UNP Spring 2014 E-newsletter

Announcing the new African Poetry Book Series

University of Nebraska Press Newsletter

in the Spring 2014 issue:

Empowering education

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Behind the book: Fred Minnick

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Director’s view

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UNP book donation

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Why I give

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Give to Lincoln Day

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Thanks to our supporters 16 Press personnel

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Et cetera

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Friends of the Press membership form

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Andre Lambertson

Media highlights, awards, book reviews 9 –13

U

nder the helm of series editor Kwame Dawes, the African Poetry Book Series seeks to discover and highlight works of African poetry with a wide-ranging scope, from classic works to contemporary voices.

UNP director Donna Shear sat down with Kwame Dawes, Chancellor’s Professor of English at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, and Glenna Luschei editor of Prairie Schooner, to talk about the pioneering new series that the Press, Prairie Schooner, and the African Poetry Book Fund (APBF), partnering with Amalion Publishing based in Senegal, have created together to bring the works of African poets to the English-speaking world.

DS: What was your motivation for starting the series?

KD: The motivation was pretty basic. I was trying to put together a list of published and contemporary African poets by looking for their books or the presses that publish them, and I couldn’t find very many. I realized there was a big gap and I thought there had to be a way to fill that gap.

Since I’ve been the associate poetry editor for Peepal Tree Press, a literary publishing house based in the UK, which publishes contemporary and classic Caribbean literature, as well as having started the Palmetto Poetry Series with the University of South Carolina Press, I knew how to start and expand a list.

I knew if you published three or four books each year, pretty soon you’ve got a good body of work.

DS: What made you bring the idea to the University of Nebraska Press? continued on page 2

African Poetry Book Series

continued from page 1

KD: Two reasons. First, I knew the University of Nebraska Press and I knew it to be a prestigious press. And I thought—correctly—that it would be open to this idea. Second, when I was hired as the new editor of Prairie Schooner, I expressed my intention to further “internationalize” PS, so the African poetry series fit with that intention. I also want to add that Susan Belasco, chair of the English department here at UNL, has been very supportive of the idea.

DS: Can you explain what you will be publishing in the series?

KD: There will be three publications annually, with an occasional fourth one if something comes over the transom that we think is important. But each year, the University of Nebraska Press will publish a book of New and Selected Works from a living major African poet as well as the winner of the Sillerman Prize for the best first book of poetry. In addition, a series of chapbooks will be published. Slapering Hol Press is doing the first chapbooks, which UNP will distribute.

DS: Can you talk a little about the Sillerman Prize?

KD: Laura Sillerman and her husband, F. X. Sillerman, are great philanthropists.

Laura is also a gifted poet and writer. When I first broached this series idea at an awards ceremony where I was being honored, she immediately stepped up and offered to underwrite it. We are very grateful and she has been a wonderful person to work with. Her funding will support the book prize and the chapbooks.

DS: The first books are out!

KD: Yes, we’re pleased that both The Promise of Hope: New and Selected Poems, 1964–2013 by Kofi Awoonor and Madman at Kilifi by Clifton Gachagua, the inaugural Sillerman First Book Prize winner, both published this March.

DS: But it’s a little bittersweet.

KD: Yes, it’s sad that Kofi Awoonor died [he was a victim in the Nairobi terrorist attack in September 2013]. I have known Kofi since I was a little boy and I knew I wanted his book to be our first New and Selected title because he was a poet of immense talent and authority. We were in Nairobi together for the Storymoja [Hay] Festival when he was killed. He had agreed to attend the festival to begin the promotional work on the book. A terrible loss.

DS: For the Sillerman Prize, who selects that work?

KD: We have a wonderful group of volunteers—all major poets in their own right—who go through the hundreds of submissions to choose the winner.

This editorial board consists of Chris Albani, Matthew Shenoda, Gabeba Baderoon, John Keene, and Bernadine Evaristo. I should add that the staff at Prairie Schooner is a vital part of this, particularly managing editor Marianne Kunkel who volunteers as managing editor for APBF and Haile Safola who volunteers as editorial assistant for the series. We have partnered with Amalion Publishing in Senegal to help get the books published and sold in Africa.

DS: And the next winner has been announced.

KD: Yes, Ladan Osman. She is splendidly gifted and we’re looking forward to publication next year of her collection, The Kitchen Dweller’s Testimony. continued on page 8

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Empowering Education: Getting unp Books into College Classrooms

by Martyn Beeny, UNP marketing manager

O

ne of the principal missions of the University of Nebraska Press is to publish scholarship for the academic community’s use.

Over the years, UNP has developed and published scholarly books of considerable esteem— award winners, notably reviewed titles, and works that have spurred fresh lines of inquiry for scholars. Many of these books have found their way into the hands of academics keen to assign them to their students.

