Prior Convictions: Stories from the Sixties

by Dave Hickey

An essay on writing accompanies nine stories about the elderly, two Mexican women confronting death, and drunken fraternity brothers.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0870742868
• ISBN13: 9780870742866
• Release Date: January 1989
• Publisher: Southern Methodist University Press
• Length: 185 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.4" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Swearing off . . .

The author of this fine collection of short stories devotes the last 25 pages to an argument against the writing of fiction, claiming among other things that it leads both writer and reader away from actual human experience, a condition he regards as more or less immoral. And he's apparently remained true to his resolve. These stories, written in the 1960s and published 20 years later, seem to be the end of his fiction writing. Too bad for us. These are terrific stories, set in Texas and written with grace, humor, and a solid gift for making enjoyable characters spring to life on the page. It's a men's world they inhabit, a world of frat boys, cowboys, good ole boys, a TV news director, and a Keats-loving minister. For me, he reaches near perfection in the last of them, "Three Days in a South Texas Spring," as he follows an ageing rancher on his yearly trip to town (San Antonio), where he remembers his life and ruminates on the eventual end of it. Apparently still in print. An essential addition to any shelf of Texas literature.

Just like I was there

A outstanding compilation of life as it was and still is for many. Having lived in the atmosphere of that setting, I found the reading chilling and personal, as if it hit home. The lasting impression of his thoughts and recollection continue to allow me to relive that memorable time in life when we all thought everything was so simple. Like so many, I often fail to put myself in an author's position, however, in this case, I am greatful for his talents and abilities to relate real life.......I was there......part of his family during these times. So, thanks for the memories Dave.

One of the few books stolen from me by a friend.

One of the few books stolen from me by a friend (make that ex-friend). I am greatly comforted to know this book is still available as it is one of the books I cherished most and was so anxious to replace. Hickey is, I believe, a journalist, and this is the only book, a collection of short stories, he has published. Can't remember the specific title of the favorite story, something like "On the Trail of the Longhorn Cattle", but it is a classic about an old cowman, alone at home, trapped in a bathtub, with his dead nurse on the tile floor, waiting for his son to return home from a business trip.