Indiana University Press blog

Book review: The Glimpse Traveler

"Boruch is a poet, and that fact is made evident in her svelte, impressionistic prose ... The book clips along at an addictive pace and in what seems like no time at all reaches its staggering climax and then concludes with an equally stunning finale." —Fourth Genre: Explorations in Nonfiction

May events with Rebecca McClanahan

Rebecca McClanahan, author of The Tribal Knot, has the following events scheduled for this month:

May 3-4

McClanahan will take part in two events at the Hudson Valley Writers Center in Sleepy Hollow, NY. On May 3, she will read and discuss her book at 7:30 p.m. The following day, she will speak at a multi-genre workshop titled "Making Their Stories Your Own: Shaping the Raw Material of Family History" from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Visit the center's website for more information.

May 14

McClanahan will give a presentation and read from her book at the Rocky River Senior Center in Rocky River, OH.

May 17-19

McClanahan, along with IUP author Scott Russell Sanders, will be a featured guest speaker at the River Teeth Nonfiction Conference held at Ashland University in Ashand, OH. For more information, contact Sarah M. Wells at swells@ashland.edu or call 419-289-5957.

May 21

The Charlotte Writers Club will host McClanahan for a craft talk and reading from her book at 7 p.m. at the Queens University Sports and Conference Center in Charlotte, NC. For more information, visit the writers club's website.

May 24

McClanahan will give a reading at the Queens University Sykes Auditorium at 8 p.m. in Charlotte, NC.

For more information on McClanahan's upcoming events, visit her website.

April events for Rebecca McClanahan

Rebecca McClanahan, author of The Tribal Knot, will participate in the following events this month:

April 18

McClanahan will read from her book at 7:30 p.m. in the McMillan Theater at Wolford College, located in Naples, FL.

April 20

McClanahan will take part in a workshop, booksigning, discussion, and reception from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Hub City Writers Project in Spartanburg, SC. Tickets are required for the event and can be purchased here.

April 23

Mint Museum Randolph in Charlotte, NC, will host a reading and book discussion with McClanahan from 7 to 8 p.m. The event is free, but reservations are required.

April 25

McClanahan will participate in a multi genre workship held at the Queens Learning Institute in Charlotte, NC. The event takes place from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and requires a registration fee.

To see a complete list of McClanahan's upcoming events, visit her website.

Enter to win a copy of The Tribal Knot!

The Tribal Knot book giveaway begins today! In her new memoir, Rebecca McClanahan looks for answers in the history of her family. Poring over letters, artifacts, and documents that span more than a century, she discovers a tribe of hardscrabble Midwest farmers, hunters, trappers, and laborers struggling to hold tight to the ties that bind them, through poverty, war, political upheavals, illness and accident, filicide and suicide, economic depressions, personal crises, and global disasters.

To enter the contest, send an email to winiupress@gmail.com with your name and mailing address. Entries will be accepted through 4/19/13 at 11:59 p.m. EDT. Winners will be notified by email and books will ship via USPS.

Learn more about The Tribal Knot in this podcast or book trailer:

Upcoming events for 'The Tribal Knot' author Rebecca McClanahan

Rebecca McClanahan, author of The Tribal Knot, has two events scheduled next week. The first takes place March 26 at Bluffton University where she will be the featured guest author at the 26th Annual English Festival. Then on March 28, McClanahan heads to Kenyon College for a discussion and reading of The Tribal Knot at 4:10 p.m. in the Cheever Room. More information about McClanahan's upcoming appearances can be found on her website.

Learn more about McClanahan's new memoir in this book trailer:

Podcast: Rebecca McClanahan discusses her memoir 'The Tribal Knot'

On this episode of the IU Press podcast, author Rebecca McClanahan talks about her new book The Tribal Knot. In this multi-generational memoir, McClanahan delves into her family history to discover more about herself and the forces that formed and continue to form her. She discusses the power of these familial connections and why "we are more than our present-day selves."

And if you're at the AWP Conference this week, don't miss your chance to see Rebecca McClanahan in person! She'll be part of the panel "Turning in Their Graves: Researching, Shaping, and Imagining Our Ancestors' Stories," which takes place at 1:30 p.m. on March 8. The following day at 10 a.m., she'll be signing copies of The Tribal Knot at the Kenyon Review book table. For more information on these and other upcoming author events, visit Rebecca McClanahan's website.

'Tribal Knot' author Rebecca McClanahan discusses upcoming book with The Kenyon Review

Last month, Rebecca McClanahan spoke with The Kenyon Review about her upcoming memoir The Tribal Knot. In researching the history of her family, McClanahan braids her ancestors' stories into a single intimate narrative of her quest to understand herself and her place in the family's complex past. She describes the difficulties she faced while writing her book and how she persevered in her interview with the journal:

"At first, the challenges were enormous, but, like Wile E. Coyote, I just tried to not look down. The more I researched, the more directly I moved into the physical realm of the artifacts, and the more I wrote about what I was finding, the more natural the moves between source and story became. In some segments, I report the facts, period; then, on the next page, the fact becomes a springboard I jump from into the deep water of speculation, reflection, or memory. In other places, imagination steers the ship. But the facts always serve as the rudder."

Read the complete interview on The Kenyon Review website.

The Tribal Knot will be available next month from IU Press. Take a sneak peek in this excerpt from the book.

Louisville Courier-Journal praises two IUP books on Herman B Wells

The Louisville Courier-Journal praises two of our books on Herman B Wells:

"The power of the book is in the details. Wells writes articulate and understandable prose and is comprehensive in giving background to problems and opportunities, always giving credit to those who assisted him in taking necessary measures to get solutions. His volume of work is apparent as he writes of committee meetings, offices he was asked to lead, accounts of travels around Indiana, all through the nation and much of the world. His intelligence, persuasive influence and good humor were used to get things done and to garner resources that built IU into one of the world’s most respected teaching institutions." Continue reading review

"Capshew’s scholarly writing gives an interesting and comprehensive account of Wells and his impact on not just Indiana’s extraordinary university, but reaching far beyond the borders of the state." Continue reading review

Memoir examines Vietnamese man's experience in war

Thirty-seven years ago today, the Viet Nam war ended when Saigon fell on April 30, 1975. But the memory of the war lives on for one man who served in the Army of the Republic of Viet Nam. In Nationalist in the Viet Nam Wars, Nguyen Cong Luan recalls his experience of the wars of Viet Nam from the time he was old enough to be aware of war in the 1940s until his departure for America 15 years after the collapse of South Viet Nam. This honest and impassioned account is filled with the everyday heroism of the common people of his generation.

Read an excerpt about the fall of Saigon

Author event: Two IU Press authors to appear at GLiBA Trade Show

This year's Great Lakes Independent Booksellers Association's (GLiBA) Trade Show will feature two of our Break Away Books series authors. Marianne Boruch, author of The Glimpse Traveler, will give a reading October 14 at 6:15 p.m. She will also sign copies of her book at the Regional Authors booth on October 15 at 10:00 a.m. Jim Cohee, author of The Swan, will be at the Saturday Reception on October 15 at 5:30 p.m., where he will also sign copies of his book.

The GLiBA trade show is a three day event beginning October 14, and will be held at the Hyatt Regency in Dearborn, MI. A fee for membership to GLiBA is required to attend this event. Visit GLiBA's website for more information.