Sometimes this move to “course adoption,” as we call it, occurs because a professor has read the book and made the decision to use it in the classroom. Professors often discover our books at an academic conference or through a review in a scholarly journal. But because we think far more of our books have the potential to facilitate learning in the classroom, we’re doing even more to get the right books to the right teachers and, ultimately, students. Over the last several months, UNP’s marketing department has been researching and analyzing data to find better meth-

ods of highlighting our scholarly books to the academics who could be using them in their classes. This research has led to several new marketing strategies. We are developing mailing and emailing lists of professors in our core publishing areas, seeking endorsements from leading scholars regarding classroom-suitable books, mining the backlist for gems not yet on a scholar’s syllabus, and encouraging professors to request examination copies (to take a look at before purchasing) of books that might be right for their students.

We intend to identify the most classroom-appropriate titles from our list and make professors aware of how those books can help them teach. We are grateful that there are so many tools available to us that will enable this line of communication and encourage academics throughout the world to use more of our books in their classrooms. Ultimately we hope to ensure that more students can benefit from our books, enabling new generations to explore the groundbreaking scholarship that UNP publishes every day.

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BEHIND THE BOOK

With author Fred Minnick and Sam Dorrance, publisher at Potomac Books

Without women, whiskey may not exist. In Whiskey Women, Wall Street Journal-bestselling author Fred Minnick tells the tales of women who have created this industry, from Mesopo­ tamia’s first beer brewers and distillers to America’s roughand-tough bootleggers during Prohibition.

Fred Minnick, once an army journalist in Iraq, writes the award-winning “American Whiskey” column for Tasting Panel Magazine and “Toasting the Hunt” column for Covey Rise. A regular contributor to Caviar Affair, Costco Connection, Whisky Magazine, and Whisky Advocate, Minnick has widely written about the spirits industry, traveling around the world covering everything from Limoncello in Sorrento, Italy, to Malbec wine in Mendoza, Argentina. Minnick is a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors. Meridith May, publisher of Tasting Panel, calls Minnick “one of the best whiskey storytellers in the business.”

Fred Minnick: How does a male whiskey writer pen the first book on the history of women and whiskey? Well, it all goes back to my mom attending college when I was twelve. A bus driver at the time, mom raised my brother and me while dad worked two, sometimes three, jobs to put food on the table. Mom showed courage, setting the stage for my admiration of strong women.

Fast forward thirteen years, and I’m sent to Iraq as an army photojournalist with a female captain and younger female soldiers reporting to me. They displayed a deep courage, a selfless nature, and a military acumen that equaled or bettered the men’s efforts.

So, when Bourbon Women was founded in 2010, I had a strongly rooted appreciation for women defying odds in a man’s world. At the first meeting, Bourbon Women founder Peggy Noe Stevens discussed women being the first distillers and helping build the bourbon whiskey industry into what it is today.

At the time, I had been covering the bourbon industry for a few years and never heard of these claims. I’d seen women in tasting rooms occasionally, but I knew little about their impact to the spirit’s history.

I fact-checked her claims and discovered that women invented beer and distillation, and were incredibly instrumental in every whiskey category. At one point, I was sitting at my computer, looking around my book collection, and knew I had to write this book. But it wasn’t easy.

I didn’t have a university-level research budget or federal grants. It was me.

And remember, I’m a journalist. Not a scholar.

Whiskey Women became the most important undertaking of my career, and I had to dig where no whiskey writer had dug before. I searched through international archival records, brand histories, and national libraries, and I continued on page 6

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Director’s View

by Donna A. Shear, unp director

Dear Friends, I’ve been musing lately about social media. At age 59, I feel somewhat media savvy, although certainly not an Olympian by any means. I use Facebook—it’s a great way to keep up with family and friends, and I love that I’ve reconnected with people from childhood, college, other cities I’ve lived in, and with colleagues from former jobs. I also have a Twitter account. I joke that I suspect my followers—all 165 of them—wait with bated breath for my monthly tweet. And I am honored that professional poker player Phil Ivey is following me—I feel like I better be able to give him some good tips.

I don’t do Instagram (I’m still not sure what it is), but I’m a whiz at posting pictures taken on my iPhone to my Facebook and Twitter accounts. I enjoy tweets that alert me to a book review or an event like a book signing. Well-timed tweets can spur me to act. And I’m continually amazed at how celebrities use Twitter to promote themselves and what the world calls their “brand.”

At the Press, every once in a while there’s a Twitter “call to action.” Last week, Marketing wanted us to take pictures of our office bookshelves and post them on Twitter as “shelvies.” My shelves—jammed full with UNP titles—were retweeted a couple of times. I wish I’d straightened them a bit before taking the picture.

