Blogs > Cliopatria > Lows and Highs ...

Jun 21, 2005

Lows and Highs ...


by Cliopatria


When Chris Bray and I were having dinner at the Atlanta airport on Sunday, I asked him if he'd met Joyce Appleby. A distinguished historian of the early American republic, Professor Appleby is a former president of both the American Historical Association and the Organization of American Historians. But, since her retirement, I wasn't sure how often a graduate student at UCLA would have an chance to meet her. Chris allowed that he remembered once having been in the same room with Dr. Appleby and observed that she had a"regal bearing." Indeed, she does, I recalled. When Joyce Appleby walks into a room, mere mortal historians like me bow low and ask"Is that low enough?"

In truth, I've had a lot of contact with Professor Appleby in the last eight years because of our common interest in History News Service. Joyce and Jim Banner actually run the shop, while a few others of us, like Paul Finkelman at the University of Tulsa and HNN's Rick Shenkman serve in an advisory capacity. Jim and Joyce have made me put a half dozen of my op-eds into publishable form and, then, circulated them to newspapers across the country for publication. Still, when Joyce Appleby walks into the room, a mere mortal historian like me bows low and asks"Is that low enough?" So, when I received an e-mail yesterday from Joyce Appleby that bore the word" congratulations" in the subject line, it got my attention.

It turns out that Joyce has taken on a new project for the OAH. It is sponsoring a new series of books which is"designed to reach out to a larger public with the treasures of contemporary research and writing in American History." Palgrave/MacMillan will publish annual volumes of The Best Articles in American History for the OAH. Joyce's e-mail was to tell me that a panel of nine historians had surveyed 300 journals and periodicals published between the summer of 2004 and the summer of 2005. They had selected my article,"Murder and Biblical Memory: The Legend of Vernon Johns," Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, CXII (Spring 2005): 372-418, for inclusion in the first volume, which she is editing and will be published next April. My only question to Joyce was: now that I'm in deep genuflection, may I look up?


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More Comments:

Ralph E. Luker - 6/22/2005

Michael, You caught me at one of my compositional affectations. Repetition is not to be done often. Occasionally, it is useful. If you use it, an editor is likely to insist on your not doing it. If it is important enough, you might have to go to the mat for it. Most of the time, you don't win arguments with editors.

Michael Charles Benson - 6/22/2005

"when Joyce Appleby walks into the room, a mere mortal historian like me bows low and asks "Is that low enough?"
...
"when Joyce Appleby walks into the room, a mere mortal historian like me bows low and asks "Is that low enough?"

I get the impression that you like that line :). I really should talk to Joyce Appleby about my research a little, but I'm still working up the nerve to do it.

Rolin Rebunker - 6/21/2005

You're pretty proud of yourself, aren't you Ralphie? Why don't you try to get published in a journal? There is a big difference between a journal and a magazine! That's why. Getting in a magazine is just like getting in an encyclopedia. The editors practically have to beg for contributors.

Manan Ahmed - 6/21/2005

Indeed! Many cheers to Ralph.

Caleb McDaniel - 6/21/2005

Indeed! It is we who should say, "We're not worthy! We're not worthy!"

Sherman Jay Dorn - 6/21/2005

That's great news.