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INSIDE UGA PRESS
The Newsletter of the University of Georgia Press
12
SPRING | SUMMER 14
issue no. 12
ADVISORY COUNCIL
Supporting the Press’s publishing program
welcome our new members
Nancy L. Grayson retired in October 2012 as executive editor of the University of Georgia Press. After
completing a PhD in English, she spent twenty-six years in academic publishing (twenty years with the
UGA Press and six years with the University Press of Kentucky) and also served as project coordinator for the New Georgia Encyclopedia during the first two years of its development. During her tenure
with the UGA Press, she acquired many critically acclaimed books—both scholarly and trade titles—in
literary studies, history, women’s studies, African American studies, ecocriticism, and international
studies. In addition, she initiated several of the Press’s ongoing series, including Southern Women:
Their Lives and Times, The New Southern Studies, and Studies in Security and International Affairs.
F. Sheffield Hale is president and CEO of the Atlanta History Center. He serves as a trustee of the National Trust for Historic Preservation; the Robert W. Woodruff Library of Atlanta University Center;
Fox Theatre, Inc.; the University of Georgia Libraries; and the Georgia Humanities Council. Sheffield
is a past chair of the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation; the Atlanta History Center; St. Jude’s
Recovery Center, Inc.; and the State of Georgia’s Judicial Nominating Commission. He received his BA
in history from the University of Georgia summa cum laude in 1982 and received his JD in 1985 from
the University of Virginia School of Law.
Merryll S. Penson recently retired as executive director for library services, Office of Instructional and
Information Technology, Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, where she had served
since 2000. Having served in various librarian capacities and as a member of the Press’s editorial board
from 2009 to 2011, Merryll brings with her a wealth of knowledge both of libraries and of the Press. Over
the years, she has been active in community affairs, serving on several community boards, including
the Georgia Humanities Council. In 2013 she was a recipient of the Governor’s Awards in the Arts and
Humanities. She has a BA from Grinnell College, an MSLS from Atlanta University, and an MBA from
Virginia Commonwealth University. She is a member of Phi Kappa Phi and Beta Phi Mu. Merryll was
born in Florida and grew up in Tuskegee, Alabama.
advisory
council
The Advisory Council acts as a group of stewards for the Press, promoting our
publishing program and assisting in fundraising efforts.
Mr. Craig Barrow III, Chair
Mr. Frederick L. Allen III
The Honorable Roy E. Barnes
Mr. Peter M. Candler
Mr. J. Wiley Ellis
Mrs. Katharine E. Elsas
Mrs. Peggy H. Galis
Dr. Nancy L. Grayson
Mr. F. Sheffield Hale
Mr. H. Edward Hales Jr.
Mr. Thomas D. Hills
Mr. Philip M. Juras
Dean Charles B. Knapp Mrs. Fran J. Lane
savannah, ga
atlanta, ga
marietta, ga
greensboro, ga
savannah, ga
atlanta, ga athens, ga
athens, ga
atlanta, ga
atlanta, ga
atlanta, ga
athens, ga
athens, ga
athens, ga
Mrs. Rebecca D. Lang
Dr. M. Louise McBee Mr. H. Bruce McEver
Mr. Richard Meyer III
Ms. Merryll S. Penson
Dr. Paul M. Pressly
Mrs. Sarah V. Ross
Mrs. Henrietta M. Singletary
Mr. Charles M. Tarver
The Honorable R. Lindsay Thomas Mr. B. Neely Young
Mr. Tom S. Landrum, Ex officio Dr. Steve W. Wrigley, Ex officio
2 | the university of georgia press | spring 2014
athens, ga
athens, ga
new york, ny
savannah, ga
athens, ga
savannah, ga
roaring gap, nc
albany, ga
bluffton, sc
screven, ga
marietta, ga
athens, ga
athens, ga
FROM THE DIRECTOR
A letter from our director
Friends,
Some of us at the Press are making plans to attend the annual conference of the
Association of American University Presses in June. Founded in 1937, the AAUP has
131 nonprofit scholarly publisher members that include private and public university
presses, scholarly societies, and think tanks. The University of Georgia Press has been a
member of the AAUP since 1940, two years after our founding. We appreciate the many
benefits of our membership, from advocacy, networking, and information sharing to
partnerships of all sorts.
The AAUP has put together an impressive list—available on their web site—called
“The Value of University Presses.” Here are 5 points that resonate particularly with our
work here at Georgia:
Be sure to follow our Instagram feed @UGAPress
• University Presses make available to the broader public the full range and value
of research generated by university faculty.
• University Presses make common cause with libraries and other cultural
institutions to promote engagement with ideas and sustain a literate culture.
• University Presses help to preserve the distinctiveness of local cultures through
publication of works on the states and regions where they are based.
• University Presses give voice to minority cultures and perspectives through
pioneering publication programs in ethnic, racial, and sexual studies.
• University Presses add to the richness of undergraduate and graduate
education by publishing most of the non-textbook and supplementary material
used by instructors.
Thank you for your support of and belief in our mission and our work.
