Essential Reads from Combined Academic Publishers Fall/Winter 2022-23 African Meditations
Data Cartels
Felwine Sarr Translated by Drew S. Burk Foreword by Souleymane Bachir Diagne
Beau�fully wri�en and thought-provoking, African Media�ons weaves together autobiography, journal entries, fic�on, aphorisms, humour and Zen reflec�ons in one short mesmerising volume. This book is deeply enriching with its blend of subtle imagery and universal wisdom which accompanied this unique and fascina�ng portrait of an influen�al thinker on a spiritual quest. An absolute joy to read, a beguilingly simple book which takes root and grows. UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA PRESS Series: Univocal January 2023 112pp 9781517913892 £16.99 PB
The Companies That Control and Monopolize Our Information Sarah Lamdan
STANFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
As we are all too aware, in today’s digital world, data is power. This book gives a vast insight into the depths of the, largely anonymous, data industry. They can control data, prevent free flow of informa�on, exploit outdated informa�on or distribute private informa�on to predatory en��es - all perfectly legally. Lamdan explains just how pervasive this industry is, and even more scarily, how this is ac�vely affec�ng democracy around the world. While it can seem scary, with Lamdan's exper�se, this is definitely a hopeful look at how we can make this industry be�er.
November 2022 224pp 9781503633711 £21.99 PB
Hereafter
How to Live at the End of the World
The Telling Life of Ellen O'Hara Vona Groarke
Herea�er is the story of Ellen O'Hara, a young emigrant from Ireland at the end of the nineteenth century who, with courage and resilience, made a life for herself in New York while financially suppor�ng her family at home. Her story is told by Vona Groarke, her greatgranddaughter and one of Ireland's most revered poets. It is also the story of the writer's quest to piece together a narra�ve of a life about which so few records are available. It is a beau�ful blend of poetry, prose and history. The wri�ng is wonderful and the playful concepts capture the dilemmas involved in both wri�ng biography and communica�ng an historical experience. For all this it feels authen�c and has an integrity in how it presents an individual experience as universal. We found reading Herea�er to be really immersive and absolutely fascina�ng in both subject ma�er and how it relates to the fallout and a�erlife of colonialism, and its stylis�c approach. NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS Series: The Glucksman Irish Diaspora Series November 2022 28 b&w illus. 224pp 9781479817511 £18.99 HB
Theory, Art, and Politics for the Anthropocene Travis Holloway
How to Live at the End of the World is a hopeful explora�on of how to rethink "Anthropocene," the period during which human ac�vity has been the dominant influence on climate and the environment, and revise our way of life. and thought. In this book, Holloway, a poet and philosopher, takes up difficult, unanswered ques�ons in recent work including those by Donna Haraway, Kathryn Yusoff, and Isabelle Stengers, and inves�gates a radical form of democracy for all of the living. The book has three parts focusing on �me, art and poli�cs which address the current era, which Holloway explains, is marked not just by mel�ng glaciers or epic droughts, but by the near universal disappearance of shared social enterprise.The irony of the Anthropocene era is that we are now being forced to consider ourselves as a collec�ve again. We cannot recommend this �mely and hopeful book enough. STANFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS May 2022 138pp 9781503633339 £11.99 PB
In the Name of Wild
One Family, Five Years, Ten Countries, and a New Vision of Wildness Phillip Vannini & April Vannini With Autumn Vannini
The Vannini family took a 5-year trip to try and fully understand what it means to be "wild" and whether this is the same across different cultures in the world. What follows is an upli�ing study of kinship and connec�on, with not just the people, but the land itself too. This is a fascina�ng, o�en thought-provoking part travelogue, part ethnography exploring the meaning of “wilderness.” It's also worth keeping an eye out for the beau�fully filmed supplementary documentary coming out too! UBC PRESS
October 2022 16-page full-colour insert, 20 b&w photos 288pp 9780774890403 £21.99 PB
No Machos or Pop Stars
When the Leeds Art Experiment Went Punk Gavin Butt
No Machos or Popstars is an engaging and fascina�ng insight into an under-documented music and arts scene, the post-punk scene in Leeds during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Art school students broke down boundaries in the art and music establishments to bring their art to stages and dancefloors across the country, and in some cases, the world. The book is based on original interviews with members of bands including Scri� Poli�, So� Cell, Gang of Four, Delta 5, Fad Gadget, the Mekons, Three Johns and others. The book is a valuable and insigh�ul piece of social history, documen�ng the tail-end of an era when students had access to a state-funded educa�on. At a �me when the arts have become less accessible for most people, this book is a �mely reflec�on on a period of crea�vity and innova�on, what it took to allow this to happen and what’s at stake now. DUKE UNIVERSITY PRESS September 2022 118 illus. 312pp 9781478018636 £23.99 PB