Steven L. Davis

We’re celebrating the first book published in The Wittliff’s new literary series with Texas A&M University Press, The Essential J. Frank Dobie, and the companion exhibition.

Dobie (1888-1964) was a visionary environmentalist and a fighter for intellectual freedom. He was decades ahead of his time in championing civil rights. He lived during an age of rapid technological change yet he lovingly honored the earth’s timeless rhythms. Most notably, Dobie rescued an entire region’s social history by collecting vanishing folklore and vibrant human stories that were overlooked by historians of his era. With his literary gifts and formidable perception, Dobie became one of Texas’s greatest storytellers, believing “the story belongs to whoever tells it best.”

The Essential J. Frank Dobie, edited by Wittliff curator and Dobie biographer Steven L. Davis, is a revelatory collection of Dobie’s classic writings. It reaffirms his enduring appeal and shows that Dobie’s ageless wisdom speaks to our own time as eloquently as it did his own.

Special guests include: Dudley Dobie, Jr., Naomi Shihab Nye, John Phillip Santos, and William Jack Sibley.

Please RSVP for driving and parking directions.