Wesleyan University Press

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Wesleyan University Press
Parent company
Wesleyan University
Founded1957
Country of originUnited States
Headquarters locationMiddletown, Connecticut
Key peopleSuzanna Tamminen
Publication typesBooks
Official websitewesleyan.edu/wespress

Wesleyan University Press is a university press that is part of Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. The press is currently directed by Suzanna Tamminen, a published poet and essayist.[1][2]

History and overview

Founded (in its present form) in 1957, the press publishes books of poetry and books on music, dance and performance, American Studies, and film.[2][3][4][5] In 1965, Wesleyan sold its American Education Publications, a division of the press that published My Weekly Reader, but the university retained the scholarly division.[6] All editing occurs at the editorial office building of the press on the Wesleyan campus. Publishing (printing) now occurs through a consortium of New England college academic presses.[citation needed]

The press is notable among prestigious American academic presses for its poetry series, which publishes both established poets and new ones.

American Book Award.[2][3][7][9][10][11] According to The New York Times, university presses with bigger endowments, with financial backing from the state, or with large graduate programs do not enjoy the same status in the field of poetry that the Wesleyan University Press enjoys, nor have they won a comparable array of prizes in poetry.[12] The press also has garnered Pulitzer Prizes, American Book Awards, and other awards in its other series.[11]

T.S. Eliot served both as a roving editor for the poetry series and special editorial consultant of the press. In the former capacity, Eliot's responsibilities included finding rising English and European poets for the press.[6][16]

Wesleyan is the smallest college or university in the nation to have its own press,[17] and the Wesleyan University Press has the second-oldest poetry series in the nation.[2] Approximately 25 books are published each year.[17]

Authors and poets published by the press include

American Book Award, contributing to the resurgence of a poet who died in public obscurity (of acute alcoholism) in 1965.[18]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Contact Us". Wesleyan University Press. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
  2. ^ a b c d Moss, Hilary (1 February 2005). "Tamminen named press director". The Wesleyan Argus. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
  3. ^ a b "About Us". Wesleyan University Press. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
  4. ^ McDowell, Edwin (9 August 1989). "Book Notes". The New York Times.
  5. ^ Siddall, Gillian; Waterman, Ellen (eds.). "Call for Papers - Sounding the Body: Improvisation, Representation and Subjectivity". Improvisation, Community, and Social Practice. Retrieved 18 October 2012. Sounding the Body: Improvisation, Representation and Subjectivity is one in a series of books on musical improvisation as a cultural practice to be published by Wesleyan University Press in 2012 as part of the Improvisation, Community and Social Practice research project.
  6. ^ a b c "Wes through the Years". Wesleyan University. p. 1957: Start the Press!. Retrieved 6 April 2008.
  7. ^ a b c Gordon, Jane (16 October 2005). "The University of Verse". The New York Times.
  8. ^ a b "Richard Wilbur: Biography and General Commentary". Modern American Poetry. Department of English, University of Illinois and Urbana-Champaign. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
  9. ^ "Wesleyan University Press Home". Wesleyan University Press. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
  10. ^ "Faculty poet honored for new collection" (Press release). University of California. 12 March 2010. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
  11. ^ a b "Award Winning Wesleyan Books". Wesleyan University Press. 1 April 2010. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
  12. ^ Gordon, Jane (16 October 2005). "The University of Verse". The New York Times.
  13. .
  14. ^ Pottle, Justin (29 January 2010). "University To Unveil William Manchester Writings Amid Return of JFK Manuscript". Wesleyan University Press. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
  15. ^ "A note on Donald Hall". Seven American Poets in Conversation. Waywiser Press. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
  16. ^ Gordon, Jane (16 October 2005). "The University of Verse". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
  17. ^ a b "Wes through the Years". Wesleyan University. p. 2004: Awards for WesPress. Retrieved 6 April 2008.
  18. ^ Finch, Zack (November–December 2008). "Listening to Poetry: Jack Spicer's My Vocabulary Did This To Me". Boston Review. Retrieved 18 October 2012.

External links