Beacon Press Explained

Beacon Press should not be confused with Beacon Hill Press.

Parent:Unitarian Universalist Association
Country:United States
Headquarters:Boston
Distribution:Penguin Random House Publisher Services (worldwide)
Publishers Group UK (UK)[1]
Keypeople:Gayatri Patnaik, director

Beacon Press is an American left-wing[2] non-profit book publisher. Founded in 1854 by the American Unitarian Association, it is currently a department of the Unitarian Universalist Association.[3] It is known for publishing authors such as James Baldwin, Mary Oliver, Martin Luther King Jr., and Viktor Frankl, as well as The Pentagon Papers.

History

The history of Beacon Press actually begins in 1825, the year the American Unitarian Association (AUA) was formed. This liberal religious movement had the enlightened notion to publish and distribute books and tracts that would spread the word of their beliefs not only about theology but also about society and justice.

The early years: 1854–1900

In the Press of the American Unitarian Association (as Beacon was called then) purchased and published works that were largely religious in nature and "conservative Unitarian" in viewpoint (far more progressive, nonetheless, than many other denominations). The authors were often Unitarian ministers—dead or alive, American or British, mostly Caucasian, and far more male than female. Many of the books were collections of sermons, lectures, and letters, balanced by volumes of devotion, hymns, and morally uplifting tales.

New century, new mission: 1900–1945

In the early 1900s Samuel Eliot broadened the mission of the press by publishing books dealing with ethical, sociological, philanthropic, and similar subjects, as well as those of a more strictly religious character.... Although books of marked theology and religious note continued to have a predominant place in Association publication, the wide interest in all subjects relating to social and moral betterment were included and the evergrowing topics of war and peace and arbitration, or national amity and racial brotherhood were represented

The modern era: 1945–

Under director Gobin Stair (1962–75), new authors included James Baldwin, Kenneth Clark, André Gorz, Herbert Marcuse, Jürgen Habermas, Howard Zinn, Ben Bagdikian, Mary Daly, and Jean Baker Miller. Wendy Strothman became Beacon's director in 1983; she set up the organization's first advisory board, a group of scholars and publishing professionals who advised on book choices and direction. She turned a budget deficit into a surplus. In 1995, her last year at Beacon, Strothman summarized the Press's mission: "We at Beacon publish the books we choose because they share a moral vision and a sense that greater understanding can influence the course of events. They are books we believe in."[4] Strothman was replaced by Helene Atwan in 1995.

In 1971, it published the "Senator Gravel edition" of The Pentagon Papers for the first time in book form, when no other publisher was willing to risk publishing such controversial material. Robert West, then-president of the Unitarian Universalist Association, approved the decision to publish The Pentagon Papers, which West claims resulted in two-and-a-half years of harassment and intimidation by the Nixon administration.[5] In Gravel v. United States, the Supreme Court decided that the Constitution's "Speech or Debate Clause" protected Gravel and some acts of his aide, but not Beacon Press.

Beacon Press seeks to publish works that "affirm and promote" several principles:

Beacon Press is a member of the Association of University Presses.[6] [7]

Books and authors

Beacon Press publishes non-fiction, fiction, and poetry titles. Some of Beacon's best-known titles are listed below.

Title(s)Author(s)Year(s)
American Freedom and Catholic Power[8] Paul Blanshard1948, 1958[9]
[10] Howard Zinn1964
A Critique of Pure Tolerance[11] Robert Paul Wolff, Barrington Moore Jr, Herbert Marcuse1965
[12] Martin Luther King Jr.1967, 2010
Albert Schweitzer: An Anthology[13] Albert Schweitzer1982
The Transsexual Empire[14] Janice Raymond1979
Notes of a Native Son[15] James Baldwin1984
Toward a New Psychology of Women[16] Jean Baker Miller1987
Gyn/Ecology[17] Mary Daly1990
One-Dimensional Man[18] Herbert Marcuse1964
Fist, Stick, Knife, Gun[19] Geoffrey Canada1995
The Power of Their Ideas[20] Deborah Meier1995
Race Matters[21] Cornel West2001
New and Selected Poems: Volume One,[22] Thirst[23] Mary Oliver2005, 2007
Resurrecting Empire[24] Rashid Khalidi2005
Man's Search for Meaning[25] Viktor Frankl2006
Without a Map[26] Meredith Hall2007
All Souls: A Family Story from Southie[27] Michael Patrick MacDonald2007
The Court and the Cross[28] Frederick Lane2008
An African American and Latinx History of the United StatesPaul Ortiz2018
White Fragility[29] Robin DiAngelo2018
Superior: The Return of Race Science[30] Angela Saini2019
Nice RacismRobin DiAngelo2021
Chokepoint CapitalismRebecca Giblin, Cory Doctorow2022

Book series

The following is a list of some of the principal series; it is not comprehensive.

The King Legacy (series)

In 2009, Beacon Press announced a new partnership with the Estate of Martin Luther King Jr. for a new book series publishing program, "The King Legacy."[31] As part of the program, Beacon is printing new editions of previously published King titles and compiling Dr. King's writings, sermons, orations, lectures, and prayers into entirely new editions, including new introductions by leading scholars.