And then there are blogs. When I was little, my aunt (of blessed memory) used to say that Ford Mustangs were like rear ends (well, she used a different word): “Everybody’s got one.” Everybody’s got a blog these days. Some I truly enjoy. I love what our publicists have done on the UNP blog —guest columns by authors and editors, regular columns from our editor in chief and our marketing manager, some very irregular columns by me (sorry!).

Tom Swanson’s recollection of the postcard he received from Pete Seeger following our reprinting of Hard-Hitting Songs for Hard Hit People is a delight. A lovely, lovely piece by Ted Kooser about his wonderful life, occasioned by the publication by the Press of his biography, Mary K. Stillwell’s The Life and Poetry of Ted Kooser. Tish Fobben’s wonderful column about dogs and books and books about dogs. This one reminds me of the famous Groucho Marx quip: “Outside of a dog, a book is a man’s best friend. Inside of a dog, it’s too dark to read.”

I text. I have an iPhone. I have an iPad. I have a NOOK. I have a Facebook account. I have a Twitter account. I think I’m fairly “plugged in” for someone my age. Heck, we just bought a “smart” TV! But I also read books, both print and electronic, and two newspapers every morning (plus a third one online because we can’t get home delivery of The New York Times where we live). Is there time for anything else? Tweet me or “friend” me on Facebook and share your thoughts on social media! Maybe I’ll get a column out of it for the UNP blog.

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Utah basketball legend Billy “the Hill” McGill (far right) appeared on the Utah Jazz pregame show on Saturday, February 22, 2014. McGill is the coauthor with Eric Brach of Billy “the Hill” and the Jump Hook.

B E H I N D T H E B O O Kcontinued from page 4 interviewed lawyers of deceased women bootleggers.

When in the National Library of Ireland, I found an early 1600s’ poitin (Irish moonshine) recipe penned by a woman on thick parchment.

The recipe became a small part of the book but a symbol of my research journey: I was the first person in history to uncover the tales of forgotten whiskey women in Ireland, Scotland, North America, and throughout the world.

And because of my background as a journalist, I connected some analytical dots past researchers had missed.

In Scotland, women were executed for witchcraft for just possessing aqua vitae, Latin for “water of life,” which was also the early name for whisky. But if they sold the aqua vitae for intoxication purposes, they were not witches; they were bootleggers.

I found prostitutes sold a lot of whiskey, and I argued that these women were the most important whiskey salespeople of the 1800s. I also learned women bootleggers were much more efficient and better than men, often

slipping under the legal radar and receiving lighter sentences when arrested.

So, I came to the conclusion that women bootleggers were better than the men. What’s new?

Sam Dorrance, publisher at Potomac Books, responds: When Fred’s proposal came up at our editorial board meeting we all had the same reaction: This could be fun!

Think of all the great whiskey bars we can visit and sell books to! Not to mention the distilleries! Someone asked, “Why isn’t this story being told by a woman?” Someone else said, “What better person to tell the story than Fred Minnick? He’s got all the right credentials, he’ll be great to work with given his connections in the industry, and his expertise in social media is a big plus.” And so it was, and continues to be one of the very best collaborations between author and publisher I’ve ever had the good fortune to contribute to. Raise a glass to Fred Minnick, and Whiskey Women!

In Scotland, women were executed for witchcraft for just possessing aqua vitae, Latin for “water of life,” which was also the early name for whisky. But if they sold the aqua vitae for intoxication purposes, they were not witches; they were bootleggers 6

UNP Donates Books to Lincoln City Libraries Last year we found our offices awash with more books than usual. With our acquisition of Potomac Books and the decision to ship exhibit copies for scholarly conferences and trade shows directly from our warehouse, we became overwhelmed with extra books.

Fortunately, we discovered a solution that would not only solve this problem but also give us an opportuni-

Where’s Benny?

ty to benefit our home city. In 2013 the University of Nebraska Press donated over 1,250 books to Lincoln City Libraries. Library director Pat Leach said, “On behalf of the citizens of Lincoln and the Board of Trustees of Lincoln City Libraries, I thank the University of Nebraska Press for this generous donation and support of the public library.”

One year ago, Benny joined the ranks of the jet set for Book Expo America. Since then, he has spent most of his time dashing from one Nebraska site to another.

This spring, the world-wearied traveler took time to indulge in contemplation, meandering through beautiful outdoor locations in Lincoln and greater Nebraska.

On a journey of self-discovery

From the south entrance of the Nebraska State Capitol in Lincoln, Benny mulls over how far he has roamed.

Feeling inclined to ruminate, he relishes his tranquil perch.

