March 2012

The Diagram Prize for Oddest Book Title has been announced; TLS offers a U-M Press alternative

by Shaun Manning March 30, 2012

In its March 9 NB column, the Times Literary Supplement offered its own unofficial nomination for the 2012 Diagram Prize for Oddest Book Title of the Year — Parlor Ponds: The Cultural Work of the American Home Aquarium, 1850 – 1970 by Judith Hamera. TLS (subscription required) found this title more enigmatic than several actual shortlisted titles, including A Century of Sand Dredging in the Bristol Channel: Volume Two and The Mushroom in Christian Art. The winner of the Diagram Prize was announced this morning in the Guardian.

The Press remembers poet and feminist theorist Adrienne Rich

by Emily March 29, 2012

Adrienne Rich, a major poet and essayist whose work was instrumental in shaping the women’s movement, passed away on Tuesday at the age of 82. The winner of numerous awards, including the National Book Award, the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize, and the National Book Critics Circle Award, Rich published more than thirty volumes of poetry and prose throughout her career. Of Rich, The New Yorker writes: “She was an explorer, ‘diving into the wreck,’ as the title of one of her most famous poems has it, to help us find what is naked and unencumbered in ourselves: ‘the wreck and not the [...]

Happy 90th Birthday to William G. Milliken

by Shaun Manning March 26, 2012

William G. Milliken, Michigan’s 44th and longest-serving governor, celebrates his 90th birthday on March 26. A moderate Republican rising through the ranks from State Senator to Lieutenant Governor under George Romney, Milliken took over the state’s top office in 1969 when Romney accepted a position in then-President Richard Nixon’s cabinet. Milliken was then elected to three successive four-year terms as Governor, for a total of 14 years in office. His life and time in office are chronicled in the 2006 University of Michigan Press biography William G. Milliken: Michigan’s Passionate Moderate by Dave Dempsey. The biography was chosen as a [...]

Tamara Piety discusses ‘Brandishing the First Amendment’ on Fairness Radio

by Shaun Manning March 21, 2012

Tamara Piety, author of Brandishing the First Amendment: Commercial Expression in America, appeared on Fairness Radio recently to discuss her book and the hot-button issues it raises during this election season. Hosted by Patrick O’Heffernan and Chuck Morse and broadcast daily on Boston’s WDIS-AM 1170 as well as online, the program includes commentary from the left (O’Heffernan) and right (Morse) sides of the political spectrum and invites guests likely to spark a lively (but civil) discussion. During her segment, Piety explained the Commercial Speech Doctrine, which arose in the late 1970s as corporate defendants “employed the rhetoric of equal rights [...]

Congrats to Lammy finalists Peggy Shaw and Jill Dolan, authors of ‘A Menopausal Gentleman’

by Shaun Manning March 20, 2012

A Menopausal Gentleman: The Solo Performances of Peggy Shaw, a collection of Shaw’s scripts edited and with an introduction by Nathan Award-winning critic Jill Dolan, is a finalist for the 24th Annual Lambda Literary Award in the category of LGBT Drama. The University of Michigan Press would like to congratulate our authors and all those who have been selected as Lammy finalists.

← Previous Entries