New Books Coming Fall 2010 from San Diego State University Press! SDSU Press

We've got a great new anthology available this December, 2010 from SDSU Press. 150 Years of Evolution: Darwin's Impact on Contemporary Thought and Culture is in final proofs and will be available here and @ our amazon.com storefront soon! Hit the image on your left to see the new coverspread.

Jane Goodall on 60 Minutes | In the Shadow of Man | SDSU PRESS

One of the best moments in the history of SDSU Press came that day in 1988 when we published Jane Goodall's In the Shadow of Man (Distinguished Graduate Research Lecture, 4th). Goodall is still doing amazing work as you can see in the October 2010 episode of 60 Minutes that features this singular anthropological sojourner--an original thinker and writer who revealed the world of chimpanzees in ways that taught us about higher primates, to be sure, but about ourselves as well.

Screen the piece on Goodall below and don't be shy about scooping up a copy of Goodall's book, in hardcover, from SDSU Press for only $7.95.

Get your competitive vibes goin' and submit to the 30 Below Contest!

  Narrative magazine, a nifty non-profit org. that promotes the art of storytelling (also nifty), wants your submissions (I sure hope they're nifty too)!  Their annual competition, 30 Below, is upon us, and the deadline is coming up.

Here are the specs:

"The N30B Contest is a once-a-year event for all young writers, visual artists, photographers, performers, and filmmakers between eighteen and thirty years old. 

We're looking for short stories, short shorts, essays, memoirs, photo essays, audio and video stories, graphic stories, all forms of literary nonfiction,and excerpts  from longer works of both fiction and nonfiction. The editors of Narrative have discovered and published the works of many writers who have gone on to become household names, and we continue to look for and to encourage the best new talent to be found.  Don't miss this chance."

Deadline: October 29th. Midnight. PST.

$1,500 First Prize  (WHOAH!)

$750 Second Prize

$300 Third Prize

Ten finalists receive $100 each

The prize winners and finalists will be announced in Narrative. All N30B entries will be considered for publication. All are eligible for the $5,000 Narrative Prize for 2011 and for acceptance as a Story of the Week.

If you're curious about past winners and their work, click here.

Reading Street Art

In the early chapters of An ABC of Contemporary Reading, Richard Kostelantz reflects upon the ideas of originality and the avant-garde, especially in terms of literary greats of the experimental form (e.g. Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound). However, Kostelantz’s opinions of modern art, including modern writing, prove exceptionally interesting; he claims, “The aim of art in our time is the creation not of ‘beauty’ but of rare experience; the effect of innovative art is not ‘pleasure’ but unusual perception” (45).

Based on Kostelanetz’s opinion of modern art, the fashionable, even trendy, popularity of street art falls into the realm of “unusual perception.” Few traditionalists would classify street graffiti as beautiful, definitely not high art; however, if we follow Kostelanetz’s philosophy, modern art thrives on the extraordinary experience of the viewer and his/her ability to perceive a work outside the accepted setting (gallery, museum, etc) and outside the common response to works of art classified as “beautiful.”

Even in our own humble city, a street art experiment exploded in what appeared to be a lurking reminder to look around and perceive the world, and art, a little differently. MCASD’s exhibit entitled Viva La Revolucion: A Dialogue with The Urban Landscape literally brought modern art to the streets and captured its dialectical relationship to the traditional art setting. Massive murals bombarded city streets while taglines (OBEY) and artists’ infamous logos (See Space Invader above) splattered against the sides of buildings.

Kostelanetz continues, “In our time, experiments with insufficiency are more interesting, more sympathetic, and ultimately more heroic than the exploitation of virtuosity” (43). Does this trend force us to actually “experience” modern art? Does this presence of street art alter our perceptions regarding the traditional way we view and consider beauty? See: Banksy.

Devouring Institutions: The Life Work of Kathy Acker | SDSU PRESS/HYPERBOLE BOOKS

Just in time for fall semester 2010!