Next, Benny seeks solace in Lincoln’s Sunken Gardens, named one of the “300 of the Best Gardens to Visit in the U.S. and Canada” in the National Geographic Guide to America’s Public Gardens. Benny pauses to contemplate his reflection in the softly rippling water of a pond.

Ultimately, Benny wanders to the Arbor Day Farm in Nebraska City, where the verdant landscape rejuvenates his soul. The intrepid bison gazes into the distance, brimming with excitement for his next adventure.

The gentle bison breathes in the aroma of the blossoming impatiens in Sunken Gardens. His senses are reawakened.

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African Poetry Book Series

continued from page 2

DS: And the next New and Selected?

KD: Yes, the next New and Selected Works title will be from Ama Ata Aidoo. Very exciting!

DS: What have you discovered or found interesting since beginning this series that you didn’t know or weren’t expecting?

KD: Reading through the submissions for the Sillerman Prize made us realize that young African poets— because they can’t get their hands on the works of contemporary poets—often write in archaic or older forms. Many are not as aware as one might

hope of what’s happening in the evolution of contemporary poetry. So we’ve started another endeavor—that is, to establish poetry libraries in African countries. We’ve got partnerships in five countries now—Ghana, Uganda, Kenya, Botswana, and the Gambia. We’ve asked our partners there to find and maintain the space and we will supply the books.

DS: Kwame, in the three years you’ve been at UNL, you’ve certainly done an amazing number of things. What energy! Thanks for all you’re doing here at the university, and thanks for partnering with the Press in this exciting endeavor.

Puzzler

Match these best-selling Bison Books with their quotes. These books comprise just a small number of the texts newly available in ebook form thanks to a generous donation from Friends of the Press.

Technological innovations in the publishing process enable us to create electronic editions of our new books at the same time that we publish the physical copies. But without your donations to our Friends group, we would not have been able to make these wonderful older titles accessible to a wider audience through digitization.

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Saga of Chief Joseph

by Helen Addison Howard

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Left Handed, Son of Old Man Hat: A Navajo Autobiography

by Left Handed

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A Bride Goes West

by Nannie T. Alderson and Helena Huntington Smith

Doc Holliday

by John Myers Myers Winter Wheat

by Mildred Walker

a b c

“He was aware of the dead man’s moment—the second before a man feels the shock of even a bullet through the heart. In the course of that instant he counted on avenging his own murder on at least one of his enemies.”

“Slowly the thing I didn’t want to know bore in on me like the awful rising heat at harvesttime.”

“Although Joseph ruled the men, he did not always have the final say in his household, if we can judge by his statement: ‘When you can get the last word with an echo, you may have the last word with your wife.’”

d

“When I got outside I gazed at my shadow, wondering how I looked. But I couldn’t tell. I moved the hat around, I could see the hat on my head, but my hair was sticking out in all directions.”

e

“There was an old and rather brutal saying out west, to the effect that this was a great country for men and horses, but hell on women and cattle. Without going into the latter part of that statement, I should like to amend the first part. It was a great country for men and children. Especially for children.”

Answers on page 19.

select media highlights In January, Mother Earth News featured an excerpt from Julianne Couch’s Traveling the Power Line in an article about the importance of exploring alternative energy options.

In early January, NPR’s food blog “The Salt” included a lively and heavily illustrated feature about Hoosh: Roast Penguin, Scurvy Day, and Other Stories of Antarctic Cuisine by Jason C. Anthony.

The Washington Post quoted Michael Allen, a national security official in the George W. Bush administration and the author of Blinking Red, in a January story about the controversy over NSA surveillance.

Ted Kooser, a Pulitzer Prize winner, former U.S. poet laureate, and longtime publisher of prose work with UNP, received media attention in January when a series of songs inspired by his book of poetry, Winter Morning Walks, won three Grammy Awards. American composer Maria Schneider’s album of the same title won for Best Classical Vocal Solo, Best Contemporary Composition, and Best Engineered Album, Classical.

Body Geographic by Barrie Jean Borich appeared in the 2014 Over the Rainbow book list in the Top Ten Favorites and Non-Fiction/Biography/ Memoir categories. Borich was also profiled in the Chicago Tribune “Printers Row Preview” titled “Following Her Inner Compass” in January.

And in February, Borich published an OpEd article titled “What Lily Tomlin’s Marriage Means to Me and My Partner” in the Washington Post.

“The Bear,” an adapted excerpt from Young Widower: A Memoir by John W. Evans, was featured on Slate.com in February and was shared more than four hundred times on social media.

Forbes magazine featured an interview with Soner Cagaptay, a Potomac author whose newest book, The Rise of Turkey: The Twenty-First Century’s First Muslim Power, was published in February.

