|
Hispanic Writers Collection
Hispanic Magazine ArchivesBorder Music CollectionSelena: Como la flor Archives...and the earth did not swallow himJovita González PapersTomás RiveraTino Villanueva CollectionExhibit: Flores del Nopal: Mexican American Voices from South TexasPurchase funds for the Hispanic Writers Collection are entirely supported by donations to the endowment. If you would like to add your support to this collection please contact:
|
In 1986 Texas State University-San Marcos founded the Southwestern Writers Collection, a rich new archive focusing on the history, literature, and fine and popular arts of the region. Soon it became clear that a major element in the dynamic young collection would be the story of Hispanic culture, both in its Spanish and Mexican origins, and its adaptations north of the border. An early landmark in the development of the collection was the acquisition of the 1555 printing of Cabeza de Vaca's La Relacion y Comentarios, considered the earliest work on what is now Texas, and the first overland travel book describing the Americas. Cabeza de Vaca's saga, involving shipwreck and a forced march across much of the Southwest, resulted in his becoming a spokesman for the Spanish conquistadors to treat the native peoples humanely. This major acquisition was purchased with gifts from Bill and Sally Wittliff, the founding donors of the writers collection, and the Azadoutian Foundation of Cambridge, Massachusetts When the Southwestern Writers Collection moved into handsome quarters in the new Albert B. Alkek Library in 1990, the first major activity planned was Cabeza de Vaca week, a celebration of Hispanic Culture in the Southwest. Funded by a grant from the Ford Foundation, "Una Semana de Cabeza de Vaca" presented major addresses by Raymund Paredes and Arturo Madrid, a poetry reading by TxState distinguished alumnus Tino Villanueva, and the premiers of a musical composition by Jay Rozen and an original play by TxState faculty member Jay Jennings titled "Children of the Sun: The Odyssey of Cabeza de Vaca." Of lasting importance during Cabeza de Vaca Week was the creation of the Hispanic Endowment for the Southwestern Writers Collection. The purpose of the endowment is to purchase works by contemporary Hispanic writers, photographers, and artists that become part of the permanent Southwestern Writers Collection. Donations given during Cabeza de Vaca Week totaled over $5,500, with contributions from over twenty-five individual donors and three organizations: LULAC, the San Marcos GI Forum, and Anheuser-Busch, Inc. The result of this generosity has been the creation of an outstanding collection of contemporary Hispanic literature, primarily the work of fiction writers, poets and playwrights. Included in the collection are works by Rudolfo Anaya, Raymond Barrio, Aristeo Brito, Nash Candelaria, Ana Castillo, Sandra Cisneros, Lucha Corpi, Alicia Gaspar de Alba, Dagoberto Gilb, Ray Gonzalez, Rolando Hinojosa, Gary D. Keller, Max Martinez, Pat Mora, Alejandro Morales, Carlos Morton, Americo Paredes, Tomas Rivera, Alberto Rios, Gary Soto, Luis Valdez, Evangelina Vigil-Pinon, Alma Villanueva, Tino Villanueva, Jose Antonio Villarreal, and Victor Villasenor. With a new minor in Southwestern Studies and growing numbers of classes in Latino writing, this non-circulating collection has been heavily used. During 1994 the Alkek Library purchased second copies of many of these works to be located in the main library. Additional donations during the past several years have allowed the Hispanic Writers Endowment to add film, music, photography and art to its collection profile. Outstanding acquisitions in this area have been two photographic portfolios by Austin photographer Alan Pogue that document life in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, and color lithographs by acclaimed Texas artist Carmen Lomas Garza. The story of border corridos and Norteno music is told in two highly-praised documentary films by Les Blank, "Chulas Fronteras" and "Del Mero Corazon." In 1996 the Collection acquired the Adrian Trevino Border Music Collection, which includes some 12,000 songs recorded by Mexican Americans from the 1920s to the 1980s. In 1998 the Southwestern Writers Collection acquired a small, yet significant archive of material from Jovita González. In 1999 Hispanic Magazine announced that it was donating its archives to the Southwestern Writers Collection in the interest of preserveration and research. |
Return to the Southwestern Writers Collection homepage.