Beacon Broadside

Beacon Press launched its blog, Beacon Broadside, in late September 2007.[32]

Awards

In 1992, Beacon won a New England Book Award for publishing.[33] In 1993, Beacon was voted "Trade Publisher of the Year" by the Literary Market Place.[34]

See also

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. http://www.pguk.co.uk/publishers/ Publishers Group UK – Publishers
  2. Book: Bisbort, Alan . Media Scandals . 2008 . ABC-CLIO . 978-0-313-34766-5 . en . Among left-wing publishers have been stalwarts like Beacon Press.
  3. Beacon Press Celebrates 150 Years of Publishing. UU World: The Magazine of the Unitarian Universalist Association. September–October 2004. 2007-09-26 .
  4. Wilson, (2004), p. 209.
  5. Web site: UUA: The Pentagon Papers Then and Now: Unitarian Universalists Confronting Government Secrecy . 2010-12-16 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090904165040/http://www.uua.org/events/generalassembly/2007/choicesthat/30971.shtml . 2009-09-04 .
  6. Web site: Our Members . January 30, 2023 . Association of University Presses.
  7. Web site: Association of American University Presses Membership Directory . 2007-09-26. https://web.archive.org/web/20070927013444/http://aaupnet.org/membership/directory.html. 27 September 2007 . live.
  8. Book: Blanshard, Paul . Paul Blanshard . American Freedom and Catholic Power . Beacon Press . 1948 . Boston, MA . Revised 2nd edition 1958.
  9. Blanshard, Paul. American freedom and Catholic power. Boston: Beacon Press. Second Edition, January 1, 1958
  10. Book: Zinn . Howard . SNCC : The New Abolitionists . 1964 . Beacon Press . 9781608462995 . Howard Zinn. SNCC: The New Abolitionists.
  11. Wolff, Robert Paul; Barrington Moore Jr; Herbert Marcuse. A Critique of Pure Tolerance. Boston: Beacon Press. 1965.
  12. King Jr., Martin Luther. Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?. Beacon Press, Boston. 1967.
  13. Book: Schweitzer, Albert. Albert Schweitzer: An Anthology. 18 July 2023 . LEGARE STREET Press . Albert Schweitzer. Charles R. Joy. 9781021287397.
  14. Book: G., Raymond, Janice. The transsexual empire : the making of the she-male. 1979. Beacon Press. 0807021644. Boston. 4529467.
  15. Book: Baldwin, James . James Baldwin (writer) . Notes of a Native Son . Beacon Press . July 9, 1984 . Boston, MA . 978-0-8070-6431-3 .
  16. Book: Miller, Jean Baker. Toward a New Psychology of Women. Beacon Press. 1987. 978-080702909-1. Boston, MA. Jean Baker Miller.
  17. Book: Daly, Mary . Mary Daly . Gyn/Ecology: The Metaethics of Radical Feminism . Beacon Press . November 12, 1990 . Boston, MA . 978-0-8070-1413-4 .
  18. Book: Marcuse, Herbert . Herbert Marcuse . One-Dimensional Man: Studies in the Ideology of Advanced Industrial Society . Beacon Press . October 1, 1964 . Boston, MA . 978-0-8070-1417-2 .
  19. Book: Canada, Geoffrey . Geoffrey Canada . Fist, Stick, Knife, Gun . Beacon Press . January 31, 1995 . Boston, MA . 978-0-8070-0423-4 . registration .
  20. Book: Meier, Deborah . Deborah Meier . The Power of Their Ideas: Lessons for America from a Small School in Harlem . Beacon Press . November 12, 1995 . Boston, MA . 978-0-8070-3113-1 .
  21. Book: West, Cornel . Cornel West . Race Matters . Beacon Press . May 25, 2001 . Boston, MA . 978-0-8070-0972-7 .
  22. Book: Oliver, Mary . Mary Oliver . New and Selected Poems: Volume One . Beacon Press . November 15, 2005 . Boston, MA . 978-0-8070-6878-6 . registration .
  23. Book: Oliver, Mary . Mary Oliver . Thirst . Beacon Press . September 2, 2007 . Boston, MA . 978-0-8070-6897-7 .
  24. Book: Khalidi, Rashid . Rashid Khalidi . Resurrecting Empire: Western Footprints and America's Perilous Path . Beacon Press . April 15, 2005 . Boston, MA . 978-0-8070-0235-3 .
  25. Book: Frankl, Viktor . Viktor Frankl . Man's Search for Meaning . Beacon Press . June 14, 2006 . Boston, MA . 978-0-8070-1429-5 .
  26. Book: Hall, Meredith . Meredith Hall . Without a Map . Beacon Press . April 11, 2007 . Boston, MA . 978-0-8070-7273-8 .
  27. Book: MacDonald, Michael Patrick . Michael Patrick MacDonald . All Souls: A Family Story from Southie . Beacon Press . October 4, 2007 . Boston, MA . 978-0-8070-7213-4 .
  28. Book: Lane, Frederick S. . The Court and the Cross . Beacon Press . June 1, 2008 . Boston, MA . 288 pages . 978-0-8070-4424-7 .
  29. DiAngelo, Robin. Contrib Michael Eric Dyson. White Fragility. Beacon Press, Boston, 2018.
  30. Saini, Angela. Superior. Beacon Press, Boston, 2019.
  31. Beacon Press to reissue Martin Luther King Jr.'s books. UU World Blog. June 1, 2009.
  32. http://www.philocrites.com/archives/003733.html Philocrites: Beacon Press launches 'Beacon Broadside' blog
  33. Web site: New England Book Awards . 2007-09-26 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070724003143/http://www.newenglandbooks.org/NE_awards.html . 2007-07-24.
  34. http://www.beacon.org/client/client_pages/about_mission.cfm History and Mission

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Beacon Press".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.