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recent awards The Allotment Plot: Alice C. Fletcher, E. Jane Gay, and Nez Perce Survivance by Nicole Tonkovich was named a 2013 Caroline Bancroft History Prize Honor Book by the Western History/Genealogy Department of the Denver Public Library.

Hatemail: Anti-Semitism on Picture Postcards by Salo Aizenberg was named a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award in the Visual Arts category.

Smoky Joe Wood: The Biography of a Baseball Legend by Gerald C. Wood was selected by the Society for American Baseball Research to receive the 2014 Dr. Harold and Dorothy Seymour Medal, an award honoring the best book of baseball history or biography published in the last calendar year.

Four UNP books were among the selections for excellence in design at the 2014 AAUP Book, Jacket, and Journal Show. The Life and Poetry of Ted Kooser by Mary K. Stillwell was selected in the Scholarly Typographic category. Both Jon Lewis: Photographs of the California Grape Strike by Richard Steven Street and 10

A Totem Pole History: The Work of Lummi Carver Joe Hillarie by Pauline Hillaire, edited by Gregory P. Fields, made the Scholarly Illustrated list. Works Cited: An Alphabetical Odyssey of Mayhem and Misbehavior

by Brandon R. Schrand was chosen for the Jackets and Covers category.

select recent reviews Tell Me a Riddle, Requa I, and Other Works by Tillie Olsen “An excellent volume that will appeal to anyone interested in women’s studies, social justice, journalism, and American short stories and fiction.”—Library Journal (starred review)

Wheels Stop: The Tragedies and Triumphs of the Space Shuttle Program, 1986–2011 by Rick Houston “Readers will find the section on American-Russian space flights absorbing, and will be mourning the end of the shuttle program by the final chapter.”—Publishers Weekly

Jason Anthony, author of the awardwinning Hoosh, was granted an Individual Artist Fellowship in the amount of $13,000 from the Maine Arts Commission.

Young Widower: A Memoir by John W. Evans “An urgent, palpably emotional account of coping with extreme grief.”—Kirkus “While the haunting account of the day Katie died is especially riveting, it is the unfolding and cathartic grieving process that underpins and elevates this heartbreaking tale.”—Margaret Flanagan, Booklist Online Body Geographic by Barrie Jean Borich is a finalist in the Lambda Literary Awards in the Lesbian Memoir/Biography category.

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select recent reviews The Pat Boone Fan Club: My Life as a White Anglo-Saxon Jew

by Sue William Silverman “A masterly stylist continues her uncompromising examination of the inner life.”—Kirkus

Wise Latinas: Writers on Higher Education by Jennifer De Leon Outside the Bible: Ancient Jewish Writings Related to Scripture edited by Lawrence H. Schiffman, James L. Kugel, and Louis H. Feldman “This unprecedented collection of texts is an indispensable reference for scholars and students of the Bible, early Rabbinic Judaism, early Christianity, and the history of the Second Temple Period.”

—JewishPress.com “The most comprehensive collection of texts comprising ancient Israel’s excluded scriptures and earliest biblical commentary.”

—Religion News Service “A tantalizing glimpse into the tumultuously creative world of the Second Temple era.”—Jewish Exponent

“The abundance of high-quality material makes the book hard to put down. While it focuses on Latina experiences, the emotional truths these writers express have a broader resonance.”—Kirkus The Infamous Rosalie by Évelyne Trouillot, translated by Marjorie Attignol Salvodon “In language both sumptuous and biting, Haitian university professor Trouillot gives us insight into New World slavery by telling the story of a Creole slave in 1750 SaintDomingue.”—Library Journal, “Good-bye 2013: Best Indie Fiction and Fiction in Translation”

Ancient Furies: A Young Girl’s Struggles in the Crossfire of World War II by Anastasia V. and Donald L. Saporito “A beautifully written memoir with a spellbinding immediacy.”—Kirkus

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Jackie and Campy: The Untold Story of Their Rocky Relationship and the Breaking of Baseball’s Color Line by William C. Kashatus

Death Zones & Darling Spies: Seven Years of Vietnam Reporting

by Beverly Deepe Keever “It is no easy task to write a book on the Vietnam War that reads fresh and innovative and even contains several surprising findings, but Beverly Deepe Keever’s study on the Vietnam War does just that.”—Gerd Horten, American Journalism

“Using their racial and social attitudes as a springboard, Kashatus has written a superb narrative of sports, race, and politics in the 1950s and ’60s, and also tells of the bittersweet consequences in Jackie and Campy’s lives—Robinson’s death at 53 and Campanella’s paralysis.”—Publishers Weekly

Fried Walleye and Cherry Pie: Midwestern Writers on Food edited by Peggy Wolff “That very American impulse to claim ownership—and to define our separate experiences through food—is on full display in Peggy Wolff’s Fried Walleye and Cherry Pie: Midwestern Writers on Food.”

