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It's that time of year
again!
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The
University Press of Kentucky is thrilled to announce our virtual
warehouse sale. Featuring discounts of up to 80% off! Ends August 15th.
Click here to check out the best deals of the year.
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For more information
about any of the books listed:
Contact Mack McCormick,
Publicity Manager 859-257-5200
fmmcco0@uky.edu
To purchase books: Hopkins Fulfillment Services
800-537-5487 (toll-free), 410-516-6998 (fax) or visit our website. |
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A Poetic Take on Kentucky History
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 By
1935, family roots in Western Kentucky ran deep. Multiple generations of
children were born on the same land as their parents-the same land in which
their ancestors were buried in family cemeteries. Between 1939 and 1969, nearly
5,000 of these families were forced to leave their homes to make way for
federal land- and water-management projecting, including the creation of
Kentucky Lake, Lake Barkley, and the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation
Area. In three waves of dislocation, people were not only ordered to find new
houses, but also to uproot their family histories, leaving future generations
with a sense of loss that can never be fully replaced.
T.
Crunk's new collection of poems, New Covenant Bound, bridges the
historical gap between past and future generations of the dislocated families.
Using a combination of verse and prose, grandson and grandmother speak through
time as both seek to find a new place in history for their family that was
dislocated by Tennessee Valley Authority.
The
grandmother provides a heart-wrenching perspective on those pushed aside for
the sake of progress as she hauntingly recalls the tragedies associated with
this dislocation such as watching homes that had taken lifetimes to build
burned to the ground in mere minutes. Through the juxtaposition of a grandson's
lyric verse with his grandmother's narrative prose, New Covenant Bound documents both the grandson's decision as a
young man to move away from Kentucky and his return later in life to find his
place "in the abandoned past."
Crunk's
collection provides an indelible reminder of how important roots are to family
history. In piecing together the grandmother and grandson's interpretations of
their family's past and future, New
Covenant Bound proves that poetry can depict history with a resonance that
is not present in textbooks and reference materials; it moves beyond statistics
and dates to highlight the human experience, illuminating the emotions of the
people involved with a new and profound understanding.
T. Crunk,winner of the 1994 Yale Series of Younger Poets Prize and writer-in-residence
at the Alabama Writers' Forum "Writing our Stories" project, is the author of Living
in the Resurrection and Parables and Revelations.
A Conversation with T. Crunk:
For your first collection, Living in the Resurrection, you were selected as the Yale Younger
Poet. How has your perspective of poetry changed since receiving that honor?
Poetry remains an essential touchstone-both the reading and the
writing of it. As the world has gotten noisier, and the noise gotten ever
sillier, I've found it ever more necessary to sustain myself with the
transcendent quiet of poetry, where words matter,
and where the shaping of silences is an essential aspect of the art.
What is different about the process of writing poems based around
historical events compared to the writing you did for your first collection?
The process has been of a piece. For me, writing is a matter of
seeking out the disparate bits of meaning or insight the world will give us, then
piecing them together into some coherent whole. Sometimes those bits of meaning
are from my own personal experience; in New
Covenant Bound, they're from the experiences of other people, in this case
people who passed through extraordinary historical events. My job has been the
same in both cases-to try to retrieve and preserve those experiences, then to
shape them into something on paper that someone else can experience through
language.
In reading New Covenant Bound I found the strong narrative storyline made the collection compelling
and hard to put down. What challenges does writing such strongly intertwined
poems pose compared to writing individual pieces that lack such a connection?
At heart, I'm a frustrated novelist. I wish I could write big books,
but don't have the talent for it. To compensate, I write short poems that
purposefully resonate with each other-sharing common images and ideas and
motifs-to try to make the whole of any collection larger than the sum of its
parts. With New Covenant Bound, the
narrative line serves this purpose most obviously, but I try to create an
inter-connected web of meaning between, as well as within, poems, in all of my
less narrative work (including the less narrative elements of New Covenant Bound), as well.
MORE INFORMATION:
New Covenant Bound
T. Crunk
$19.95 paper
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Due to its location on the northernmost border of the
southern region of the United States, Kentucky is often overlooked in
discussions of the civil rights movement. Though the state is considered
southern in many respects, Kentucky's geography and political climate at the
time of the movement presented unique obstacles for those participating in the
fight for racial justice.
