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"Gringos in Mexico," an exhibit on display at SouthwestTexas State University's Southwestern Writers Collection from February 1 through July 31, 2001, follows several generations of American writers who have traveled south of the border in search of insight and inspiration. Highlighting the archives of the Southwestern Writers Collection, the exhibit displays books, unpublished memoirs raw manuscripts, journal entries, and author's personal memorabilia, showing the entire range of perceptions American writers have had about Mexico. These writings often reveal as much about the authors and their attitudes as they do about Mexico itself.

Particular emphasis is placed on Texas writers who share a common history and border with Mexico and have been much more likely to travel through the country. The authors' experiences in Mexico are as varied as the country itself: Katherine Anne Porter wished to travel to Paris and join the literary expatriate community forming there in the 1920s. But the journey was too expensive, so she traveled to Mexico City instead. There she fell in with a group of revolutionary artists including Diego Rivera, and Mexico became the source of her first published fiction.

In the 1930s, folklorist J. Frank Dobie traveled through Mexico on a mule, collecting experiences for his most personal book, Tongues of the Monte, while also interviewing survivors of Pancho Villa's army. In the 1960s, Edwin "Bud" Shrake lived in a cave with the Tarahumara Indians of Chihuahua as he conducted research for his novels. In the 1990s, playwright and actor Sam Shepard went to Mexico to act in a Japanese film. Along the way he collected tales in his journal, eventually turning them into his book Cruising Paradise. Other notable writers with archives in the Southwestern Writers Collection featured in the exhibit include James Crumley, John Graves, Shelby Hearon, Elithe Hamilton Kirkland, Cormac McCarthy, and Bill Wittliff.

The exhibit was curated by Steve Davis, Assistant Curator of the Southwestern Writers Collection. The Southwestern Writers Collection is a major archival repository focusing on the literature, film, and music of the Southwest. The Collection is located adjacent to the Wittliff Gallery of Southwestern & Mexican Photography on the campus of Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos. The collection is housed on the top floor of SWT's Albert B. Allkek Library. Hours are 8-5 Monday through Friday (till 9pm Tuesdays), 9-5 Saturday, 2-6 Sunday. Call 512-245-2313 or visit Southwestern Writers Collection website (http://www.library.swt.swwc/index.html) for more information.