Beacon Press
Encyclopedia
Beacon Press is an American non-profit
book publisher. Founded in 1854 by the American Unitarian Association
, it is currently a department of the Unitarian Universalist Association
.
Beacon Press is a member of the Association of American University Presses
.
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 The Pentagon Papers, which West claims resulted in two-and-a-half years of harassment and intimidation by the Nixon administration
. 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: the inherent worth and dignity of every person; justice, equity and compassion in human relations; acceptance of one another; a free and responsible search for truth and meaning; the right of conscience and the use of the democratic process in society; the goal of the world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all; respect for the interdependent web of all existence; and the importance of literature and the arts in democratic life".
, Beacon Broadside, in late September 2007.
, fiction
, and poetry
titles. Some of Beacon's most recent and well-known titles are listed below.
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
book publisher. Founded in 1854 by the American Unitarian Association
American Unitarian Association
The American Unitarian Association was a religious denomination in the United States and Canada, formed by associated Unitarian congregations in 1825. In 1961, it merged with the Universalist Church of America to form the Unitarian Universalist Association.According to Mortimer Rowe, the Secretary...
, it is currently a department of the Unitarian Universalist Association
Unitarian Universalist Association
Unitarian Universalist Association , in full the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations in North America, is a liberal religious association of Unitarian Universalist congregations formed by the consolidation in 1961 of the American Unitarian Association and the Universalist Church of...
.
Beacon Press is a member of the Association of American University Presses
Association of American University Presses
The Association of American University Presses is an association of mostly, but not exclusively, North American university presses...
.
In 1971, it published the "Senator Gravel
Mike Gravel
Maurice Robert "Mike" Gravel is a former Democratic United States Senator from Alaska, who served two terms from 1969 to 1981, and a former candidate in the 2008 presidential election....
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 The Pentagon Papers, which West claims resulted in two-and-a-half years of harassment and intimidation by the Nixon administration
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
. In Gravel v. United States
Gravel v. United States
Gravel v. United States, 408 U.S. 606 , was a case regarding the protections offered by the Speech or Debate Clause of the United States Constitution...
, the Supreme Court decided that the Constitution's "Speech or Debate Clause
Speech or Debate Clause
The Speech or Debate Clause is a clause in the United States Constitution . The clause states that members of both Houses of Congress...
" protected Gravel and some acts of his aide, but not Beacon Press.
Beacon Press seeks to publish works that "affirm and promote" several "principles: the inherent worth and dignity of every person; justice, equity and compassion in human relations; acceptance of one another; a free and responsible search for truth and meaning; the right of conscience and the use of the democratic process in society; the goal of the world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all; respect for the interdependent web of all existence; and the importance of literature and the arts in democratic life".
Beacon Broadside
Beacon Press launched its blogBlog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
, Beacon Broadside, in late September 2007.
Books and authors
Beacon Press publishes non-fictionNon-fiction
Non-fiction is the form of any narrative, account, or other communicative work whose assertions and descriptions are understood to be fact...
, fiction
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
, and poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
titles. Some of Beacon's most recent and well-known titles are listed below.