Freedom on the Border: An Oral History of the Civil Rights Movement in Kentucky aims
to introduce readers to some of the activists across Kentucky who helped usher
in legal equality for African Americans in the Bluegrass. Authors Catherine
Fosl and Tracy E. K'Meyer examine the movement from the end of World War II
through the 1970s. As the first published study of the civil rights movement in
Kentucky, the book contains the oral histories of over one hundred Kentuckians
who risked their lives to oppose the existing racial hierarchy. They share
their stories of segregation and acts of resistance, as well as political,
economic, and cultural strategies for fighting racism.
The oral histories in this volume were collected as
part of the Kentucky Civil Rights Oral History Project, an initiative of the
Kentucky Oral History Commission designed to preserve the histories of
Kentuckians who may not have had the opportunity to document their experiences.
Not only are the individuals who were interviewed diverse in location, but they
embody all levels of the civil rights movement. Interspersed among the oral
histories are profiles of prominent activists as well introductions that
provide historical backgrounds to the interviews.
Freedom on the
Border provides an intimate look at a
movement that changed the social fabric not just of Kentucky, but of the
nation. Through each narrative, readers will gain new insights into the
struggle for freedom across the Commonwealth.
Catherine Fosl, associate professor of women's and gender studies and
director of the Anne Braden Institute for Social Justice Research at the
University of Louisville, is the author of Subversive Southerner: Anne
Braden and the Struggle for Racial Justice in the Cold War South.
Tracy E. K'Meyer, associate professor of history at the University of
Louisville, where she also codirects the Oral History Center, is the author of
Civil Rights in the Gateway to the South: Louisville, Kentucky, 1945-1980.
MORE INFORMATION:
Freedom on the Border: An Oral History of the Civil Rights Movement in Kentucky
Catherine Fosl and Tracy E.
K'Meyer
$25.00 paper
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Staff Changes in UPK Marketing
| UPK is pleased to announce two changes to the marketing department
staff. Cameron Ludwick has been
promoted to full-time marketing assistant. In addition, we have hired a new marketing assistant,
Nathaniel Gravely.
Cameron
Ludwick graduated from the University of Kentucky in 2009 with her B.A. in
English. She began working for the Press in October 2009 as an intern in the
acquisitions department. After moving to the marketing department during the spring
2010 season, she is thrilled to take over as a full-time marketing assistant,
handling copywriting, new media and special events. Cameron has previously
worked for The Kentucky Women Writers Conference and tutors weekly at the
Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning. She is eager to guide the Press
through the latest developments in social media and electronic marketing. She
currently manages the Press' presence and engagement on Twitter
(@kentuckypress), Facebook, and the new
University Press of Kentucky blog.
Nathaniel
Gravely graduated from the University of Kentucky with a double B.A in anthropology
and history. He is the co-founder/editor-in-chief/webmaster for
www.iguessimfloating.net which was rated the #4 independent music site
worldwide in 2008, receives more than 5,000 readers per day, and has been
featured in the New York Daily News
and the BBC. Nate was also recruited
by MTV to help enhance MTVU with their social networking, and he helped create
their music blog. He will be helping coordinate our social media initiatives,
external blog outreach, and publicity follow up. He will also be taking on special projects and catalog/web
design in the near future.
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| Wednesday, August 18: Nancy Disher Baird, Josie Underwood's Civil War Diary, 12:00 pm,
"Food for Thought Luncheon," Kentucky Historical Society, 100 West Broadway,
Frankfort, KY; talk, signing; reservations are required by August 13, call
502-564-1792 x4414 to get tickets or for more information.
Wednesday, August 25: Maryjean Wall, How Kentucky Became Southern: A Tale of Outlaws, Horse Thieves, Gamblers, and Breeders,
12:00 pm, Malone's Banquets, on
the second floor of Sal's Chophouse, 3373 Tates Creek Road, Lexington, KY;
talk.
Wednesday, August 25: Susan Compo, Warren Oates: A Wild Life,
1:00 pm, Duncan Center Museum & Art Gallery,
122 South Cherry Street, Greenville, KY; talk, signing.
Friday, September 10: Ron Pen, I Wonder as I Wander: The Life of John Jacob Niles,
7:00 pm, The Morris Book Shop, 408 Southland Drive,Lexington,
KY: signing.
Saturday, September 18: Greg Abernathy, Deborah White, Ellis L. Laudermilk,
and Marc Evans, Kentucky's Natural Heritage: An Illustrated Guide to Biodiversity,
8:00 am-12:00 pm, Bernheim Forest, Highway 245, Clermont, KY;
talk, signing.