—Jenny Rosenstrach, New York Times Sunday Book Review Weeds: A Farm Daughter’s Lament

by Evelyn I. Funda “A moving look back at a lost way of life.”—Leigh Newman, New York Times Sunday Book Review

Seymour Hersh by Robert Miraldi “A deep bibliographical treatment of the Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist who is the scourge of those in power. . . . An important, long-overdue biography.”—Kirkus (starred review)

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WHY I GIVE What are the stories behind the Friends of the Press? Please meet a few of our Friends, who have contributed essays to share why they support UNP. Kandra Hahn is the treasurer and a founding member of Friends. Retired from a public service career at Lancaster County, the State of Nebraska, and the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, Kandra writes about the Nebraska Legislature for The Reader and serves on the UNP Advisory Council.

In the beginning and the end, it is the books.

We all have our own relationship with books.

Mine arises from a childhood without TV. And that was not a family choice. There was no TV. Books were everything.

In the summer, the bookmobile was as important as the ice cream truck. And just as delicious.

From that dependency came affection for the heft and scent of a book, the feel of paper, the thrill of an illustration, and the promise of revelation.

I was lucky. For a time I got to work at the University of Nebraska Press, on the business end of things. I got to help found Friends of the Press, to provide support to complement its public charter.

I know the Press is more than the paper books I love. It is journals and editorial leadership and digitization. But always there are the books.

—K andra Hahn

Our Friend Dr. Jeffrey H. Smith is a member of the UNP Advisory Council, a retired professor of history from Bellevue University, and a UNP author. He has written extensively about his ancestor, Victor Vifquain, who was Nebraska’s first Medal of Honor winner.

With the recent fiftieth anniversary celebration of Bison Books—the University of Nebraska Press paperback arm—I was reminded of the words of Civil War historian Phillip T. Tucker. A Bison, he said, “is something special and lasting.” A few years earlier The 1862 Plot to Kidnap Jefferson Davis, which Tucker and I coedited, came out in a Bison edition.

Now, Tucker said, “we’ve arrived.” From the breadth and depth of subject matter published, to the book covers, bindings, and illustrations, the University of Nebraska Press, he added, is “simply the classiest of collegiate publishers.”

As for the wide range of topics published, a few examples should suffice. These include a comprehensive selection of titles on the Civil War and, with the sesquicentennial of the conflict, a timely acquisition of Gettysburg Magazine. Writings on Jewish life, customs, and history are expanded with the recent addition of the Jewish Publication Society to UNP’s fold. UNP’s offerings include a vast selection of works on natural history, many titles by notable Nebraska authors, and for the baseball fan—a treasure trove of books.

Considering the great variety and quality of publications from the University of Nebraska Press, the words of Thomas Jefferson ring true and seem fitting to quote: “I cannot live,” he said, “without books.”

—Jeffrey Smith

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Another esteemed member of Friends of the Press, Dr. Rowena McClinton is professor of history at Southern Illinois University–Edwardsville. Her book, The Moravian Springplace Mission to the Cherokees (2-volume set), was published by UNP in 2007 with support from a grant by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, a division of the National Archives.

A special organization, Friends of the University of Nebraska Press lends unique support to a university press with varying interests, including publications on Native and non-Native personalities, their histories, and cultures. Additionally, the Friends undergirds Nebraska’s editors and their efforts to pursue and publish far-ranging venues that in turn appeal to a wide spectrum of readers, both general and scholarly. Friends supports the editing of personal documentary source documents, from Henry James’s papers to John Howard Payne’s, the last group pertaining to indigenous peoples. Rare is the opportunity to provide energetic impetus to an organization whose mission’s focus is on creativity, well-researched and well-written texts, and valuable contributions to voices that many times go unheard in the historical records.

Friends helps UNP bring our remarkable literary and historical past alive and enlivens our present and future life journeys.

—Rowena McClinton

Unite with Friends of unp on Give to Lincoln Day Do you believe there are books that deserve to be read, authors whose voices must be heard? If so, please mark your calendar for Give to Lincoln Day on May 29, 2014. Over the course of this annual event, supporters are invited to donate to Lincoln-area nonprofits like the University of Nebraska Press. As part of this, our ancillary group, the Friends of UNP, will be requesting donations to assist the Press in its mission to publish books that will make valuable contributions to their fields but may not translate into high sales. As a nonprofit publisher in an increasingly strained economic climate, UNP has a pressing need for this help. The funds raised on last year’s Give to Lincoln Day allowed the Press to accomplish the goal of converting a number of superb older titles to ebooks, a format essential for today’s readers. Please help us to make this year’s campaign to publish worthy new books a success!

