era in American life.

Book Synopsis

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Horton Foote has chronicled the experiences of American life in both his internationally acclaimed plays and his Academy Award-winning screenplays To Kill a Mockingbird and Tender Mercies. Now, in this poignant and delightful memoir, he tells the story of how he discovered his own vocation.
Horton Foote recalls his youthful aspirations, leaving his Depression-era Texas home to become an actor at age sixteen. He lands in New York City to search for work -- and to study with some of the great Russian and American drama teachers of the 1930s. But after mixed results on the stage, he finally recognizes his true passion: the written word.
Collaborating with such legendary talents as Tennessee Williams, Agnes de Mille, and Lillian Gish, Foote thrived in a world of artistic commitment and creative passion. Yet through it all, Horton maintained his genuine Southern charm, often returning home to Wharton, the town that nurtured and inspired him as a storyteller.
From one of the most moving and distinctive voices of our time, Beginnings is a rare, personal look at a fascinating era in American life and at the making of an American literary icon.

Review Quotes

Anthony Day Los Angeles Times Lovely, modest reflections of a fine American writer faithful to his memories and devoted to his art.

Mel Gussow The New York Times Mr. Foote...continues to expand his humanistic vision, welcoming his readers...to share his knowledge of essential home truths.

N. Graham Nesmith The New York Times Book Review Charming and refreshingly wholesome.

About the Author

Horton Foote, born in Wharton, Texas, in 1916, has written and adapted over fifty plays and screenplays, including The Trip to Bountiful, The Young Man from Atlanta, Tender Mercies, and To Kill a Mockingbird. In 1996 he was elected to the Theatre Hall of Fame, and in 1998, to the American Academy of Arts and Letters, from which he received the Gold Medal for Drama for his life's work. Foote has won two Oscars, a Pulitzer Prize, Writers Guild awards, and the PEN/Laura Pels Foundation Award for Drama, and was most recently awarded the president's National Medal of Arts from former President Bill Clinton.