Olivia DrakeIn the Aug. 13 edition of The Huffington Post, Suzanna Tamminen, editor-in-chief of Wesleyan University Press, was named one of the "Top 200 Advocates for American Poetry." WesPress publishes between four and six poetry titles a year. Among the authors are John Ashbery, Michael Davidson, Reachel Blau DuPlessis, Kenneth Goldsmith, Susan Howe, Heather McHugh and Kevin Young, among others. "Many of those who bring new people to an appreciation of poetry, and/or more people into conversations about how to re-centralize (if not re-popularize) poetry in American culture, are either genre-hybridic authors (e.g., poet-editors, poet-critics, poet-essayists, or poet-scholars) or in fact…
Wesleyan University Press publications have received awards and accolades this summer. Three Science Fiction Novellas, translated from the French by Danièle Chatelain and George Slusser, was named a 2013 Science Fiction and Fantasy Translation Award finalist. The SF&F Translation Awards “reward the translation of science fiction, fantasy, and related fiction from other languages into English. They exist both to promote the fiction of non-English-speaking authors and to highlight the valuable work done by translators.” The Connecticut League of History Organizations awarded Ella Grasso: Connecticut’s Pioneering Governor by Jon Purmont with a 2013 Award of Merit. We Modern People: Science Fiction…
David LowIn this issue of the Wesleyan Connection, we speak with Kit Reed, resident writer in the English Department. Reed recently published two new books, Son of Destruction (Severn House), in which a reporter searches for his father and winds up investigating cases of human spontaneous combustion; and The Story Until Now (Wesleyan University Press), a rich collection of 35 stories that displays the range and complexity of her work. In a recent review of Reed’s two books in The New York Times, thriller writer Chelsea Cain wrote: “Reed finds humanity in the most fantastic places. She does it without pretension.…
Lauren RubensteinA book published by Wesleyan University Press, titled, Making Freedom: The Extraordinary Life of Venture Smith, will be distributed for free to about 850 municipal, middle school and high school libraries statewide. The books are being donated through the generosity of an anonymous donor. The book is about the life of Venture Smith, "an African slave who bought his freedom and became a prominent farmer and trader in 18th century Connecticut," according to The Day of New London, Conn., which wrote about an event in Hartford announcing the book's distribution. At the event, Suzanna Tamminen, director and editor-in-chief of Wesleyan University Press, was…
Wesleyan University Press received a grant for $2,500 on Dec. 14 from the J.M. Kaplan Fund. The award will support of Jelle Zeilinga de Boer's forthcoming book New Haven's Sentinels: the Art and Science of East Rock and West Rock. de Boer is Harold T. Stearns Professor of Earth Science, Emeritus at Wesleyan.
Alvin Lucier, John Spencer Camp Professor of Music, Emeritus, is the author of Music 109: Notes on Experimental Music, published by Wesleyan University Press, 2012. In this insider’s view, composer and performer Lucier brings clarity to the world of experimental music as he takes the reader through more than a hundred groundbreaking musical works, including those of Robert Ashley, John Cage, Charles Ives, Morton Feldman, Philip Glass, Pauline Oliveros, Steve Reich, Christian Wolff and La Monte Young. Lucier explains in detail how each piece is made, unlocking secrets of the composers’ style and technique. The book as a whole charts…
Wesleyan University Press's Music 109: Notes on Experimental Music by Alvin Lucier was named an "Overlooked Book" of 2012 by the Slate Book Review. Lucier is the John Spencer Camp Professor of Music, emeritus. In the article published Nov. 28, the Slate Book Review critics suggested "20 great books you never heard about—but should’ve." Slate editorial assistant J. Bryan Lowder writes, "Gleaned from Lucier’s long-taught contemporary music course (No. 109) at Wesleyan, Music 109 is, indeed, Lucier’s notes, clippings from a lifetime spent making, performing, and, most importantly, listening to the 'classical' music of our era. For John Cage and other…
Wesleyan University Press received a $40,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts on Nov. 27 to support the Wesleyan University Press Poetry Program in 2013-14. Works by such poets as Kazim Ali, Rae Armantrout, Heather Christie, Brenda Coultas, Annie Finch, Peter Gizzi, Brenda Hillman, and Yusef Komunyakaa will be published and promoted. The Press will promote the books through organized reading tours for each author and new digital initiatives including custom e-book and print-on-demand anthologies and free online teaching guides.
Influential experimental music composer, writer and artist John Cage (1912-1992), famous for his avant-garde music, was affiliated with Wesleyan from the 1950s until his death in 1992. During his 37-year relationship with Wesleyan, Cage collaborated with members of the Wesleyan music faculty, composed and performed on campus, and was a fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in 1960–61 and 1969–70. Wesleyan University Press published several of his books. To honor Cage's time and achievements at Wesleyan, the university is celebrating the centenary of Cage by focusing on his understanding of music as a social process through a collection of events.…
In honor of University Press Week Nov. 11-17, Wesleyan University Press released an Influence Map highlighting the scope of its work in the state, nation and world. University Press Week highlights the extraordinary work of university presses and their many contributions to culture, the academy, and an informed society. Wesleyan University Press's editorial program focuses on poetry, music, dance, science fiction studies, film-TV, and Connecticut history and culture. The map, hosted by Google, displays many of the locations of where the press is carrying the name of Wesleyan University. Click on a "pin" in Connecticut, and the map displays a poetry anthology,…
Elizabeth Willis, the Shapiro-Silverberg Professor of Creative Writing, professor of English, is the recipient of the 2012 Winship/PEN New England award for her poetry book Address, published by Wesleyan University Press. The L.L. Winship/PEN New England Award was established by the Boston Globe in 1975 to honor long-time Boston Globe editor Laurence L. Winship. The awards celebrate best works of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction by New England authors. PEN (Poets/Playwrights, Essayists/Editors, Novelists) New England is an organization of published authors, aspiring writers, and all who love the written word. PEN aims to advance a culture of literature in New England and…
Wesleyan University Press received a $5,000 grant from the Figure Foundation on Jan. 5. The award will support the publication of the book The Time Ship: A Chrononautical Journey by Enrique Gaspar; Yolanda Molina-Gavilán, trans.; Andrea L. Bell, trans. Wesleyan University Press will publish the 240 page science fiction book in 2012. More information on the book is online here.