Lisa Bayer, Director
faculty
editorial
board
The primary function of the Board is to ensure that the books the Press publishes have been properly evaluated by qualified
individuals with appropriate expertise. The board also supports the work of the Press by assisting the editors in identifying new
editorial directions that might be developed, by recommending the Press to colleagues with projects appropriate to the publishing
program, and by serving as Press ambassadors to the University and academic community at large.
Kavita K. Pandit, Chair | associate provost, office of international education; professor of geography
Nicholas Allen | director, willson center; franklin professor of english
Alan Covich | professor of ecology
Cynthia Dillard | professor of education
Toby Graham | deputy university librarian; director, digital library of georgia
John C. Inscoe | university professor; albert w. saye professor of history
Loch K. Johnson | regents professor of public and international affairs; josiah meigs distinguished teaching professor
Hilda E. Kurtz | associate professor of geography
Barbara McCaskill | associate professor of english; codirector, civil rights digital library initiative
Daniel J. Nadenicek | dean, college of environment and design; professor of landscape history
Hugh Ruppersburg | university professor; senior associate dean of arts and sciences; professor of english
the university of georgia press | spring 2014 | 3
BEHIND THE BOOK
Kate Sweeney’s American Afterlife | By Kaelin Broaddus, Designer and Production
I
began the cover design for Kate Sweeney’s American Afterlife by perusing
the photos Kate had submitted with her
manuscript: eight historical images for the
book’s interior and an ethereal, soft-focus
image of a tree for the cover. My immediate
response was that the tree image was not a
strong cover visual. I was really drawn to an
interior image of a memento mori ring, but
the acquiring and art editors informed me the
interior images were chapter specific and not
necessarily indicative of the book as a whole.
So I read the manuscript. When I was
done, I knew exactly why Kate had picked the
ethereal tree image for the cover: it was safe
and ambiguous. Still, I knew the tree image
was not right.
Art editor Rebecca Norton told me that
she had been in touch with Kate concerning the cover and that Kate was wedded to
the tree image. She might be resistant to
something else. After a conversation with acquiring editor Sydney DuPre, Kate trusted us
to find something appropriate, but cautioned
that the image should not “go too terribly far
in the direction of quirk. I’d like to toe that
line with care, since there are real stories
of people’s grief in here, and I would never
want anything about the book to come off as
flippant.”
So much for my idea of a visual pun/
metaphor for death: pushing up the daisies,
six feet under, buying the farm.
And then I had a eureka moment. I
remembered a website I had discovered a
year or so earlier. It belonged to photographer
Kimberly Witham, who took odd but elegant
still-life photographs using animal carcasses
she found on the roadside.
Kimberly had a photograph of a nuthatch nestled in a milk-glass candy dish,
itself nestled within a pink Pyrex dish. It
was lovely. It said “unique but nonetheless
respectful memorial” in a simple, striking,
and somewhat abstract way.
At a cover meeting with editorial and
marketing, I described my thought process
as I presented my sample covers (images of
daisies, memorial tattoos, etc.) until I came to
the nuthatch cover, which I’d saved for last.
To my surprise, the collective response was
positive! After internal Press approval, I sent
the sample to Kate. She loved it.
After I had designed the cover, I turned
to the interior.
4 | the university of georgia press | spring 2014
I rarely design a book’s interior to reflect
its cover, but I liked American Afterlife’s
cover typography and decided to use it inside.
I began by noodling around with the titlepage design, using oversized ornamental
brackets as a motif to mimic the candy dish
on the cover. It didn’t work.
Then I decided to be a smart aleck
and use a Spencerian Script bird ornament between the title and subtitle. Upside
down. Voilá! As a bonus, the grouping of the
typographic elements created the shape of a
coffin (the diamond shaped burial box, as opposed to the rectangular casket, thank you for
teaching me the difference, Kate Sweeney).
Next up was the task of carrying this
theme through the rest of the book design.
Using that ornament over and over on the eight
chapter openers would be monotonous, and
its cleverness would wear off in a hurry. I also
had to design a chapter opener for five “Dismal
Trade” sections, short chapters about people
who have found a unique niche in the world of
death and memorialization. These needed to
be set apart from the numbered chapters.
I found a different Spencerian Script
bird ornament, this one in flight, and arranged
it with its mirror opposite on either side of a
script banner. On chapter openers the banner
bears the chapter number and creates a bowl
shape in which rests the “Revealed:” copy.
On the “Dismal Trade” openers, the banner
and birds are upside down, and the banner
bears the “Dismal Trade” title. Its umbrella
shape accommodates the name of the person
portrayed in the section. Voilá, deux.
Sometimes, being a smart aleck pays off.
Q & A WITH KATE SWEENEY
By Shandton Williams, Design & Production Intern
When would you say, was the moment you became interested in the “customs of mourning”?
