University of North Texas

The new current exhibit from the Libraries’ Archives and Rare Books celebrates pioneering women writers, artists, businesswomen and leaders and their role in the state of Texas. One of the featured women – novelist Anne Rice, above – has a connection to UNT. What is it?

A. She attended UNT in the 1960s.

B. She taught a creative writing class at UNT.

C. She has donated her letters to Willis Library.

D. Her novel Interview with the Vampire features scenes that take place in Bruce Hall.

The answer is A. Rice, best known for her popular Vampire Chronicles series, briefly attended UNT in the 1960s. Back then, she was known as Anne O’Brien, listened to the lab band in the student union and studied English.

• Learn more about Rice in a profile in The North Texan alumnni magazine.

“Revealing Texas Women: Hidden Voices in Special Collections,” on display through May 11 in Willis Library, Room 437, explores the often disregarded female experience in Texas and the women who forged new spheres of influence for their peers and future generations, said Morgan Gieringer, head of Archives and Rare Books.

“From authors and artists to showgirls and club women, the diversity of Texas women is reflected in Revealing Texas Women,” Gieringer said. “This exhibit highlights never before exhibited collections, such as the science fiction art of Victoria Lisi, with rare first edition books by Texas authors and many more surprises.”

Other women featured in the exhibit include:

• Naomi Shihab Nye - An award winning poet, songwriter, novelist, anthologist and Texan. Born in Palestine, Shihab writes about culture, heritage and peace.
• Katherine Ann Porter - A Pulitzer Prize-winning author, journalist, essayist and political activist. Porter is mostly known for her short stories, most that are set in the Southern United States and Mexico. 
• Enid Justin - The founder, president, chief salesperson and chief executive of the Nocona Boot Company. Justin, the daughter of famed book-maker Herman Joseph Justin, is honored in Fort Worth’s National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame for her contributions to the boot-making industry.
• Sarah Tilghman Hughes - Jurist, civil rights activist, Texas state representative and federal court judge, and is best known for swearing in Lyndon Johnson as U.S. president aboard Air Force One following the assassination of John F. Kennedy. In 1961, she was appointed by Kennedy to become the first woman to serve as a federal district judge in Texas. Right, Hughes with Johnson, courtesy of the LBJ Library.

Learn more: Morgan Davis Gieringer, Archives and Rare Books, 940-369-8657.

• Enter to win a UNT spirit pack (eco-friendly bag, T-shirt, pin, water bottle) by sending an email to InHouse with "Texas Women" in the subject line by 5 p.m. Feb. 22. Winners will be selected at random from all responses.

-Jessica DeLeon, URCM