Come and get the most provocative and original (?) book around devoted solely to the scholarly examination and expounding of Kathy Acker's brilliantly transgressive magnum corpus. Click here for a ultra speedy link and purchase it!

Devouring Institutions: The Life Work of Kathy Acker underwent strenuous pseudo-scientific tests before being confirmed to boost the LitCriterati level of anyone who purchases it by orders of magnitude. So no matter what your current intellectual status is, this book is undoubtedly a must-have, even if it only sits on the shelf behind your desk. (The SDSU Press does not advocate the impressive-shelf-of-unread-books strategy, but it might help us sell more books.)

Still don't think you need this book? Keep reading!

Editor and Scholar extraordinaire Michael Hardin put this lovely book together, and you know he's as edgy as they come. Look at what he's up to now. Here's some more stuff that he's done.

Hardin definitely had the right idea with Devouring Institutions. Not only does it include essays from some of the best scholars out there, like radical feminist Carol Siegel, Idaho State Ackerian Terry Engebretsen, "genre-disrupting" poet Carla Harryman, and Brandeis heavyweight Caren Irr, it provides the perfect entry point to the "theoretical and political motivations behind her work".

What more could literary laymen ask for when trying to familiarize themselves with one of the most "innovative, controversial, and difficult of American writers"?

For more info on Acker, look at the tons of interviews and articles online. Here's one from Larry McCaffery.

Oh, and here's an amazing Acker interview with William S. Burroughs:

And stay tuned because we will be unleashing a new Acker volume in the not-too-distant future!

The Ghost (?) of Tom Joad: Rage Against the Machine, John Steinbeck and More...

In the discussion recounted in Homer from Salinas: John Steinbeck’s Enduring Voice for California, William Deverell tracks the influence of art during John Steinbeck’s era and comments on its incredible impact on American politics of the 1930s. Artistic legends like Steinbeck, Woody Guthrie, and Dorothea Lange were called to the front lines of the political arena, acting as surveyors and documentarians of the economic realities of the Great Depression.

Art as political protest? What a concept. Let’s fast-forward 70 years to “The Ghost of Tom Joad” resurrected by Rage Against The Machine. {a live video performance appears below}

Republican National Convention 2008: Artists Silenced by Police. The news media, however, failed to use the word “artist” to describe the enraged rioters prepared to rock the RNC. After police cut the electricity to prevent RATM from taking the stage, lead singer Zack de la Rocha proclaimed, “the reality is, we are just four musicians from Los Angeles who have used our voices, and our talent, and our musicianship, and our words to stand up against these unjust policies and why the f*** are these cops so afraid of us?!” What do you do when the cops cut your PA system? You sing a cappella, of course!

Although RATM represents an extreme example of subversive artistry, this street exhibition reflects the political system’s indifference to modern creators and their unwillingness to acknowledge to notable artistic figures. De la Rocha asks, “why are they afraid of us?” and rightly so. In Deverell’s panel discussion, he argues, “In the 1930s, as people were trying to figure it out and legislatively address economic strife through the New Deal, artists were often brought in as experts, documentary experts on what’s happening and part of the political debate” (39).

Akin to today’s economic struggles, legislators attempt to uncover the root of the country’s problems, but discount the ideas presented by mainstream musicians. Artists today are certainly not considered cultural, social and political “experts” of yesteryear. Here, the “ghost” of Tom Joad is less about the façade of the “promised land” (as presented in Bruce Springsteen’s original) and more about the ignorance of modern art in today’s political game.

As Deverell claims, art of today is not considered a part of the “political base” (40) because it truly does not matter to those in power. Is it the overwhelming amount of new artists? Has the political value of art diminished?

SDSU Press is Remodeling--Check out our new promo logo poster... by Michael Buchmiller @ Handcarved Graphics

New SDSU Press Update! SurTEXT Pages--Theory and Culture of the American Southwest and Latin America

Public Access Interview on SDSU PRESS

The video is in two parts--the SDSU Press section begins a little after halfway thru video one. Both parts appear here:

Part ONE: The Writer's Loft: Inside the Mind of the Author | Episode 7, Scholar Publishing from Tex[t] Mex on Vimeo.