When I began the book, I knew I was interested in the wide body of quirky little-known
facts that populate this topic. That’s what
drew me in, on the surface. I mean, Victorian hair jewelry! The history of embalming
fluid! How cemeteries came to be! Roadside
memorials! All these things have these fascinating stories behind them. Quickly, I got to
be a lot of fun at dinner parties. Then I had to
ask myself if there was a deeper reason I was
investigating all of this, and I realized it was
this: There I was, in my late twenties and then
early thirties, and I had never experienced
catastrophic loss myself. The thought of loss
terrified me. And since there’s no handbook
that will tell you how to make everything okay
once it does happen, I figured that I was doing
the next-best-possible thing: Getting stories
from people who had grappled with loss, or
who helped people through it. I think that’s
what we do as human beings in situations like
this: We trade stories. And that’s largely what
the book is.
When you were doing your research for the
book was there anything that you found surprising or wholly unexpected?
There were so many moments like that.
One I think of is this. I dove into the topic
of memorial photography thinking it an odd,
macabre practice from the past. Then I met
this photographer who takes contemporary
photographs of stillborn infants for their
families, and this new truth hit me like a
thunderclap: Her photos represented the only
evidence parents might own of this brief
but profound relationship.
The reasoning was similar for our Victorian
forebearers, for whom the memorial photo
might be the only depiction they owned of
a loved one. This was just one moment that
began to change one question for me. It was no
longer: Why were the Victorians so death-obsessed? but rather, What is our relationship to
death now, and maybe: are we a little alienated
from it?
Is there anything “behind the scenes” of your
research process that you think readers might
find interesting?
I developed a regular research relationship
(Say that three times fast!) with the National
Funeral Directors Association. One day, I was
talking with their librarian, Kathleen Walczak,
about some detail of funeral history, when she
mentioned that they have a research library,
and that I should come up and check it out.
Their library is one small room in the complex
that is the NFDA outside Milkwaukee, WI,
but what a room! I spent several days there,
combing the curling pages of old funeral trade
publications--although a lot of these were
on microfiche, so I also spent many-an-hour
staring into the light of the machine. These old
magazines were from the dawn of the funeral
trade as we know it today. FASCINATING.
I also got to pore over embalming textbooks,
etiquette manuals--everything under the sun.
It was just me and Kathleen. She gave me the
key to their photocopier. She was so kind, and
geeked out about all these small facts along
with me. That was a great week.
The title of your book is American Afterlife.
Aside from the fact that most of your research
was done in America, would you say that
there is anything uniquely American about
these burial customs?
Absolutely. We’ve developed a definite way of
doing things in the US. Our “traditional” (only
in the last 100 years or so, mind you) funerals,
with the flower displays and the big caskets
and the rest are uniquely American, and in the
book, I got to explore how these came to be—
and even what folks in other countries may
tend to think of them.
Author of American Afterlife, Kate Sweeney, signing copies of her book
at a successful launch event at Manuel’s Tavern in Atlanta, Georgia.
the university of georgia press | spring 2014 | 5
PARTNERSHIPS
Proud partner of the Telfair Museums of Savannah, Georgia
O
n March 27, 2009, Telfair Museums announced the publication
of The Owens-Thomas House,
marking the beginning of a formal partnership between Telfair Museums and the
University of Georgia Press. Telfair would
organize the project from beginning to end,
and the Press would market and distribute
the finished book. Telfair’s then director
Steven High said of the Museums’ partner-
In addition to their distribution agreement, the Press and Telfair sometimes
extend their relationship to copublishing
books. Our latest joint venture is Slavery
and Freedom in Savannah, edited by Leslie
M. Harris and Daina Ramey Berry. This
project draws upon Telfair’s expertise and
collections, especially Telfair’s OwensThomas House.
telfair titles
Since 1995 the Press has distributed the catalogues
for fifteen Telfair Museum of Art exhibitions.
classical savannah (fall 1995)
Fine and Decorative Arts, 1800–1840
Page Talbott
freedom’s march (spring 2009)
Photographs of the Civil Rights Movement in Savannah
Frederick C. Baldwin
david delong (spring 2009)
Passages
Paintings and drawings by David DeLong
Clockwise from left: Harris and Berry
give a presentation at the book launch. Lisa
Grove, Harris, Berry, and a local pastor.
Cover of Slavery and Freedom in Savannah.
collection highlights (spring 2009)
Telfair Museum of Art
Edited by Holly Koons McCullough
picturing savannah (spring 2009)
The Art of Christopher A. D. Murphy
Paintings and drawings by Christopher A. D. Murphy
palliser (spring 2009)
Paintings by Anthony Palliser
kirk varnedoe collection (spring 2009)
Interviews by Kadee Robbins
owens-thomas house (spring 2009)
Tania June Sammons
dutch utopia (fall 2009)
American Artists in Holland, 1880-1914
Holly Koons McCullough
art of kahlil gibran at telfair museums
(spring 2010)
Suheil Bushrui and Tania June Sammons
ship with the Press, “Known for its record
of excellence, the University of Georgia
Press can help Telfair educate and inspire
a broader, more diverse audience, and we
are thrilled to announce our new distribution partnership with this distinguished
institution.”
The Press and Telfair initially collaborated in 1995, when the Press distributed
Telfair’s Classical Savannah by Page Talbott. Since then, the Press has distributed
fifteen beautiful titles under the Telfair
Museums imprint. The most recent, Spanish Sojourns: Robert Henri and the Spirit of
Spain, is a catalogue for the first exhibition
to explore the Spanish paintings of Robert
Henri (1865–1929).