Sunday, September 19: Greg Abernathy, Deborah White, Ellis L. Laudermilk,
and Marc Evans, Kentucky's Natural Heritage: An Illustrated Guide to Biodiversity,
12:00 pm, The Morris Book Shop, 408 Southland Drive,Lexington,
KY: signing.
Tuesday, September 21: Ron Pen, I Wonder as I Wander: The Life of John Jacob Niles,
12:00 pm, The Filson Historical Society, 1310
S. Third Street, Louisville, KY; talk, signing.
Saturday, September 25: Maryjean Wall, How Kentucky Became Southern: A Tale of Outlaws, Horse Thieves, Gamblers, and Breeders,
2:00 pm, Joseph-Beth Booksellers, 161 Lexington
Green Circle, Lexington, KY; signing.
Tuesday, September 28: Maryjean Wall, How Kentucky Became Southern: A Tale of Outlaws, Horse Thieves, Gamblers, and Breeders,
12:00 pm, The Filson Historical Society, 1310
S. Third Street, Louisville, KY; talk, signing.
Saturday, October 2: Maryjean Wall, How Kentucky Became Southern: A Tale of Outlaws, Horse Thieves, Gamblers, and Breeders,
4:00 pm, The Morris Book Shop, 408 Southland Drive,Lexington,
KY: signing.
Saturday, October 2: Books by the Banks, 10:00
am - 4:00 pm, Duke Energy Convention Center,
525 Elm Street, Cincinnati, OH. The following UPK authors will be attending:
· James C. Claypool, The Encyclopedia of Northern Kentucky
· William Lynwood Montell, Tales from Kentucky Ghosts
· Joy Perrine and Susan Reigler, The Kentucky Bourbon Cocktail Book
· Susan Reigler, The Complete Guide to Kentucky State Parks
· Jim Tomlinson, Nothing Like An Ocean: Stories
· Albert W.A. Schmid, The Kentucky Bourbon Cookbook
· Mike Veach, A Social History of Bourbon
Tuesday, October 5: Greg Abernathy, Deborah White, Ellis L. Laudermilk,
and Marc Evans, Kentucky's Natural Heritage: An Illustrated Guide to Biodiversity,
7:00 pm, Joseph-Beth Booksellers, 161 Lexington
Green Circle, Lexington, KY; signing.
Thursday, October 7: Roberta Simpson Brown and Lonnie E. Brown, Spookiest Stories Ever: Four Seasons of Kentucky Ghosts,
9:00 pm, Muhlenberg County Public Library,
108 E. Broad Street, Central City, KY; talk, signing.
Monday, October 11: Roberta Simpson Brown and Lonnie E. Brown, Spookiest Stories Ever: Four Seasons of Kentucky Ghosts,
6:00 pm, The Filson Historical Society, 1310
S. Third Street, Louisville, KY; talk, signing.
Thursday, October 14: Roberta Simpson Brown and Lonnie E. Brown, Spookiest Stories Ever: Four Seasons of Kentucky Ghosts,
7:00 pm, Karen's Book Barn, 127 E. Main Street,
LaGrange, KY; talk, signing.
Thursday, October
13-Friday, October 14: Kentucky Commission on Human Rights Book Fair, Kentucky International Convention Center, 221 Fourth Street, Louisville,
KY. The exact dates and times for each signing have yet to be determined. The
following UPK authors will be attending:
· Catherine Fosl, Freedom on the Border: An Oral History of the Civil Rights Movement in Kentucky
· Troy Jackson, Becoming King: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Making of a National Leader
· Thomas Kiffmeyer, Reformers to Radicals: The Appalachian Volunteers and the War on Poverty
Friday, October 22: Ron Pen, I Wonder as I Wander: The Life of John Jacob Niles,
7:00 pm, Joseph-Beth Booksellers, 161 Lexington
Green Circle, Lexington, KY; signing.
Tuesday, October 26: Roberta Simpson Brown and Lonnie E. Brown, Spookiest Stories Ever: Four Seasons of Kentucky Ghosts,
time TBD, Middletown Public Library,
200 North Juneau Drive, Louisville, KY; talk, signing.
Thursday, October 28: Roberta Simpson Brown and Lonnie E. Brown, Spookiest Stories Ever: Four Seasons of Kentucky Ghosts,
time TBD, Southwest Branch, Louisville Free Public Library,
10375 Dixie Highway, Valley Station, KY; talk, signing.
Saturday, October 30: William Lynwood Montell, Tales from Kentucky Ghosts,
1:00 pm, Borders, 4th
Street Live, 400 S. 4th Street, Louisville, KY; talk, signing.
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