Miller Williams and Willard Gatewood had an idea in 1980. They felt that the University of Arkansas needed another outlet for scholars to publish their work. They felt there were not enough opportunities for Arkansas writers to be published.
In the McIlroy house, which was renovated at the Fayetteville campus’ edge in December 1980, opened the University of Arkansas Press.
Brent Riffel wrote the following for the Central Arkansas Library System’s Encyclopedia of Arkansas: “A stylized depiction of the house became the UA Press Logo.” “The press was initially without the resources and staff to produce its own work. Williams made an arrangement with William King (head of the University of Missouri Press), by which Missouri would become the editing/production house.
The UA Press was not independent until 1983 when it began to function. The first title was “The Governors of Arkansas: Essays in Political Biography”, published by Timothy Donovan, a UA historian.
As I peruse the 40-page 2022 catalogue, I find many books that I would like to purchase for myself, and others I would love to get as Christmas gifts. You wouldn’t know that the press had a turbulent past judging by the quality and quantity of its books. It truly has been “the little university press that could.”
McIlroy house caught fire in November 1983, causing staff to flee for almost a full year. A warehouse fire in September 1987 destroyed many books, and caused extensive damage. John White, the UA Chancellor, attempted to close down the publishing house in the late 1990s.
It also tells the story of some the most talented people who have ever lived in the area.
Arkansas and their determination to see UA Press succeed. Williams and Gatewood are at the top of this list.
Williams, one the most important American poets of the 20th Century, was 33 years a UA professor in English, foreign languages, and comparative literature. Fayetteville was home to a number of talented writers, many from all over the country. Williams was an author, editor and translator of over 30 volumes of poetry, fiction, literary criticism, and literary criticism.
Williams was born at Hoxie in April 1930. He was the son of a Methodist minister and moved around a lot as a boy. He graduated from Fort Smith high school in 1947. He entered Hendrix College, Conway, as a freshman. He then transferred across the city to what is now the University of Central Arkansas. He was then transferred again to Arkansas State University, Jonesboro. His first collection of poetry, “Et Cetera,” was published in 1952.
He received a bachelor’s degree as a biology major at Jonesboro University in 1951. Two years later, he obtained a master’s degree as a zoologist at the University of Arizona. He was a biology teacher for the next ten. Williams was a teacher at Millsaps College Jackson, Miss. He also briefly attended the University of Mississippi’s medical school.
Gatewood wrote that he obtained a job at Louisiana State University’s English Department in 1962 with Flannery O’Connor’s assistance. “Four years later, Williams was appointed to the Loyola University faculty in New Orleans. He founded and edited The New Orleans Review’. In 1970, he was back at UA as a member both of the English department or the graduate program in creative-writing.
His growing status in literature was evident in the honors he received starting in the 1950s. These include the Henry Bellman Award for 1957, Breadloaf Writers Conference Fellowship for Poetics in 1961, Harvard University’s Amy Lowell Traveling Fellowship for poetry in 1963-64, New York Arts Fund Award for 1970, Fulbright Professorship in Mexico in 1970 and Prix de Rome for Literature in 1976. The Charity Randall Citation for Contribution in Poetry as a Spoken Arts 1993 was also among them.
Williams also received the John William Corrington Award of Literary Excellence in 1994, and the National Arts Award 1997.
Gatewood wrote, “At the State Department’s invitation, Williams delivered lectures & readings on tours through many continents while mentoring UA student.” “President Bill Clinton chose him to read his poem “Of History and Hope” at the 1997 presidential induction. Williams described himself to be a product of the small-town rural South. His long involvement in science was also important in shaping his poetry.
Williams is remembered for his broad imagination and his use irony, subtlety, and ambiguity. He was referred to by a journalist as “the Hank Williams” of American poetry. In 2009, Miller Williams was awarded the Porter Prize’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Every year, the UA Press presents the Miller Williams Poetry Prize.
Williams died Jan. 1, 2015, at Fayetteville. Lucinda Williams, his daughter, was a well-known poet and songwriter. Multiple Grammy Awards have been won by her. Time magazine dubbed her America’s greatest songwriter in 2002.
“As a kid, she met many her father’s writing friends, including Eudora Mundy and Flannery Connor, who famously let Lucinda chase her peacocks,” Philip Martin of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette wrote. She was 12 years old when she began writing her own songs and performing for her parents. After a brief time at the UA, she became an itinerant performer, performing in bars and coffee shops in Austin, Nashville, Houston, Greenwich Village, and Houston.
Lucinda Williams performed at a benefit concert held in September 2007 to raise funds and awareness for the Miller Williams Poetry Prize.