Slavery and Freedom in Savannah is a
richly illustrated, accessibly written book.
Harris and Berry have collected a variety
of perspectives on slavery, emancipation,
and black life in Savannah from the city’s
foundings to the early twentieth century.
Written by leading historians of Savannah, Georgia, and the South, the volume
includes a mix of longer thematic essays
and shorter sidebars focusing on individual
people, events, and places.
Telfair’s Slavery and Freedom in Savannah
exhibition continues through August 31, 2014.
More information is available at
http://www.telfair.org/slavery-and-freedom-in-savannah/.
6 | the university of georgia press | spring 2014
story of silver in savannah (fall 2010)
Creating and Collecting since the 18th Century
Tania June Sammons
alter ego (fall 2011)
A Decade of Work by Anthony Goicolea
Essays by Linda Johnson Dougherty and
Holly Koons McCullough
artful table (fall 2011)
Menus and Masterpieces from Telfair Museums
Foreword by Steven High
philip juras (spring 2011)
The Southern Frontier
Paintings by Philip Juras
spanish sojourns (fall 2013)
Robert Henri and the Spirit of Spain
Essays by M. Elizabeth Boone, Valerie Ann Leeds,
and Holly Koons McCullough
SERIES NEWS
The Press proudly presents a new series
S
ince the invention of cinema, the South
has been portrayed on film. From
historical epics (The Birth of a Nation,
Gone with the Wind) to intimate dramas
(Sounder, The Color Purple), from big-budget
Hollywood adventures (Cold Mountain,
Deliverance) to independent tales (Matewan, Nightjohn), from sober documentaries
(Harlan County U.S.A.) to hilarious comedies
(The General), depictions of the South have
fostered landmarks in cinema.
In the 1960s, as television became
increasingly prominent, CBS created a series
of popular sitcoms (The Beverly Hillbillies and
Petticoat Junction among them) with distinctly southern orientation. Whether produced for
theatrical production or as television series,
the moving image has shaped and been shaped
by the South and its inhabitants.
The University of Georgia Press is pleased
to announce a new series, The South on
Screen. Edited by Matthew H. Bernstein and R.
Barton Palmer, the series focuses on monographs analyzing specific aspects of film and
television history or criticism, edited collections exploring thematic developments related
to the South and film, and close readings of
significant specific films.
Tison Pugh’s Truman Capote: A Literary
Life at the Movies, published in May, is the first
South on Screen book. It reveals how Capote’s
literary works engage with film tropes, and
his cinematic projects are not merely incidental but crucial elements of the author’s
oeuvre. The book pays keen attention to the
ways in which Capote’s gay southern identity
influenced his and others’ perceptions of his
literature and its adaptations.
series editors
matthew h. bernstein is professor and chair of film and media studies
r. barton palmer is Calhoun Lemon Professor of Literature at Clemson
at Emory University. He is the author of Screening a Lynching: The Leo
Frank Case on Film and TV (published by UGA Press); Michael Moore: Filmmaker, Newsmaker, Cultural Icon; and John Ford Made Westerns: Filming the
Legend in the Sound Era.
University. He is the author of Hollywood’s Tennessee: The Williams Films
and Postwar America; To Kill a Mockingbird: From Page to Screen; and After
Hitchcock: Influence, Imitation, Intertextuality; among other books.
NEW AWARD T
he University of Georgia Press is
pleased to announce the Loraine Williams Horizon Award for Manuscripts
in Georgia History, Culture, and Letters. The
award is made possible by Mrs. Loraine Williams, an Atlanta-based philanthropist and
patron of the arts.
Manuscripts considered for the Horizon
Award may deal with any aspect of Georgia
history, culture, and letters. Manuscripts
dealing with such cultural matters as literature and the arts are eligible, provided that
their methodology is historical. Biographies of
individuals whose careers illuminate aspects
of the history of the state are also eligible.
The winning author receives a cash award of
$500 and, after successful editorial review, a
publication contract with the University of
Georgia Press.
The contest is open for submissions from
February 1 to June 30. Please find more information about submission guidelines at:
georgiapress.submittable.com.
the university of georgia press | spring 2014 | 7
DEVELOPMENT
A letter from libraries development director Chantel Dunham
In March 1939, pioneering journalist Mildred Seydell wrote in the
Atlanta Georgian:
Over in Athens there’s a new baby, a robust healthy one that has a
chance to become large and important. Believe it or not, that baby
belongs partly to YOU! That is, if you’re a Georgian. I refer to the
University of Georgia Press.
In the seventy-five years since Seydell wrote that plea for support, the UGA Press
has indeed established itself as an outstanding scholarly publisher whose authors
consistently receive both positive reviews and awards. The Press has also received
support from generous benefactors through the years. Since 1938 the Press has
expanded its reach beyond Georgia’s borders and now publishes scholarly books with
international appeal.