| Title | Author(s) |
|---|---|
| Notes of a Native Son Notes of a Native Son Notes of a Native Son is a non-fiction book by James Baldwin. It was Baldwin's first non-fiction book, and was published in 1955. The volume collects ten of Baldwin's essays, which had previously appeared in such magazines as Harper's Magazine, Partisan Review, and The New Leader... |
James Baldwin James Baldwin (writer) James Arthur Baldwin was an American novelist, essayist, playwright, poet, and social critic.Baldwin's essays, for instance "Notes of a Native Son" , explore palpable yet unspoken intricacies of racial, sexual, and class distinctions in Western societies, most notably in mid-20th century America,... |
| Geoffrey Canada Geoffrey Canada Geoffrey Canada is an African American social activist and educator. Since 1990, Canada has been president and CEO of the Harlem Children's Zone in Harlem, New York, an organization which states its goal is to increase high school and college graduation rates among students in Harlem... |
|
| Gyn/Ecology | Mary Daly Mary Daly Mary Daly was an American radical feminist philosopher, academic, and theologian. Daly, who described herself as a "radical lesbian feminist", taught at Boston College, a Jesuit-run institution, for 33 years. Daly retired in 1999, after violating university policy by refusing to allow male... |
| Man's Search for Meaning Man's Search for Meaning Man's Search for Meaning is a 1946 book by Viktor Frankl chronicling his experiences as a concentration camp inmate and describing his psychotherapeutic method of finding a reason to live... |
Viktor Frankl Viktor Frankl Viktor Emil Frankl M.D., Ph.D. was an Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist as well as a Holocaust survivor. Frankl was the founder of logotherapy, which is a form of Existential Analysis, the "Third Viennese School of Psychotherapy"... |
| Without a Map | Meredith Hall Meredith Hall Meredith Hall is a writer and professor at University of New Hampshire. She is the author of the memoir Without a Map.At age forty-four, Meredith graduated from Bowdoin College and began writing... |
| Resurrecting Empire | Rashid Khalidi Rashid Khalidi Rashid Ismail Khalidi , born 1948, a Palestinian-American historian of the Middle East, is the Edward Said Professor of Modern Arab Studies at Columbia University, and director of the Middle East Institute of Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs.-Family, education and... |
| All Souls: A Family Story from Southie | Michael Patrick MacDonald Michael Patrick MacDonald Michael Patrick MacDonald is an Irish-American activist against crime and violence and author of his memoir, All Souls: A Family Story From Southie. Since being involved in activism, he helped to start Boston's gun-buyback program, founded the South Boston Vigil Group, which works with survivor... |
| One-Dimensional Man One-Dimensional Man One-Dimensional Man: Studies in the Ideology of Advanced Industrial Society is a book written by philosopher Herbert Marcuse, first published in 1964.... |
Herbert Marcuse Herbert Marcuse Herbert Marcuse was a German Jewish philosopher, sociologist and political theorist, associated with the Frankfurt School of critical theory... |
| Thirst | Mary Oliver Mary Oliver Mary Oliver is an American poet who has won the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize. The New York Times described her as "far and away, this country's [America's] best-selling poet".-Early life:... |
| New and Selected Poems: Volume One | Mary Oliver Mary Oliver Mary Oliver is an American poet who has won the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize. The New York Times described her as "far and away, this country's [America's] best-selling poet".-Early life:... |
| Race Matters | Cornel West Cornel West Cornel Ronald West is an American philosopher, author, critic, actor, civil rights activist and prominent member of the Democratic Socialists of America.... |
| The Court and the Cross | Frederick Lane |
Awards
In 1992, Beacon won a New England Book Award for publishing. In 1993, Beacon was voted "Trade Publisher of the Year" by the Literary Market Place.External links
- Beacon Press's Home Page
- Beacon Broadside – a project of Beacon Press
- Democracy Now!Democracy Now!Democracy Now! and its staff have received several journalism awards, including the Gracie Award from American Women in Radio & Television; the George Polk Award for its 1998 radio documentary Drilling and Killing: Chevron and Nigeria's Oil Dictatorship, on the Chevron Corporation and the deaths of...
Special: "How the Pentagon Papers Came to Be Published by the Beacon Press: Mike GravelMike GravelMaurice Robert "Mike" Gravel is a former Democratic United States Senator from Alaska, who served two terms from 1969 to 1981, and a former candidate in the 2008 presidential election....
, Daniel EllsbergDaniel EllsbergDaniel Ellsberg, PhD, is a former United States military analyst who, while employed by the RAND Corporation, precipitated a national political controversy in 1971 when he released the Pentagon Papers, a top-secret Pentagon study of U.S. government decision-making in relation to the Vietnam War,...
, and Robert West (audio/video and transcript)