Short Takes

EXIT, CIVILIAN author Idra Novey has a couple of events this month. The first was on January 24 at the Fordham Lincoln Center in New York. She read as part of the Poets Out Loud series. More information is available here. The second event is on January 31 at Florida Atlantic University. From 4:00-5:00pm, she will be giving a public reading and meeting with students working with incarcerated students. The Miami Herald has more information about the event.

Cold Front Magazine selects EXIT, CIVILIAN as one of the top 40 poetry books of 2012. The Volta also names it as one of the best books of 2012, calling EXIT, CIVILIAN "a smart and immaculately crafted book that deserves and rewards you."

The Athens Banner-Herald reviews EAT DRINK DELTA and interviews author Susan Puckett. "Her journalistic style focuses on the personalities and stories behind the restaurants she eats at, and wants you to eat at, instead of the food alone."

Philanthropy magazine describes the philanthropic efforts of Katharine and R. J. Reynolds in Michele Gillespie's new book. "Gillespie ably documents how the Reynoldses' entrepreneurship and philanthropy helped pave the way for North Carolina's (and the South's) resurgence in the 20th century." 

ATLANTA'S OAKLAND CEMETERY has received a lot of attention lately. The Emory Alumni Association has it featured on their website, and the Westminster Schools mentions the book in the latest alumni magazine. One of the photographs by Ren and Helen Davis appeared on the cover of the October issue of American Cemetery.

Southern Living features members of the Southern Foodways Alliance, as well as recipes from the Southern Foodways Alliance Community Cookbook in the article "The South's Most Storied Recipes."

"Pynchon's work has always attracted superior intellects, and one of the field's best, David Cowart, shares his insights in THOMAS PYNCHON THE DARK PASSAGES OF HISTORY."—American Literary Scholarship

Giveaway for "2013 Python Challenge"

ABC News and the Associated Press have been following the Florida Python Hunt that began this past weekend. Over 1,000 people from more than 30 states have signed up to compete in the "2013 Python Challenge." The hunt is part of a plan to deal with the ongoing problem of the Burmese python infestation. As we reported last year, a new study found that the overabundance of Burmese pythons has led to a significant decrease in the number of mammals in the Florida Everglades. According to CBS News, Florida "is offering cash prizes to whoever brings in the longest python and whoever bags the most pythons by the time the competition ends at midnight Feb. 10."

Since UGA Press has published INVASIVE PYTHONS IN THE UNITED STATES which focuses on this exact issue, we will also be offering an incentive for the participants. Once the winners have been announced, we will send both winners a copy of INVASIVE PYTHONS IN THE UNITED STATES. Good luck to all of the python hunters!

UGA Press to now offer Golden Coast titles

UGA Press is pleased to announce that it is now distributing books produced by Golden Coast Publishing Company in Savannah, GA. These large-format volumes, illustrated with color photographs, chronicle the architecture, culture, and history of the South.  

The newest Golden Coast offering, OLD LOUISVILLE celebrates a forty-five-square-block neighborhood in the heart of Kentucky’s largest city. As Old Louisville is among the largest and most significant historic preservation districts in America, its development reflected the exuberance of its patrons and their architects. OLD LOUISVILLE takes an intimate tour of fifty residential designs, from grand mansions to cozy cottages, celebrating the architectural context of this remarkable neighborhood and commemorating the passion and the dedication of those who have recognized the value of its past and have sacrificed to preserve the certainty of its future. 

Here is an interview with author David Domine and photographers Franklin and Esther Schmidt detailing the book.

Listed below are previously published Golden Coast titles, all now available through UGA Press:
 
THE ARCHITECTURE OF JAMES MEANS, GEORGIA CLASSICIST William R. Mitchell,Jr.; Photography by Van Jones Martin

CLASSIC NATCHEZ Written and Photographed by Van Jones Martin

CLASSIC NEW ORLEANS William R. Mitchell Jr.; Photography by James R. Lockhart

CLASSIC SAVANNAH William R. Mitchell, Jr.; Photography by Van Jones Martin

COASTAL GEORGIA Beth Lattimore Reiter; Photography by Van Jones Martin

MADISON William R. Mitchell, Jr.; Photography by Van Jones Martin and James R. Lockhart

A CONTINUING TRADITION William R. Mitchell, Jr.; Photography by Van Jones Martin and James R. Lockhart

THE DRAWINGS OF ANDREA PALLADIO
Douglas Lewis

LEWIS EDMUND CROOK JR,, ARCHITECT, 1898-1967 William R. Mitchell, Jr.