The Press publishes the works of star faculty on our campus and from around
the world who are exploring society’s most pressing challenges, our most amazing
discoveries, and our shared history. This scholarship now has a broader reach than
ever before and is available in formats never before imagined. Seydell went on
to say:
As water will mount no higher than its source, a state can progress no
higher than its educational facilities. For the proper education promulgates the high ideals of a community, trains and inspires for better
citizenship. It enriches life, opens the mind, heart, ears, eyes, giving
freedom to the spirit, and leadership.
Every year, the UGA Press publishes from sixty to seventy new books that do
all of these things. More than 25 book series in a wide variety of topics—the environment, history, poetry, and many others—need your support to continue to have
a real impact. UGA Press books also make wonderful gifts for any occasion.
The UGA Press enriches life and opens the mind for all who love books and
who support scholarship. Your support allows us to reach even greater heights and
to continue publishing the best of the best!
FOUNDATION
PROJECT SPOTLIGHT
america’s corporal
James Tanner in War and Peace
james marten
paper, $24.95 | cloth, $69.95
The fame and clamor surrounding James Tanner
in the nineteenth century stand in startling contrast
to the obscurity and silence shrouding his name today.
America’s Corporal is the first biography of one of the
Civil War’s most famous disabled veterans and most
prominent public figures in the Gilded Age. The
publication of James Marten’s important work would
not have been possible without the support of the
Amanda and Greg Gregory Family Fund.
We appreciate their support of the Press.
visible man
Please consider supporting the Press’s efforts with your
tax-deductible gift. If you’d like more information about a
specific project or series or about how you can partner with
the UGA Press, please contact me at (706) 542-0628 or at
[email protected].
8 | the university of georgia press | spring 2014
The Life of Henry Dumas
jeffrey b. leak
cloth, $39.95
Henry Dumas (1934–1968) was a writer who did not
live to see most of his fiction and poetry in print. This
long-awaited biography of an unsung literary legend is
made possible, in part, by a generous donation from the
Figure Foundation. We are grateful for their belief in
our publishing program.
BOOKS FOR GIFT GIVING
Look no farther than UGA Press for your next gift
generations in black and white
Photographs from the
James Weldon Johnson Memorial Collection
Edited by Rudolph P. Byrd
Photographs by Carl Van Vechten
johnny mercer
Southern Songwriter for the World
Glenn T. Eskew
slavery and freedom in savannah
Edited by Leslie M. Harris
and Daina Ramey Berry
Published in cooperation with the Telfair Museums
cornbread nation 7
The Best of Southern Food Writing
Edited by Francis Lam
John T. Edge, General Editor
red, white, and black make blue
Indigo in the Fabric of
Colonial South Carolina Life
Andrea Feeser
flannery o’connor’s georgia
Photographs and text by Barbara McKenzie
Foreword by Robert Coles
great and noble jar
Traditional Stoneware of South Carolina
Cinda K. Baldwin
old louisville
Exuberant, Elegant, and Alive
David Dominé
Photography by Franklin and Esther Schmidt
Distributed for Golden Coast Publishing Company
the small heart of things
Being at Home in a Beckoning World
Julian Hoffman
thomas nast
Political Cartoonist
John Chalmers Vinson
the university of georgia press | spring 2014 | 9
AUTHOR Q&A
With Louis W. Sullivan, author of
Breaking Ground: My Life in Medicine
By Victoria Ward, Marketing Intern
I
n Breaking Ground, Dr. Louis W. Sullivan recounts his extraordinary life, beginning with
his childhood in Jim Crow south Georgia
and continuing through his trailblazing endeavors, training to become a physician in an almost
entirely white environment in the Northeast,
founding and then leading the Morehouse School
of Medicine in Atlanta, and serving as secretary of health and human services in President
George H. W. Bush’s administration.
What inspired you to write Breaking Ground:
My Life in Medicine? Why now?
Sullivan: The urging of numerous friends and
colleagues inspired me to write Breaking Ground.
I reflected over my life and have done a number
of things throughout my career that have interested me. As the founding dean of the Morehouse
School of Medicine, I first contributed to a book
about the history of Morehouse College titled
The Morehouse Mystique: Becoming a Doctor at the
Nation’s Newest African American Medical School.
I then decided that it was time to work on
my autobiography.
How has the legacy of Benjamin E. Mays
impacted you in your everyday life?
Sullivan: Benjamin Mays was a scholar whom
I admired for his intellect. He was a kind man
of great principle, integrity, and strong will. He
served as a role model to me, as well as to many
other students at the time. I took from him that it
was imperative to strive for excellence, strive to
solve problems, and improve my life and the lives
of others.
How did your upbringing and the environment
that you grew up in help you become the person
that you are today?
Sullivan: My parents had a very strong influ-
ence on me. I grew up in an environment where
segregation was legally enforced. There were
separate fountains, waiting rooms, and public
transportation for African Americans. We were
also still not able to vote. My parents resisted our
environment using nonviolent means because
they believed in the democratic principles that
our nation was founded upon. The things I didn’t
like, I worked to change.
What is one of your most memorable moments
from your time at Morehouse College?
Sullivan: At Morehouse College, we had daily
chapel assemblies. Although many students
grumbled about having chapel, we realized that it
was very beneficial to us. At least once a week, we
had outstanding visitors who inspired us to work
hard and become the first in our field.
