Weekly RoundUp
Howdy UP-ers! We know you missed us – Brace yourselves for our weekly literary scoop. Now, in the spirit of the Olympics, which are unfortunately coming to a close: On your mark, get ready, set, go!
It’s not over ‘til the fat lady sings!
Black History Month is not over yet folks, and Temple University Press is here to remind us with its list of African-American literature titles. The list comprises of some goodies including, From Slave Ship to Supermax: Mass Incarceration, Prisoner Abuse, and the New Neo-Slave Novel by Patrick Alexander; Pimping Fictions: African American Crime Literature and the Untold Story of Black Pulp Publishing by Justin Gifford; Black Theatre: Ritual Performance in the African Diaspora, edited by Paul Carter Harrison, Victor Leo Walker II, and Gus Edwards; and Yo’ Mama! New Raps, Toasts, Dozens, Jokes and Children’s Rhyme from Urban Black America, edited by Onwuchekwa Jemie. Take a gander at these groundbreakers and help the university press praise some honorable writers for their honorable literary achievements.
When you hear Alamo Drafthouse had a special menu for its Black Panther screenings…
University Press of Kentucky is serving it up too – with a good ol’ fashioned recipe book. Bound to the Fire: How Virginia’s Enslaved Cooks Helped Invent American Cuisine, by Kelly Deetz, details the lives of plantation cooks and dishes out the stories behind some of our favorite traditional American grubs. Brunswick stew anyone?! See the recipe here.
Not this President… That President!
In honor of President’s Day, University of Nebraska Press paid tribute to the Obamas, admiring the unveiling of Barack and Michelle Obama’s official portraits at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery on February 12th. The Obamas had commissioned their portraits from two African-American artists, Kehinde Wile and Amy Sherald. Have you ever seen power and beauty in a painting all at the same time? Well you have now. Bask in the beauty and thank me later.
Speaking of artists…
Let’s take some time to congratulate these award-winning designers who have been honored by the Association of University Presses in the annual Book, Jacket, and Journal Show. The show celebrates the excellence in production and design by all university presses. Duke University Press’s Amy Ruth Buchanan’s interior design of Vinyl Freak: Love Letters to a Dying Medium was praised in the Scholarly Typographic category, while Sue Hall dominated the Journals category for her overall design of Archives of Asian Art, Volume 67 and Public Culture, Volume 29. Whoohoo! You go Glen Coco!
I like big bugs and I cannot lie!
Now to give the floor to our earthy friends – No pun intended. The Locust Borer is the insect of the week and Princeton University Press is happy to provide a brief educational summary of what exactly the insect is. Click here for a short description of the Locust Borer. Fascinated? You should splurge on a copy of Garden Insects of North America: The Ultimate Guide to Backyard Bugs (Second Edition) by Whitney Cranshaw and David Shetlar, which is designed to help you easily identify what bug is crawling in your home garden. Grab your magnifying glass and get your gardening on, you modern-day Gertrude Jekyll you!
Guess what? We’ve reached the end of our uni gossip session. Craving more? Tune in next Friday to get the latest scoop on some of your favorite university presses. In the meantime, go and have yourself a stupendous weekend. Stay magnificent. Stay significant. Stay sane.