Part TWO: The Writer's Loft: Inside the Mind of the Author | Episode 7, Scholar Publishing from Tex[t] Mex on Vimeo.

SDSU PRESS and Hyperbole Books Cover Designer with Show Opening in England!

War Books by Jean Norton Cru | Or, Why I Should Open a Book Before Judging It

I have a confession.

Sometimes, I do judge a book by its cover.

That's what happened with Jean Norton Cru's War Books. Don't get me wrong, the cover looks great. But it's a cover with a WWI soldier and the title is War Books. I'm not really a WWI buff, so I assumed it wasn't my cup of tea.

I passed this book on our shelves a thousand times, glanced at it, and then ignored it.

Shame on me.

This book is now one of my favorites from the entire SDSU Press lineup. It's not a list of books about war, or obscure facts and statistics, or a dry historical textbook. For no reason at all, I assumed it was.

It's actually a pretty darn awesome collection of non-fiction combat literature. And let me tell you something. There are some insanely good soldier-authors in this book.

The first section is called "The War Witnesses" and it has some great philosophical writings on man and war from men who've lived through it.

The second, larger section is called "Sketch of the War According to a Few Good Witnesses." For me, that's where things really heated up. I can open to any page in this section and be sucked in. I'll prove it. Here's an excerpt from a random page (132, to be exact):

July 2, 1916.--The newspapers today confirmed the news of yesterday [beginning of the battle of the Somme]. It's started then, this new orgy of death. A new charnel house takes its place in an illustrious line. How many more blond, clean-shaven Tommies and rough peasants from our fields will render up their bodies to the earth and their souls to God! And for what chimera! Do they know why they are fighting, those knotty-legged Scotchmen, those blue-eyed Bretons? For Alsace-Lorraine? What does the far-away highlander care about the valley of the Ill? What does the man from Brest, born to the sea, care about Mertz? And then who still believes that Europe is on fire for that gob of land? Are they fighting for the fatherland? They do not know what the fatherland is.

That was written by French soldier Louis Maret in 1916. He died in 1917. He had spent twenty months at the front before he was killed.

Don't make my mistake. Recognize the value of this book! You can find it here.

Don't Pass Up This Chance to Feel Superior! Buy The Border: The Future of Postmodernity

Can't you just see it?

You're walking down the street and there he is. That arrogant, pseudo-anarchistic, over-compensating, Urban Outfitter's-wearing, Deleuze-worshipping, hair-always-just-a-little-too-messy, brings-his-own-coffee-mug-to-the-coffee-cart guy.

"Oh. Hey." He'll say to you.

"Hey." You'll say back, bracing yourself for his latest attempt at intellectual superiority.

"Have you ever read Chomsky's Modular Approaches to the Study of the Mind?" He'll ask you. "My friend and I just got into a debate over his comparison of Newton's postulation of action at a distance to Descartes' postulation of a creative principle. She's such a fascist."

You, as a frequenter of this blog and a lover of SDSU Press books, will reply, "Why yes, I have. Actually, something I just read in Segio Gómez Montero's The Border: The Future of Postmodernity reminded me of that. Of course, you've read Montero?" You'll query.

"Um, no. I haven't." He'll reply, looking surprised and a little flushed.

And smugly, victoriously, you'll answer, "Really? Odd. I guess some people can't recognize the value of Latin American intellectual thought."

Looking down your nose, you'll deliver the death blow. "Well, maybe you'll get around to reading it someday. When you aren't too busy shopping at Walmart or drinking Starbucks or whatever."

That's what we're offering you. Right here. Only $5.95.

Gómez Montero is considered one of the most important thinkers in northern Mexico. Director of the National University of Education in Mexicali, he's known for his work in linguistics, cultural anthropology, political economy and cultural criticism.