LOOKING BACK Harry DeLorme Jr. and Pamela King

SUMMEROUR William R. Mitchell, Jr.

NEW SOUTHERN CLASSICISM Philip Kopper

PALLADIO AND AMERICA Selected Papers Presented to the Centro Internazionale di Studi di Architecttura

THE RESIDENTIAL ARCHITECTURE OF HENRY SPROTT LONG AND ASSOCIATES William R. Mitchell Jr. ; Photography by Van Jones Martin

SOUTHERN ARCHITECTURE ILLUSTRATED Foreword by Lewis E. Crook, Jr., AIA; Introduction by Dwight James Baum, AIA.

Short Takes

Benjamin Houston, author of THE NASHVILLE WAY, has an op-ed in the Nashville Tennessean. He describes how 2013 is the 50th anniversary for an important year for Nashville in terms of civil rights.

On Largehearted Boy blog, THE INVISIBLES author Hugh Sheehy describes a music playlist that relates to his book: 

Brian Eno, "Thursday Afternoon"; Mogwai, Hardcore Will Never Die But You Will; Slowdive, Souvlaki
Atmospheric music is the only music I ever listen while writing, and I only listen to it then when I've been writing all day and feel sapped of energy and in need of something to hypnotize me so that I might push on to write pages that are at least draft-worthy. Unlike so many of my literary heroes, I write sober, unless you count my habitual coffee overdose, and when my caffeine tolerance spikes, albums like these can prop me up for hours.

Georgia Trend magazine names Joe Cook, author of the forthcoming ETOWAH RIVER USER'S GUIDE, and Natasha Trethewey, author of BEYOND KATRINA, as two of the 100 Most Influential Georgians, and THE WORLD OF THE SALT MARSH author Charles Seabrook as a Notable Georgian.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution names THE WORLD OF THE SALT MARSH as "the most entertaining and informative tour of the year" in its round-up of the best books of 2012.

Congratulations to Kathryn Newfont, author of BLUE RIDGE COMMONS. The Western North Carolina Historical Association has announced her as the winner of the 2012 Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award. The presentation ceremony will be held February 3 at 2:00pm at the Thomas Wolfe Memorial Site Visitor Center in Asheville, NC.

Mississippi Magazine recommends EAT DRINK DELTA to readers who want to take "a gastronomic journey through the Delta. . . . Taking 18 years of experience as a food editor, Puckett whips up a great read about tried-and-true Southern favorites in this guidebook of old and new Delta hot spots."

Listen here for a brief overview of EAT DRINK DELTA on WABE 90.1 FM.

The Lone Star Book Review rates ATLANTA'S OAKLAND CEMETERY as a "'must have book' if you are interested in the Civil War and Atlanta history. . . . This is a 'Top Shelf book' that you will be very proud to own and show off to your friends."

Tennessee Alumnus magazine interviews REMEMBERING MEDGAR EVERS author Minrose Gwin about her inspiration for her new book.

I didn't write a biography because that's not what I do. My field is literature. I had begun research on traumatic points in history that inspired art and literature. The deeper I got into the Evers story, the more work I uncovered. . . . His legacy stretched out through all this work, but he wasn't well known as a civil rights leader.

Biography features PHILLIS WHEATLEY in the Summer 2012 issue as "by far the most comprehensive book about Wheatley's life and work. There are only a handful of scholarly texts on Wheatley, and few match the caliber of Carretta's full-length study of the famed eighteenth century African American poet."

Alabama Review's Matthew L. Downs reviews MY WORK IS THAT OF CONSERVATION, stating that "[Mark] Hersey’s biography is a readable, well-researched discussion of one of the most beloved and least understood figures in Alabama history. . . . Hersey demonstrates that the scientist’s understanding of sustainable agriculture prefigured many of the tenets of modern environmentalism."

Robert Krause of Georgia Historical Quarterly reviews WILLIAM BARTRAM: THE SEARCH FOR NATURE'S DESIGN, noting that the "extensive compilation serves to expand our knowledge of Bartram as an explorer, naturalist, artist, writer, and citizen of the early republic. Fascinating as a general read and invaluable for the depth of its sources, The Search for Nature’s Design underscores Bartram’s distinct intellectual and scientific contribution to early American life and thought."

UGA Research praises WORLD OF THE SALT MARSH, stating that "Charles Seabrook paints a portrait of the disappearing wetlands of the Southeast in an absorbing work that encompasses natural history, cultural heritage, and personal experience"