At the Boston University School of Medicine,
you were the sole African American student in
your class. How did that impact your med school
experience? Did it motivate you to work that
much harder?
Sullivan: It was my first time living in a desegregated environment. I was the only African
American in a class of seventy-six students.
Initially, I was concerned because my classmates
came from Ivy League schools like Harvard, and
I wanted to make sure that I could compete. I
wanted to ensure that I would not let myself,
Morehouse, or the African American community
down as the only African American student in
my class. It was an uplifting experience because I
was warmly received and formed good relationships with the other students. After a few months
in school, I forgot that I was different and felt like
any other student. During my sophomore and
junior years at the Boston University School of
Medicine, I was elected president of my class.
10 | the university of georgia press | spring 2014
What was the most pressing issue in our healthcare system during your time as the secretary of
health and human services? What do you think is
the most pressing issue now?
Sullivan: In 1989, about thirty-seven million
Americans did not have health insurance, which
would have an impact on their health in the long
run. There are forty-seven million Americans
without insurance today; that results from our
not being able to get action on that challenge
in the 1990s. Now we are working through that
with the Affordable Care Act. I am pleased that
the Affordable Care Act was enacted, and I think
we should now work on correcting the problems
with the act to improve the health of Americans.
What do you want readers to take from your book?
Sullivan: As a society we have problems, but we
have made a lot of progress. I want readers to take
away that we should work to address the deficiencies of our nation. Improved health can help
people become more productive members
of society.
Dr. Louis W. Sullivan is the founding dean and
first president of Morehouse School of Medicine
(now president emeritus). He was secretary of the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
during the George H. W. Bush administration. He
is chair of the board of the National Health Museum in Atlanta and the Washington, D.C.–based
Sullivan Alliance to Transform America’s Health
Professionals. He is author of The Morehouse
Mystique: Becoming a Doctor at the Nation’s
Newest African American Medical School (with
Marybeth Gasman).
Victoria Ward is a junior with a
double major in public relations and
marketing; she is from Augusta, Georgia.
BRAND NEW
A 75-year-old Press gets a new look
P
erhaps you’ve noticed the repetition
of a new symbol gracing the pages of
this issue of Inside UGA Press. Consider yourself one of the first to be introduced
to the University of Georgia Press’s new
visual identity.
At the center of this rebranding is a new
logo. Our design team’s goal was to create
a visual identity that links the past with
the future. The new logo is a circular mark
incorporating a lower-case g based on a
nineteenth-century slab serif typeface. The
interplay of the g with the edges of the circle
creates negative space that conveys the idea
of accessible scholarship with regional as well
as global reach. The logo is a balance between
timeless and modern.
The simplicity of the mark makes it
adaptable for a variety of print and digital
uses such as book spines, websites, application icons, e-books, and marketing materials.
The Press would like to thank all of those who
contributed to the rebranding process:
project manager: Amanda E. Sharp
design team: Erin Kirk New, Kaelin Broaddus,
Jackie Baxter Roberts
department representatives:
Jason Bennett, Elizabeth Crowley, Jon Davies, Jeri Headrick, Marena Smith
university of georgia press
university of
georgia press
Featured here are a few of the ways
in which you may see the new UGA
Press mark used.
This rebranding is the fifth time the Press has undertaken an identity change. Below is an approximate timeline of the life of the
University of Georgia Press logo.
1950–1962
1963–1967
1968–1979
1980-1990
1990–2008
2008–2014
the university of georgia press | spring 2014 | 11
RECENT AWARDS
IN THE COMMUNITY
UGA Press brings home prestigious honors
turn me loose
The Unghosting of Medgar Evers
frank x walker
flush times & fever dreams
A Story of Capitalism and
Slavery in the Age of Jackson
joshua d. rothman
love, in theory
Ten Stories
e. j. levy
Winner, Image Award for
Outstanding Literary Work—Poetry: naacp
Winner, Honor Book Award for Poetry:
black caucus of the american library association
Winner, Michael V. R. Thomason Best Book of the Year:
gulf south historical association
Winner, Frank L. and Harriet C. Owsley Award:
southern historical association
Winner, New Writers Award, Fiction:
great lakes colleges association
reading for the body
The Recalcitrant Materiality of
Southern Fiction, 1893–1985
jay watson
Honorable Mention, C. Hugh Holman Award:
society for the study of southern literature
stuck
Rwandan Youth and
the Struggle for Adulthood
marc sommers
Honorable Mention, Bethwell A. Ogot Book Prize:
african studies association
katharine & r. j. reynolds
Partners of Fortune in
the Making of the New South
michele gillespie
empowering words
Outsiders and Authorship
in Early America
karen a. weyler
Outstanding Academic Title
choice magazine
The UGA Arts Council presented a nineday festival November 7–15, 2013, to spotlight
the performing, visual, and literary arts at the
University of Georgia. The Press helped kick off
the festival with the ever-popular Dirty Book
Sale at the Tate Student Plaza. Eager customers feasted on hundreds of slightly shelf-worn,
nearly new books at deeply reduced prices.