The Border: The Future of Postmodernity is one of his best books. It contrasts regional and national culture, explores the relationship of indigenous sources to the cultural politics of a centrist state, and critiques the tradition of the literary essay.

We have the only English translation available, the third book in our popular Baja California Literature in Translation series. We don't have many copies left, so order yours now!

Speak kitschy to me, baby | Modernism Since Postmodernism: Essays on Intermedia

Don't deny it. We all use "kitschspeak" at some point, whether we are talking to a colleague or a friend. We're academics! Kitsch it what we thrive on! Modernism Since Postmodernism: Essays on Intermedia is the perfect companion for any kitsch convo. Dick Higgins, an incredibly influential Fluxus artist and author, finalizes his astounding analysis of all things "arty" he started in A Dialectic of Centuries: Notes Towards a Theory of the New Arts and continued with Horizons: The Poetric Theory of Intermedia. In the first part of the book, he tackles the history of art and how perceptions of theories have led to how art is approached today, as well as provides an appropriate definition of intermedial art. In the second part, he discusses intermedial music, particularly focusing on John Cage's monumental compositions. With no suprise, Higgins focuses on Fluxus in the third and final section of the book, defining, explaining and predicting the next step for this accidental art concept.

In the following video, Higgins discusses Fluxus.

Some of Higgins' art.
"Invocation of Canyons and Boulders"
Groovy.

From Alyagrov to | Zaum: The transrational poetry of Russian futurism (Paperback) by Gerald Janecek | San Diego State University Press

Hit the image to be instantly transported to our Amazon portal where you can order yourself a copy of Gerald Janecek's definitive study of Dada's cousin, "Zaum."

Zaum (ZA-oom) is more than just a fun word to say. It's a Russian Futurist neologism describing a hard-to-pin-down art movement with an equally hard-to-pin-down translation: "trans-mental," "transrational," "trans-sense," "metalogical" and our favorite, "beyonsense."

The root "um" translates to mind, wit, and intellect. "Za" means "beyond the bounds," "trans" and "on the other side." The two combined describe an innovative school of poetry meant, as author Gerald Janeck puts it, to go "beyond the limits of a locale... like rational, intelligible discourse."

Zaum influenced later groups and movements, such as Pop Art, Nouveau réalisme, and Fluxus.

Finding your interest piqued and your curiosity bubbling? Then check out our book, Zaum: The Transrational Poetry of Russian Futurism, one of the defining works on the movement!

In Memoriam to Postmodernism: Essays on the Avant-Pop | Also, an Etiquette Question to be Answered by You, Gentle Reader

Yes, it's true. Postmodernism, or "pomo" to its friends, passed away. Avant-pop killed it, ravaged its corpse, devoured its innards, slurped up its philosophy and tossed it on a funeral pyre. Sadness.

My question is this: just what sort of condolences does one send to a deceased school of thought? A card? A muffin basket? Is it crass to just send cash?

Emily Post has no answer, nor do Mark America and Lance Olsen in their compelling book, In Memorian to Postmodernism: Essays on the Avant-Pop.



Still, don't let its appalling lack of a "Guide to Manners" section deter you from checking out this slick book. It's, honest to [insert your deity here], one of the most fascinating essay collections I've ever come across.

Not sure what Avant-Pop is? Don't worry, our own Larry McCaffrey (Professor Emeritus of San Diego State's Department of English and Comparative Literature) will help you out with his essay, "13 Introductory Ways of Looking at a Post-Post-Modernist Aesthetic Phenomenon Called 'Avant-Pop.'"

Other gems in this book include: a fantastic essay by Harry Polkinhorn (Director of this very press) entitled "Avant-Pop at the Border," Steven Shaviro's "Strategies of Disappearance: or Why I Love Dean Martin," and from the incomparable Raymond Federman, "AVANT-POP: YOU'RE KIDDING! or THE REAL BEGINS WHERE THE SPECTACLE ENDS [a manifesto of sorts]." This book rocks. So buy it here!

Shaviro recently invaded the Reality Hackers seminars at Trinity University--more info here.