25th Anniversary Exhibit of Prickly Pear Press at TCU, 1998
TCU Special Collections Exhibit 1998
A poster featuring the witty pun on
Prickly Pear by the Press's art director, Jim Jacobs.
One of the display cases at the TCU exhibit, showing a number of the books designed by Jim Jacobs and by other Texas artists.
Pictured here from the bottom of the photo are: Roger Rainwater, then head of the TCU Special Collections; Dave; María; and James Newcomer, a TCU administrator, as they listen to Jim Jacobs speaking of the history of Prickly Pear Press. Dave’s own talk on this occasion, entitled "The Audacity to Edit Texas Poetry," is included in his book Generations of Texas Poets (Wings Press, 2015).
Jim Jacobs speaking in 1998 at the 25th Anniversary Exhibit at the TCU Library.
From left to right: María, Jim, Jay Vogelson (with his back to the camera), and Dave. Jay was grateful to be honored for his assistance to the Press, saying that he was proud to have helped promote the arts.
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Lamar University Exhibit 2013
Dave at the Lamar University exhibit of his writings and memorabilia, 2013. The materials were displayed in two cases—one in another room of the library.
The exhibition was mounted by Penny Clark and Charlotte Holliman.
Oliphant, a 1957 graduate of South Park High School and a 1963 graduate of Lamar, who has gone on to a noteworthy career in academia and writing, will give a brief address and play a recording made by the Technicians, a band he belonged to at what was then Lamar State College of Technology.
Oliphant expresses deep pride in his education at Lamar, where he majored in English and had his first published work in Pulse, Lamar’s literary journal, in 1959. After graduation from Lamar, Dave went on to a career that included earning a Ph.D. and working for the University of Texas for thirty years, including serving as the editor for the Harry Ransom Center, one of the most prestigious archives and museums in the country. He has an amazing track record of writing, editing, and translating for over 30 years.
Dave and María, love birds still after 46 years. Under Dave's arm is a copy of his memoir, Harbingers of Books to Come: A Texan's Literary Life, from which he read passages pertaining to his professors at then Lamar Tech.
Dave's Explorer uniform from his days as a Boy Scout in Beaumont. He earned the Eagle badge and attended a World Jamboree in Canada in 1955.
Among memorabilia on display is Dave's manual portable Corona typewriter, which he used for years, carrying it with him to teaching positions in New Mexico, Illinois, South Carolina, Mexico, and Austin before the introduction of the computer.
Dave introducing Marge Meehan (in pink), the wife of Dave's favorite high school teacher and his longtime mentor, Harold Meehan, the South Park orchestra and stage band director.
TCU- 2019 SPECIAL EXHIBIT - Cheers to 80 Years!
Poster for an exhibit by the Special Collections Library at TCU on the occasion of Dave’s 80th birthday.
The exhibition of Dave’s own archive and that of his Prickly Pear Press was curated by Mary Saffell, July 2019.
At the top of the exhibit case is a drawing of Dave and Maria by their friend Jon Bracker.
The complete poem appeared on a white wall that curved around to the right.
Fort Worth Public Library Talk July 2019
Poster for a talk Dave gave at the Fort Worth Public Library on July 25, 2019, in conjunction with the TCU exhibit, "Cheers to 80 Years!"
It was at the original location of the Library, on Throckmorton and 9th Street, that Dave had done his first research on Texan jazz, with María at his side.
Dave reading from one of the jazz poems in his book, The Hero's Fall I Fell For.
The audience at the talk was quite small, but those in attendance seemed to enjoy the recordings of Texan jazz that Dave played and the jazz poems that he read. One lady declared that she loved it all.
Dave with Harriet Waring, a family friend, and his son Darío, following the talk at the Fort Worth Public Library.