Miller Williams grew up in Arkansas in small towns. Gatewood was born in North Carolina, on a tobacco plant. Gatewood was born February 1931. He received his bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate degrees from Duke University. In 1957, he began his college teaching career with East Tennesssee State University. Gatewood was also a teacher at East Carolina University, North Carolina Wesleyan College, and the University of Georgia.
Gatewood was the first Alumni Distinguished professor of History to arrive in Arkansas in 1970. The chair was established by the university’s alumni association. He held the chair until his retirement, 1998. He served as UA chancellor from 1984 to 1985, taught hundreds of students and directed 25 doctoral dissertations. Some of these students went on to become college historians.
Tom DeBlack, a fellow Arkansas historian, wrote that Gatewood received most of the major awards granted by the university to professors during his time at UA. These included the University Distinguished Research Award (in 1980) and the Chancellor’s Medal for Distinguished Service (in 1994). He was the author, coauthor, or editor of 14 books as well as more than 75 articles in scholarly journals. His books included many pioneering works in African American history.
Gatewood’s “Aristocrats of Color”: The Black Elite, 1880-1920 was published by UA Press in 1990. It was nominated for a National Book Award. Gatewood served as president of the Southern Historical Association from 1986 to 1987.
The essay collection was written by former students and coworkers and published in 2002 by UA Press.
The introduction to the book stated that there would be “no doubt” other great teachers and scholars. All who contributed to this book agree that Dr. Willard B. Gatewood Jr. was a great teacher and scholar. He is the reason we have an abiding passion and respect for history.
Gatewood passed away in October 2011. Gatewood died in October 2011. It sold over 10,000 copies within 10 months, and was widely praised by critics.
Gilchrist is a Vicksburg, Miss. native. She graduated from Vanderbilt University, and then received a second degree from Millsaps. There she studied under Welty. Gilchrist, who did postgraduate work at UA in creative writing, was a contributing editor to the Vieux Carre Courier in New Orleans between 1976 and 1979. She also published her first poetry book.
Gilchrist chose to have “The Land of Dreamy Dreams”, published by UA Press over a commercial publisher. Its success led to a contract with Little, Brown & Co. “Victory Over Japan”, her collection of short stories, won the 1984 National Book Award.
UA Press was able in July 1982 to hire Stephanie Brown as its first editor due to the success of Gilchrist’s 1981 collection. Williams was still responsible for the majority of manuscript acquisitions. In February 1984, UA Press created a student writing award. It opened a London office two years later. It created a journal division in 1988 which produced scholary books.
Riffel stated that UA Press was a leading publisher for American poets by the 1990s. “The press published additional books of poetry that were nominated for awards, in addition to Frank Stanford’s posthumous works. … Because of his friendship with Williams, Jimmy Carter, the former President of the United States became a major contributor to the list of authors over these years. Carter was able to write on many topics through the press.
Carter’s books included “An Outdoor Journal, Adventures and Reflections”, 1988 and “The Blood of Abraham: An Insights into Middle East” (2008).
White was elected chancellor in 1997. He decided to shut down the press after it lost so much money. His decision sparked controversy statewide.
Riffel wrote, “In response to Gatewood and others prominent Arkansans launched an public campaign for keeping its doors open.” White conceded that the plan to shut down the press was a misguided one in 1998. With the funding of Tyson Foods in Springdale and a large part thanks to White’s concession, the press was able to reorganize itself into a non-profit entity and continue producing new titles.
“In 1998, Lawrence Malley was hired by the press to be its director. He led the press’ expansion into Middle East-themed books. This was in response to the establishment at the UA of King Fahd Centers for Middle East Studies and Islamic Studies. The press has been a significant contributor to Arkansas history in recent years, especially with the publication of its Histories of Arkansas series. This series traces Arkansas’ past from the territory period to the present era. Malley resigned at the end 2013 and Mike Bieker was appointed as assistant director.
The publishing house is still a major focus for poetry, fiction, as well as books about the Middle East.
The awards keep coming in. Kathleen Condray’s “Das Arkansas Echo” won the 2021 Booker Worthen Literary Prize. Kenneth Barnes was awarded the 2022 J.G. for his book “The Ku Klux Klan: How Protestant White Nationalism Came into Rule a Country” Arkansas Historical Association, Ragsdale Book Award
“Winthrop Rockefeller – From New Yorker, Arkansawyer and 1956” by John Kirk of University of Arkansas at Little Rock was published earlier in the year. The book is already being praised.
Cherisse Jones-Branch, ASU history professor, also received positive reviews for “Better Living by Their Own Bootstraps : Black Women’s Activism In Rural Arkansas 1914-1965”.
My winter reading list includes “Country Boy: the Roots of Johnny Cash” by Colin Edward Woodward, and “Up South In the Ozarks” by Brooks Blevins of Izard Country.