The expression “man of letters” has somewhat fallen out of fashion, but we think the way it suggests both erudition and elegance is a most apt description for Chronicle Arts & Culture Editor Robert Faires. How fitting, then, that he’ll be inducted into the prestigious Texas Institute of Letters this spring.
Robert will be one of 17 writers – including writer/director Wes Anderson, Austin poet Carrie Fountain, and songwriter/children’s book author Tish Hinojosa – inducted this year into the TIL, which was founded in 1936 “to celebrate Texas literature and recognize distinctive literary achievement.” It’s another feather in the cap of Robert’s 30-year career as a writer, director, actor, and essential member of the Austin arts community, where he co-founded both the Austin Young Critics Seminar and the Austin Arts Hall of Fame and currently serves as co-chair of the Austin Critics Table. In particular, Robert’s theatre criticism has been singled out for distinction by American Theater Magazine, which named him one of the 12 most important critics in America, and the Association of Alternative Newsmedia.
The TIL’s annual awards and induction ceremony takes place this year in McAllen, Texas on April 27. Here’s the whole class of 2019 honorees: three-time-Oscar-nominated screenwriter-director Wes Anderson (Houston); playwright and Broadway actor Eugene Lee (San Marcos); poets Rosa Alcalá (El Paso), Robin Davidson (Houston), and Carrie Fountain (Austin); and fiction writers Tim Z. Hernandez (El Paso), Wendell Mayo (Corpus Christi /Ohio), and Ito Romo (Laredo/San Antonio); scholars Patrick Cox (Wimberley), Betty Sue Flowers (Austin/New York) and Ellen Clarke Temple (Lufkin); non-fiction writers Wes Ferguson (Austin), John MacCormack (San Antonio); songwriter and children’s book author Tish Hinojosa (San Antonio/Austin), Documentary and Feature Filmmaker Jesús Salvador Treviño (El Paso/ Los Angeles); children’s book author Xavier Garza (Rio Grande City/ San Antonio); and theater critic/playwright Robert Faires (Austin).
A hearty congratulations to Robert and all the honorees.
This article appears in January 25 • 2019.
