Michael Rodriguez Papers

Collection

Identifier: SWWC-071

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Military documents, personal papers, writings, printed material, photos, and artifacts are the documents that highlight the literary career of the author. The collection is arranged into seven main series that include Personal Papers, Writings by Michael Rodriguez, Promotional Material, Other Projects, Photos, Writings by Others, and Artifacts.

Dates

1968-1999
Majority of material found in 1998-1999

Creator

Rodriguez, Michael (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Materials from the Wittliff Collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study. The user assumes responsibility for determining copyright status, obtaining permission to publish, and abiding by U.S. copyright laws. https://www.thewittliffcollections.txstate.edu/research/visit/policies/publication.html

Biographical or Historical Information

Michael Rodriguez was born at the Nix Hospital in San Antonio, Texas, on August 6, 1947, to Miguel and Herminia Lozano Rodriguez. After a few years living in the Rio Grande Valley, where his father taught high school, Rodriguez returned to San Antonio. His parents divorced when he was young, so he and his brother were raised by a single mom, which was unusual in 1950s San Antonio, in the predominantly Mexican-American South Side.

Rodriguez attended Brackenridge High School in San Antonio and played tenor saxophone, which he had learned in junior high, in nightclub bands around town. He graduated high school in May, 1965, and enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in June of that same year. Rodriguez served as a rifleman, scout, and point man for most of the time he served in Vietnam in September 1966 to December 1967. Rodriguez left active duty in July of 1970.

In 1984, Rodriguez attended his first veteran’s reunion and since that time has been an advocate of and for Vietnam veterans. Rodriguez co-founded the Alamo Area Vietnam Veterans (AAVV) and also VV Chapter 366. He was also a former board member of Vietnam Veterans Foundation of Texas, Inc. Rodriguez also served as president of the Vietnam Veterans of the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines Assoc., Inc. He is the former editor of the state newspaper for the Vietnam Veterans of America in Texas, Texas VVA News.

Returning to school later in life, Rodriguez graduated from Incarnate Word College with a B.A. in Communications Arts in 1995. He graduated from Texas State University with an M.F.A. in Creative Writing in 2005.

Michael Rodriguez is known primarily for his book Humidity Moon. The book is a collection of short stories about experiences of a Marine in Vietnam. Rodriguez has had many short stories published throughout his career. His other published works included articles on veterans’ affairs, an entry in the book Aztlan and Vietnam: Chicano and Chicana Experiences of the War (University of California Press), and Seminole-Negro Scouts.

The materials included in the collection were previously loaned for the “Vietnam from a Texas POV” exhibit at the The Wittliff Collections at Texas State University.