During the festival, the Press also exhibited
the 2013 Association of American University
Presses Book, Jacket, and Journal Show and
presented a four-day film festival featuring
movies that either originated as or inspired UGA
Press books. The four films that were shown
were God’s Little Acre (1958), I Am a Fugitive
from a Chain Gang! (1932), The Dangerous Lives
of Altar Boys (2002), and Glory (1989).
In addition, the Press cosponsored two
lectures, including one by Larry B. Dendy on his
new book, Through the Arch, cosponsored with
the UGA College of Environment and Design
and the UGA Grady College of Journalism and
Mass Communication.
Outstanding Academic Title
choice magazine
remaking wormsloe plantation
The Environmental History
of a Lowcountry Landscape
drew a. swanson
on the rim of the caribbean
Colonial Georgia and the
British Atlantic World
paul m. pressly
Winner, Excellence Using the Holdings of an Archives
georgia historical records advisory board
Outstanding Academic Title: choice magazine
Winner, Excellence in Documenting Georgia’s History
georgia historical records advisory board
island time
An Illustrated History
of St. Simons Island, Georgia
jingle davis
Winner, Excellence in Documenting Georgia’s History
georgia historical records advisory board
12 | the university of georgia press | spring 2014
Held every spring, the Savannah Book Festival brings together dozens of popular and critically acclaimed authors along with thousands of
readers, book lovers, fans, and aspiring writers.
This year’s festival featured panels by Press
authors Glenn T. Eskew, Judson Mitcham, and
Paul M. Pressly. Eskew, author of Johnny Mercer,
spoke on Mercer, the Savannah native and songwriter. Georgia poet laureate and recent Georgia
Writers’ Hall of Fame inductee Judson Mitcham
discussed his poetry, including poems featured
in A Little Salvation. Paul M. Pressly, author of
On the Rim of the Caribbean, discusses Georgia’s
colonial past and its relationship to
the Caribbean (pictured above).
NEWS & REVIEWS
University of Georgia Press publicity
T
he Washington Post Book World calls
Glenn T. Eskew’s Johnny Mercer a
“smart and meticulously researched
biography,” and the Wall Street Journal says,
“It does justice to the giant accomplishments of
the ‘pixie from Dixie.’”
Buzzfeed selects Tom Kealey’s Thieves
I’ve Known as one of the “17 Books We Loved
in 2013.” “In his hauntingly beautiful short
story collection, Kealey unveils each of the
lives of his young characters like a flower, and
shows their capacity for survival.”
Calvin Trillin’s “Tamales on the Delta” article in a recent New Yorker gives a shout-out
to Susan Puckett’s Eat Drink Delta. Recapping
last year’s second annual Delta Hot Tamale
Festival in Greenville, Mississippi, Trillin
comments on a regional food specialties panel
he attended. “Susan Puckett, the author of Eat
Drink Delta, mentioned another favorite of the
region we were in—Kool-Aid pickles.” Trillin is
the author of An Education in Georgia (available from UGA Press), which focuses on the
integration of the University of Georgia.
Dr. Louis W. Sullivan’s autobiography,
Breaking Ground, which Library Journal says
“will entertain and inspire,” was featured in
the February 2 edition of the Atlanta JournalConstitution. The piece contained an excerpt
from the first chapter of the book, as well as
many photos of Dr. Sullivan. Dr. Sullivan was
also interviewed by Tavis Smiley for his radio
show, answering questions about Benjamin
Mays, Morehouse School of Medicine, and the
Affordable Care Act.
The Slate Book Review names Frank X
Walker’s Turn Me Loose as one of the ten Best
Poetry Books of 2013. “Walker’s ability to create
a human voice of inhumanity—and to place it
alongside other voices that struggle to remain human in the face of such devastation—revitalizes
our history at a time when too many want us to
live as though it were merely a thing of the past.”
Giving it four stars, the South China
Morning Post describes Cynthia Lowen’s
The Cloud that Contained the Lightning as
a “captivating, almost haunting, collection.”
Publishers Weekly labels the poems as being
“expertly crafted and chiseled to a brittle,
often stinging essence.”
The Small Heart of Things by Julian
Hoffman is “remarkable,” according to ForeWord. It is number four in ForeWord’s list of
top ten university press picks. Hoffman is “an
intensely focused, curious, tireless, supremely
gifted writer.”
According to Library Journal, My Dear
Boy, Carmaletta M. Williams and John Edgar
Tidwell’s edited collection of Carrie Hughes’s
letters to Langston Hughes, “is essential for
scholars who are interested in [Langston]
Hughes’s work and the Harlem Renaissance,”
while Andrea Feeser’s Red, White, and Black
Make Blue is praised as “compelling” and
“recommended for readers interested in South
Carolina history and for specialists in material
culture.” Luc Herman and Steven Weisenburger’s Gravity’s Rainbow, Domination, and
Freedom receives a starred review and is
“essential for Pynchon enthusiasts as well as
for readers interested in niche history of the
1960s .”