Visit the Friends of UNP Give to Lincoln Day page to learn more and schedule a donation in advance. Consider becoming one of our Friends and receiving a free copy of The Life and Poetry of Ted Kooser by Mary K. Stillwell. And don’t forget to mark your calendar for this exciting event.

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unp Thanks the Following Generous Supporters

Individual Donors and Friends Members Tim and Nancy Anderson Anonymous Clark Archer Gordon Bakken William J. Banwell Susan Belasco and Linck Johnson Michelle Benson Michael R. Brazeal Tom Broad C. Harry Bruder Roger and Sally Buchholz Ross Chambers Tom Clemente Community Members of Bellingham, Washington Darrina Damico Beth Boosalis Davis Kwame Dawes Lona Dearmont Donald J. Dermyer Jeffrey and Nina Di Leo Gerald and Kit Dimon Sherrie Dux-Ideus Bruce and Karrie Dvorak Catherine Erion Bob Evnen Charles A. and Barb Francis Mindy Fullilove Carol Gendler Pamela S. Gossin Kathryn Grossman Kandra Hahn Shannon R. Harner and Philip A. Goddard 16

James W. and Marjorie Hewitt Marilyn Hoegemeyer Elizabeth Holtze Melissa J. Homestead Jane Renner Hood Ron Hull Cheryl Alberts Irwin (in honor of LaVon Pape) Jason Baird Jackson Margaret D. Jacobs and Tom Lynch Maurice Jay Ted Kooser and Kathleen Rutledge Robert Lannin Lyman Larsen Carole Levin Peggy Link Bill and Karen Lyons Martin and Ruth Massengale Hilary Masters Rowena McClinton Andrew Menard John C. and Vicki Miles Michael A. and Fani Magnus Monson

Greg Morris Gary E. Moulton Michael K. and Christie C. Nelson Tom and Linda Neubauer Jeri L. Nordbrock Stephen Oates Linda Olig Gregg Orr Eric Papenfuse and Catherine Lawrence Bruce E. Pauley

Harvey and Susan Perlman Sally Petersen Sandy Phillips Ken Price Ladette Randolph Hilda Raz and Dale Nordyke Marion J. Reis Bruce and Sandra Rippeteau Todd Robinson and Cheryle Manasil Sigmund A. Rolat Renise Rosenboom Roger Rothman Julius H. Rubin Lawrence A. Ruttman William F. Sater Theresa Schenck Donna Shear and Joe Weber Sue Silverman Jane Griswold Smith

Jeffrey H. Smith Loren Theo Stuckenbruck Mauricio Solaun Jean P. Soman Joe Starita Steve Stueck Gabor Szabo

Drs. James and Connie Capers Thorson Dr. Ben R. Vrana Roy Wagner Peter Walker Tom and Karla Wendelin Eileen Wirth Mike and Amy Zeleny

Foundations and Organizations African Poetry Book Fund Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Anonymous Foundation California Supreme Court Historical Society Carmen and John Gottschalk Foundation Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany Florence Gould Foundation French American Cultural Exchange (face), French Voices Program French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Hemingway Grant Program Friends of the Center for Spirituality and Sustainability

Friends of the University of Nebraska Press H. Lee and Carol Gendler Charitable Fund Holocaust Educational Foundation Ike and Roz Friedman Family Foundation Institut Français Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford National Endowment for the Arts Robert and Ardis James Fund at the University of Nebraska Foundation Sheldon Museum of Art State Historical Society of Iowa University of Nebraska Foundation University of Nebraska Office of the President

University of Nebraska School of Natural Resources, Conservation and Survey Division University of Nebraska–Lincoln Cather Project, Woodress Fund University of Nebraska–Lincoln Center for Great Plains Studies Virginia Faulkner Fund at the University of Nebraska Foundation We also extend our thanks to administrators at universities across the nation and around the world who provide financial support for the publication of their faculty members’ unp books.

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Friends of unp Supports Books, Electronic and Print The Friends of unp made a major commitment to the Press recently when it pledged $100,000 to support conversion of older UNP titles to electronic format so that readers may enjoy them either in print or as ebooks. Additionally, Friends directly underwrites publication costs of several new books each season. In spring 2014 the Friends group is supporting four titles for general readers in subjects rangclick here for membership form

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ing from sustainability and World War II to memoir and contemporary fiction. Another recently published title also supported

by Friends is The Life and Poetry of Ted Kooser by Mary K. Stillwell. All new and renewing Friends members in the next half year will receive a copy of this book as their thank-you gift for membership.

Join today and support great reading from Nebraska!

