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Category: Helene Atwan

  • In Memory of New England Poet and US Poet Laureate Donald Hall

    By Helene Atwan | Like most Americans who care about poetry and literature, I was saddened to learn that Donald Hall died this weekend. We were privileged to publish two of his books of prose: Life Work and Principle Products of Portugal. When I first took over as director of the press in 1995, a…

  • Poems to Live By in Our Troubled Times

    By Helene Atwan: Is it only in April that we’re supposed to appreciate poetry? After all, as this April in New England is proving beyond a doubt, it is the cruelest month. But maybe that’s why we need poetry . . . Now, more than ever, we’ve discovered that we need poetry not just to…

  • Beacon Press Authors and Staff Reflect on the Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.

    Today, on the fiftieth anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination, we honor his legacy. We reached out to some of our authors and staff members to reflect on the impact of his global vision for social justice and his tireless work in the civil rights movement. We share their commemorative responses with you…

  • Beacon Press Marches in Boston Pride

    We’re excited to be marching in Boston Pride this year! Will we see you there tomorrow? You’ll see us in bright blue shirts emblazoned with “Publishing with Pride,” handing out buttons and postcards with links to PDF samples of select LGBT titles from our catalog. And it looks like the weather will be cooperative this…

  • Publishing Poetry with a Purpose

    By Helene Atwan Ah, April. No, it’s not the cruelest month at all; in fact, it’s the month when we celebrate poetry, and given all the other things that are going on in our country at the moment, it’s a gift to be able to turn to the comforts and joys that poetry offers. For…

  • Remembering Nancy Mairs

    By Helene Atwan We received news of the death of Nancy Mairs just yesterday. All of us at Beacon, including her first editor, Andy Hrycyna, so valued Nancy’s voice, as an accomplished essayist, as a pioneer in writing about women, about faith, about social justice, and about disability: always fearlessly, always with crystal clarity. She…

  • Conversing About Verse: Beacon Press and Poetry

    Q&A with Helene Atwan Photo credit: Bob Kosturko What has been Beacon’s relationship with poetry? For the past decade or more, Beacon’s poetry program, such as it was, focused largely on two key poets we have published over many years, Sonia Sanchez and Mary Oliver. There would be the occasional exception anthology we would add…

  • Remembering Lillian B. Rubin: Social Scientist, Bestselling Author, & Good Friend

    Beacon director Helene Atwan remembers Lillian B. Rubin, sociologist, psychotherapist, bestselling author, and friend.

  • Igniting Hearts and Minds: Beacon Press Celebrates 160 Years of Publishing

    Beacon Press unveils a new logo to commemorate 160 years of publishing groundbreaking, thought-provoking books, and guide readers to the issues, ideas, and values that will ignite their hearts and minds.

  • Dreaming of Miami in December

    Beacon’s Director, Helene Atwan, fondly remembers last month’s Miami Book Fair and all the great writers—and food and drinks—she encountered there.