Choice gives high recommendations to
both The Embattled Wilderness , by Erik Reece
and James J. Krupa and Empowering Words.,
by Karen A. Weyler. The Embattled Wilderness is “a valuable work on the importance of
resource conservation, while Empowering
Words is a “fascinating book [that] introduces
a largely neglected area of scholarship and is an
indispensable resource.”
The Women’s Review of Books reviews
Jane Gerhard’s “important, overdue contribution to the history of feminism.” The Dinner
Party “finds value and meaning in feminist
cultural expressions.”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
describes Kate Sweeney’s American Afterlife as
“a funny, edifying American road trip that bears
witness to our most revealing and eccentric
funerary customs.” Creative Loafing Atlanta
names Kate Sweeney one of the “20 People
to Watch in 2014,” praising her “enthusiasm”
and calls American Afterlife “an entertaining
read,” while Kirkus Reviews terms it “intriguing,” since it provides readers with “eccentric
swatches of everyday Americans grappling
with the intricacies of death.” “Sweeney writes
with a deft touch and with empathy for mourners, whose stories she relays with clarity and
care,” according to Publishers Weekly.
the university of georgia press | spring 2014 | 13
MEET THE PRESS
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT
Staff, interns, and our favorite spots for books
Molly Golderman
design & production
Ali Mackay
design & production
Chandler Johnston
editorial
Alexandra Martin
editorial
Kelsey Lamonica
acquisitions
Susan O’Neill
marketing
name | Carrie Olivia Ferguson Adams
current position | Publicity & Seasonal
Catalog Manager, University of Chicago Press
graduating class | 2000
majors | English and Comparative Literature
press departments | Acquisitions & Marketing
The UGA Press offered the ideal introduction to
publishing. Given its size, I had the opportunity to learn
the role of every department and how they all work
together to make a book possible, something that continues to be invaluable to me as a manager when I am often
coordinating the efforts of many people within a project.
Additionally, that background in all the pieces of the
publishing puzzle proved essential when I cofounded the
poetry press Black Ocean and later when I became an
author myself. My two years at the Press instilled a true
respect for the missions of university and small presses
as well as a long-term commitment to a career in books.
RETIREMENT RECOGNITION
Kaitlyn Spotts
acquisitions
Victoria Ward
marketing
Shandton Williams
design & production
ON THE INTERN EXPERIENCE
By Kaitlyn Spotts, Acquisitions intern
Working as an intern in the Acquisitions Department has given me the opportunity to learn about the publication process in depth. During my time here
I have sent out manuscripts to be reviewed, aided in research for small projects,
written board memos, helped with image and permissions inventories, drafted
and sent out decline letters, and attended numerous meetings with the staff and
the board.
I have been with the UGA Press since August 2013, but I still look forward
to each day that I come in. My supervisors have been incredibly kind and are
always patient and willing to answer questions and explain projects. Along with
my fellow interns and the rest of the staff, they provide a friendly and welcoming
atmosphere, and their enthusiasm and passion for their work continue to drive me
toward pursuing a future career in publishing.
14 | the university of georgia press | spring 2014
Assistant Director for Design and Production Kathi
Dailey Morgan retired in April after working thirty-one
years at the Press. Prior to holding her current position,
Kathi served the Press as a book designer and production
manager. She has garnered design awards from the AAUP
Book, Jacket, and Journal Show; the Southeastern Library
Association Southern Books Competition; the Chicago
Book Clinic Book Show; and the AIGA 50 Books / 50 Covers Competition. Kathi has shepherded the Press through
many changes in book production over the years—from
paste-up to the digital age. Her keen eye and attention to
detail have bolstered the University of Georgia Press’s
reputation for producing handsome, high-quality books.
UGA Press Acquisitions Department enjoys discussing their upcoming book projects over
lunch atop the Georgia Theatre in downtown Athens.
The Marketing Department prefers to do their reading over a cup of locally roasted Jittery Joes coffee in
the UGA Law Library.
The Editorial, Design, and Production Department admires
their handiwork a short walk from the Press offices in the
Founders Memorial Garden on the UGA campus.
The Distribution Center takes the opportunity to get out of the warehouse and into nature at the State
Botanical Gardens just outside of Athens, where they can read in peace and serenity.
The Business Department takes advantage of a sunny day on Herty Field to join the droves of students
that like to read outdoors in the beautiful Georgia weather.
The Administration Department takes advantage of some
of the unique spaces in the beautifully renovated Main
Library while checking out the Press’s ebook collections.
the university of georgia press | spring 2014 | 15
t h e u n i v e r si t y of georgia pr ess
Main Library, Third Floor
320 South Jackson Street
Athens, Georgia 30602
800-266-5842 | www.ugapress.org
Sarah McKee and Kelly Caudle of the New Georgia Encyclopedia enjoying their books in Woodruff Park in Atlanta. Congratulations to the New
Georgia Encyclopedia on ten years of accessible research. www.georgiaencyclopedia.org
16 | the university of georgia press | spring 2014
Bait preparation, courtesy of Tom McMurray, from The Billfish Story by Stan Ulanski
Non-profit
Organization
U.S. Postage
PAID
Athens, GA
Permit No. 11