Director's Commentary

Lights, Camera… JHUP Books!

Kathleen Keane, Press Director

Becky Clark’s article on page one tells of the somewhat unusual opportunity we had earlier this year when our publication of a biography of Georges Remi, also known as Hergé, the creator of Tintin, coincided with the release of Steven Spielberg’s movie about the internationally popular character.  I say somewhat unusual, but in fact recent months brought us two other opportunities to connect important works we published to films and film makers—and to their audiences.

In February, the PBS American Experience series broadcast The Amish, a beautifully executed documentary about this traditional Anabaptist group.  JHU Press has long been a publisher of books that examine and explain Pietist and Anabaptist religions. Our author and series editor, Don Kraybill, a nationally recognized expert, served as an advisor on the film, and he and several other Press authors appear onscreen offering commentary and interpretation. These connections allowed us to host a well-attended pre-broadcast showing of the film at Baltimore’s Enoch Pratt Library with Prof. Kraybill and one of the producers attending. We know the national broadcast of the film is bringing much deserved attention to these authors and their very interesting subject matter.

In March, another bright spotlight pointed our way when our publication of Hart Crane’s Poetry by JHU friend and colleague John Irwin brought us the opportunity to host the actor James Franco at Johns Hopkins for a screening of his film about Crane, The Broken Tower.  After the screening, Mr. Franco and Prof. Irwin shared the stage to discuss the efforts each had made to illuminate Hart Crane’s troubled life and his difficult, brilliant poetry. It was a wonderful moment, and the 900 students who packed JHU’s Shriver Hall left with much more that cell-phone photos of a famous actor.

Many of us are drawn to the work of publishing by the necessary duty of interacting on a regular basis with writers and artists of talent and accomplishment.  Usually those people are our authors and editors. But their work leads us always to passionate readers, often to other creative and accomplished people, and sometimes to surprising connections and new opportunities. These recent examples were indeed unusual. But they remind me that each work we publish is the fruit of much labor, is unique in the opportunities it brings us, and is always deserving of an attentive and appreciative audience.