Category: News

Processing Jane Sumner’s audio archives opened up a fascinating world to me.

Leave a comment

By Wittliff student worker, Jessica Henriquez. Jane Sumner,  an award-winning film journalist for The Dallas Morning News, has interviewed directors, producers, writers, book authors, and the former Governor of Texas, Ann Richards. Through the years, she’s kept her roughly-recorded microcassettes and has now donated them along with her archive of article drafts, awards, and interview …

Continue reading "Processing Jane Sumner’s audio archives opened up a fascinating world to me." →

Houston’s glorious R&B past has a home at The Wittliff Collections.

Leave a comment

The recent acquisition of the archives of Austin record collector/photographer/indie music newspaper publisher Doug Hanners, means the deep dives are beginning at The Wittliff Collections at Texas State University into one of the most important and fascinating aspects of the collection – the personal papers, ephemera and rare photos amassed by notorious Houston record producers …

Continue reading "Houston’s glorious R&B past has a home at The Wittliff Collections." →

All Hail the Popcorn King

Leave a comment

“Joe Lansdale is a great writer who can kill you not only with words, but with his hands.” So begins this feisty documentary, All Hail the Popcorn King, which celebrates the virtuoso writer from Nacogdoches Texas — a man whose vision is so original he even developed his own brand of martial arts. Although I’m …

Continue reading "All Hail the Popcorn King" →

The Wittliff Acquires Papers of John Rechy, Pioneer of American, LGBT, and Chicano Literature

Leave a comment

The Wittliff Collections at Texas State University have acquired the complete archive of internationally acclaimed author John Rechy, praised as “one of the few original American writers of the last century,” by Gore Vidal, and as “one of Mexican‑American literature’s founding authors” by critic Héctor Calderón. Rechy’s first novel, City of Night, was published in …

Continue reading "The Wittliff Acquires Papers of John Rechy, Pioneer of American, LGBT, and Chicano Literature" →

In Luck with the Red Headed Stranger

Leave a comment

The Wittliff joined Willie Nelson and hundreds of his fans for a screening of a newly restored copy of the 1986 film “Red Headed Stranger” at his Luck ranch outside of Austin. The ranch buildings were constructed for the film, and many of the old-west style buldings are still standing today. The Wittliff helped add …

Continue reading "In Luck with the Red Headed Stranger" →

Reflections on Bill Wittliff and “The Collections”

Leave a comment

I came to The Wittliff in October 2011, and most of my days since that time have begun with a call from Bill Wittliff. After he and Sally received honorary doctorates from Texas State In 2014, I’d always greet him with “Doctor, good morning,” and he’d reply in kind. Bill loved to check in and …

Continue reading "Reflections on Bill Wittliff and “The Collections”" →

Naomi Shihab Nye wins Prestigious Literary Award.

Leave a comment

The Wittliff is proud to share the news that Naomi Shihab Nye has received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Texas Institute of Letters. This is the highest honor given by the TIL, which was established in 1936 to recognize and celebrate the state’s literary artists. The award will be presented to Nye at the …

Continue reading "Naomi Shihab Nye wins Prestigious Literary Award." →

Major Dobie collector’s extraordinary new gift.

Leave a comment

Last November at the annual “Dobie Dichos” literary festival in South Texas, I got to meet William Allison, a Houston attorney who specializes in environmental law and who has emerged as one of the great modern collectors of J. Frank Dobie material. Bill told me that his grandfather introduced him to Dobie, which set him …

Continue reading "Major Dobie collector’s extraordinary new gift." →

A new Wittliff “Bookmark” on the radio

Leave a comment

The Wittliff is excited to announce that you will soon be able to hear in-depth interviews with your favorite Wittliff authors, thanks to a new partnership with “Bookmarked,” the weekly radio program hosted by Priscilla Leder on San Marcos radio station KZSM. “Bookmarked” presents a lively literary discussion led by Leder, who is a Distinguished …

Continue reading "A new Wittliff “Bookmark” on the radio" →

Funeral for a friend: Rita Vidaurri

Leave a comment

Golden Age ranchera singer Rita Vidaurri, who died January 16 in San Antonio at age 94, was a friend of The Wittliff Collections. Thanks to the Ramon Hernandez Collection, and a 2017 exhibition “Legends of Tejano: Highlights from the Ramon Hernandez Archives” curated by Hernandez and journalist Joe Nick Patoski, Vidaurri’s contribution to Texas music …

Continue reading "Funeral for a friend: Rita Vidaurri" →