The forgotten 60-second Marine Corps. recruiting spot fades in with the familiar symphonic chorus of “MacArthur Park” – “Someone left the cake out in the rain . . .” But the voice is not that of actor Richard Harris, who sang the ubiquitous hit in 1968. It’s Waylon Jennings singing his Grammy-winning, countrified version of …
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Once upon a time, you had to be listening live to catch Bookmarked, the literary talk show hosted by Priscilla Leder on KZSM in San Marcos. Now Bookmarked is available as a podcast, and among its archived programs, you’ll find delightful, in-depth interviews with several of The Wittliff’s acclaimed writers. Leder, a Distinguished Professor Emerita …
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The Digital Preservation Coalition cites November 7th as World Digital Preservation Day. It is just another day here at The Wittliff Collections, but I thought it would be a good opportunity to share with you some of our ongoing digital preservation work. You may be familiar with some of The Wittliff materials that are available …
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Written by Wittliff student worker, Hannah Alvarado. Representing the life of an artist using only their photographs is a seemingly impossible task. Especially a life as singularly impactful as photographer, screenplay writer, author and The Wittliff Collection’s late founder, Bill Wittliff. David Coleman, The Wittliff’s director since 2011, is one of three contributors who took on …
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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 …
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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 …
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“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 …
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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 …
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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 …
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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 …
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