A Garden Grows in West Texas
The coffee table book ‘Marfa Gardens’ proves that there’s more to desert flora than cactus and agave.
Jeff Salamon is a senior editor at Texas Monthly and previously served as an editor at the Village Voice and the Austin American-Statesman. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Rolling Stone, Spin, Details, and Artforum. He is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and a native of New York City. He lives in Austin with his wife, two children, two dogs, and one cat.
Articles by Jeff Salamon
Photos of East Austin, Before the Boom
A new book celebrates a pair of well-established African American and Latino communities that are disappearing from Texas's fastest-growing city.
My Friend Spotted a 44-Year-Old Photo of Himself in Ken Burns’s “Country Music” Documentary
The story behind the story behind Austinite Mike Shea’s three seconds of international fame.
Remembering Don Graham, the Demanding Critic Who Helped Put Texas Literature on the Map
The UT professor and longtime ’Texas Monthly’ contributor died on Saturday at the age of 79 after a stroke.
The Road to ‘Presidio’
Randy Kennedy on the Texas locales that helped shape his debut novel.
Meg Gardiner’s Dark Past
The Austin thriller writer Meg Gardiner explains her connections to the Golden State Killer and the Oklahoma City bombing.
The Trump Effect on Immigration
Donald Trump has profoundly discouraged people from coming over our borders. But is his influence wearing off?
An Austinite misses the beach, but doesn't want to be a bother.
Roger D. Hodge’s Texas Blood
In his new book, Robert D. Hodge explores the Texas borderlands through the seven generations of his ranching family.
The Seven Question Interview: Adam Sternbergh
Author Adam Sternbergh tells us how a Canadian-raised Brooklynite wrote a book set in West Texas.
The Five Question Interview: Will Beeley and Billy Stoner
Willie Beeley and Billy Stoner have never met. But from a distance, the two musicians might be the same person.
Parlez-Vous BBQ?
One man’s crazy quest to conquer the culinary capital of the world with smoked brisket.
Why Midlake Front Man Eric Pulido Has Stayed in Denton
It's not New York or L.A. or Austin, but here's why Midlake front man Eric Pulido calls Denton home.
The Fiesta You Don’t Know
Cornyation, lampooning San Antonio's social elites since 1951.
One Degree of Jim Magnuson
Over the past 23 years, the founding director of the Michener Center for Writers has helped launch countless literary careers. Here are a few of the program’s most notable graduates.
The One-Question Interview: Philipp Meyer
One question with the executive producer of 'The Son.'
Enemies, A Love Story
George Saunders explains how writing about Trump voters and writing a novel required the same skill: understanding people you don’t agree with.
True Western
Paulette Jiles wasn't born in Texas, but she started writing novels set here as fast as she could.
Dream Life
The incandescent unreality of Rocky Schenck is on display in the photographer's second collection.
A Better Pill to Swallow
The dean of Dell Medical School wants to reinvent health care for the twenty-first century.
Mission Admonished
A new biography takes a hard look at our forty-third president’s foreign policy record, with assessments that often stand in stark contrast with Bush's own verdict on his presidency.
Something in the Water
Getting wet, getting scared, and getting my family a little closer to Texas at Schlitterbahn.
Interview With a Vampire Writer
Justin Cronin on Texas, our toxic environment, and the long-awaited finale to his best-selling science-fiction trilogy.
Illustration by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders. Click to enlarge. When Governor Greg Abbott announced, in the wake of the November terrorist attacks on Paris, that Texas would not accept any new Syrian refugees, he was flouting the law of the land: the placement of refugees within the United…
The Bottom Line
MBAs Across America CEO and co-founder Casey Gerald explains why it’s hard to change the world.
Modern Spanglish
Carrie Rodriguez’s new album finds her delving deep into her family history.
How J. Frank Dobie Got His Groove Back
In 1975 the estate of J. Frank Dobie (1888–1964) established an endowment that would allow the University of Texas Press to keep his books in print for decades to come. Forty years later, the arrangement is still in place, and the press annually sells thousands of copies of…
Ripped From the Bloodlines
James Lee Burke may split his time between Louisiana and Montana, but he's never really left Texas.
The Checklist
A look at what to read, watch, and listen to this (wonderfully jam-packed) month in order to achieve maximum Texas cultural literacy.
Follow the Money
A by-the-numbers look at how much Texas will spend, per person, on a variety of budgetary items.
The Checklist
What to hear, read, watch, and look at this month to achieve maximum Texas cultural literacy.
The Checklist
What to read, hear, watch, and look at to achieve maximum Texas cultural literacy.
The Checklist
What to read, hear, and watch this month to achieve maximum Texas cultural literacy.
The Class of 2015
Illustrations by Nicki Longoria. Click to enlarge. Elsewhere in this month’s issue, our political team considers which state legislators have earned our respect and which ones remind us why the stately granite building at Twelfth Street and Congress Avenue has long been the butt of countless…
The Checklist
What to read, hear, and watch this month to achieve maximum Texas cultural literacy.
Attica Locke’s Empire
The author of Black Water Rising talks about Houston neighborhoods, writing for a hot TV show, and her dad’s run for mayor.
The Checklist
What to read, hear, and look at to achieve maximum Texas cultural literacy.
Cover to Cover
If you’re new to the state, there’s a good chance that you snickeringly regard the phrase “Texas literature” as a contradiction in terms. Well, wise up, wise guy: Texans have been writing memorable books about their state for a long time. So if you have some questions about the city you’ve settled in, you’ve got a lot of options.