Sweet Promised Land and Robert Laxalt

Sweet Promised Land

Synopsis of the Story

"A native Nevadan of Basque descent, Robert Laxalt, also came to prominence in the 1950s. His Sweet Promised Land (1957) is a touching reminiscence of his father, who after a long life of herding sheep on the Nevada slope of the Sierras returns for a visit to his native Pyrenees. Laxalt vividly describes both the Sierras and the Pyrenees and effectively evokes his father’s intense personality. The old man yearns to stay in the Pyrenees among the people of his childhood; but finally he departs again because Nevada, the new land long lived in, has claimed him. Laxalt thus exploits a venerable western theme: even in the twentieth century, the West transforms immigrants into Americans. Laxalt also authored The Violent Land: Tales the Old Timers Tell (1953), a collection of anecdotes from Nevada’s history; In a Hundred Graves: A Basque Portrait (1972), a collection of stories and sketches about Basque peasants in the Pyrenees; and Nevada (1976), the bicentennial history of that state."
From A Literary History of the American West, p. 911.
50th Anniversary Exhibit Photographs and Companion Web Site
In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the publication of Robert Laxalt's nonfiction masterpiece, Sweet Promised Land, the Special Collections Department has created an exhibit featuring Laxalt's process in writing Sweet Promised Land, its various editions, his other writings, and Laxalt's multifaceted career at the University, as well as his career as a newspaper journalist and freelance writer. The exhibit will be available for viewing throughout 2007 in the Special Collections Department, Getchell Library, Top Floor.
50th Anniversary of Publication: Sweet Promised Land
Reynolds School of Journalism's tribute to Robert Laxalt, who was a UNR graduate and later, a journalism professor at the Reynolds School.
Video: 50th Anniversary Celebration, 5 June 2007, in Getchell Library (55:25)
This event was held 5 June 2007, in Getchell Library.

Robert Laxalt's Life and Works

Oral History
Audio segments from Oroitzapendaki: Voices from Basque America Project, Center for Basque Studies, University of Nevada, Reno.
Video: Robert Laxalt on literature and students (00:34)
From a film produced by the University Foundation in 1985.
Video: Robert Laxalt Reading from Sweet Promised Land (03:08)
From a program sponsored by Friends of the Library.
Photographs in the Library's Sheep Industry of Northern Nevada digital collection
Profile of Robert Laxalt in the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame
An extensive bibliography of works by and about Robert Laxalt, who was honored as a Nevada Writers Hall of Fame recipient in 1988.
Robert Laxalt: A Basque who Wrote
A conference paper about Sweet Promised Land presented by David Río Raigadas, from the University of the Basque Country, published in the Center for Basque Studies Newsletter, Spring 2001. David Río Raigadas wrote his dissertation on Robert Laxalt, and published the book, Robert Laxalt: La Voz De Los Vascos En La Literatura Norteamericana, forthcoming in English as Robert Laxalt: The Voice of the Basques in North American Literature.
Robert Laxalt Papers: An Inventory of the Robert Laxalt Papers Collection No. 85-09
Guide to Laxalt's manuscripts and notes for his unpublished stories and novels, manuscripts for many of his published short stories, novels, and full-length books, and reviews of and news releases about those publications. The collection also includes newspaper clippings about his career, personal papers and memorabilia, photographs, and campaign materials for Paul Laxalt's run for Lt. Governor, governor, and senator from Nevada. Materials are in Special Collections, top floor of Getchell Library.
Obituary of Robert Laxalt
From the Reno Gazette Journal

University of Nevada, Reno Libraries

Library Resources

Sweet Promised Land and Robert Laxalt

Sweet Promised Land

Robert Laxalt's Life and Works