--- description: "So many people have completely misunderstood the story" title: Annie Proulx Regrets Writing 'Brokeback Mountain' image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcdc41b3b350f2cf1/6987776d3c16398eaa450e29/annie-proulx-brokeback-mountain.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Books](/tag/books/) ## Books Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Why Annie Proulx Regrets Writing _Brokeback Mountain_  by [Jack Linshi](/author/jack-linshi/)  ## Jack Linshi Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 29, 2014 4:59 PM CUT  Writer Annie Proulx attends the "Brokeback Mountain" Opera press conference at the Royal Theatre on Jan. 27, 2014 in Madrid, Spain. Writer Annie Proulx attends the "Brokeback Mountain" Opera press conference at the Royal Theatre on Jan. 27, 2014 in Madrid, Spain.Carlos Alvarez—Getty Images  by [Jack Linshi](/author/jack-linshi/)  ## Jack Linshi Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 29, 2014 4:59 PM CUT Pulitzer-winning writer Annie Proulx opened up to the [Paris](http://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/5901/the-art-of-fiction-no-199-annie-proulx "undefined")[ _Review_](http://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/5901/the-art-of-fiction-no-199-annie-proulx "undefined")about why she wishes she’d never written _Brokeback Mountain_, the short story that turned into the triple Academy Award-winning film of the same name. Both the film and short story follow the lives of two cowboys, Jack and Ennis, as they navigate their secret romance in 1960s Wyoming. Here’s what Proulx said about what happened after the film adaptation: --- > “” --- \[[_The Paris Review_](http://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/5901/the-art-of-fiction-no-199-annie-proulx "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3648650/brokeback-mountain-annie-proulx/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3648650/brokeback-mountain-annie-proulx/"},"headline":"Why Annie Proulx Regrets Writing Brokeback Mountain","datePublished":"2014-12-29T16:59:59.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T03:09:57.995Z","description":"\"So many people have completely misunderstood the story\"","url":"https://time.com/3648650/brokeback-mountain-annie-proulx/","keywords":["Books","movies"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcdc41b3b350f2cf1/6987776d3c16398eaa450e29/annie-proulx-brokeback-mountain.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jack Linshi","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/jack-linshi/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcdc41b3b350f2cf1/6987776d3c16398eaa450e29/annie-proulx-brokeback-mountain.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Annie Proulx Brokeback Mountain","caption":"Annie Proulx Brokeback Mountain","creditText":"Carlos Alvarez—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/books/","name":"Books"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3648650/brokeback-mountain-annie-proulx/","name":"Why Annie Proulx Regrets Writing Brokeback Mountain"}}]}] ```