People at unp Advisory Council

Press Staff

Ted Kooser, Honorary Chair

Donna A. Shear, Director

Beth Boosalis Davis, Evanston IL Robert Evnen, Lincoln NE Carol Gendler, Omaha NE Kandra Hahn, Lincoln NE James Hewitt, Lincoln NE Jane Renner Hood, Lincoln NE John Miles, Lincoln NE Hilda Raz, Placitas NM Jeffrey Smith, Omaha NE

journals: management and publishing services

Manjit Kaur, Manager Joyce Gettman Joel Puchalla Terence Smyre Erin Sorensen Shirley Thornton acquisitions editorial

James Garza

Derek Krissoff, Editor in Chief Bridget Barry Matt Bokovoy Maggie Boyles Alicia Christensen Leif Milliken Courtney Ochsner Kristen Elias Rowley Sabrina Ehmke Sergeant Heather Stauffer Rob Taylor

Associate Professor, History

business

and Ethnic Studies

Tera Beermann, Assistant Director for Business Odessa Anderson Mark Francis Claire Schwinck Barbara Townsend

Faculty Editorial Advisory Board

Margaret Jacobs, Chair Chancellor’s Professor of History Joy Castro Associate Professor, English Sidnie White Crawford Willa Cather Professor of Classics and Religious Studies Thomas Gannon Associate Professor, English

Amelia Montes Associate Professor, English and Ethnic Studies William J. Nunez Director of Institutional Research and Planning

editorial, design, and production

Ann Baker, Manager Lindsey Auten Terry Boldan Roger Buchholz Renni Johnson Kathryn Owens Weston Poor Nathan Putens Alison Rold Annie Shahan Kyle Simonsen Sara Springsteen Sabrina Stellrecht Joeth Zucco marketing

Martyn Beeny, Manager Rob Buchanan Erica Corwin Tish Fobben Acacia Gentrup Emily Giller Tom Swanson Rosemary Vestal student interns Alex Barrett Grey Castro Chloë Fox

Katherine L. Walter

development

Karla Johnson

Co-Director, Center for Digital

Erika Kuebler Rippeteau

Anne Nagel

Research in the Humanities

digital assets and it

Jana Faust, Manager Hilary Aden Amy Lage Steve Marshall Mila Meza

Kaitlyn Nelsen Alex Wunrow

Answers to the Puzzler: 1 – e | 2 – c | 3 – d | 4 – a | 5 – b 19

Et Cetera

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Sue Silverman signs copies of her book The Pat Boone Fan Club: My Life as a White Anglo-Saxon Jew at the annual Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP) conference in Seattle, Washington, on February 28, 2014. The AWP conference—the largest annual

literary gathering in North America— had a record attendance of more than fourteen thousand people this year, and many of these folks stopped by the UNP booth to meet Sue. We had to extend her book signing event by an hour in order to accommodate all her fans!

Yes!

I want to join the Friends of the University of Nebraska Press

Members receive the benefits listed under the selected level plus those of all previous levels.

Friends of the Press Mission: To promote and support the University of Nebraska Press through the development of financial resources and to heighten awareness of the role the Press plays in the dissemination of scholarly research and literature.

Suggested giving levels: $50 $500 $250

$1,000

$2,500

$10,000

$5,000

other_____­_­_­

Friend ($50) ▶ Friends annual presentation volume ▶ 20% discount on all purchases ▶ Invitations to special events ▶ Seasonal catalogs Sponsor ($250) ▶ Ted Kooser special hardcover edition, Lights on a Ground of Darkness (or alternate)

Enclosed is my check for $ (Make payable to Friends of the University of Nebraska Press)

Patron ($500) ▶ 30% discount on all purchases

Opportunities exist to sponsor or endow individual books or series at the $5,000, $10,000, and greater levels.

Director’s Circle ($1,000) ▶ Director’s Circle annual presentation volume

I am interested in sponsoring or endowing a book or series.

Please have the Director contact me.

Chairman’s Circle ($2,500) ▶ 40% discount on all purchases

name

friends presentation volume

Literati Circle ($5,000) ▶ Individual recognition in a book selected in accordance with your area of interest

Benefactor ($10,000) ▶ A home library containing a set of books from the unp series of your choice, i.e., Flyover Fiction, The Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, At Table, etc.

All new and renewing Friends members at the $50 or above level are entitled to receive a copy of the Friends presentation volume as a benefit of their membership. The current volume is The Life and Poetry of Ted Kooser by Mary K. Stillwell.

Matching Gifts Increase your benefits by participating in your company’s matching gift program! Just pick up the necessary form in your human resources office and include it with your gift. We are pleased to recognize you for the total amount of your and your company’s generosity.

street city

state zip

e-mail

For book details click here.

All memberships are renewable annually, and are tax-deductible to the extent provided by law.

Click here for a printable form or

Join Online

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