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Beowulf and the Grendel-Kin
Politics and Poetry in Eleventh-Century England
Helen Damico
West Virginia University Press, 2014

In Beowulf and the Grendel-kin: Politics and Poetry in Eleventh-Century England, Helen Damico presents the first concentrated discussion of the initiatory two-thirds of Beowulf’s 3,182 lines in the context of the sociopolitically turbulent years that composed the first half of the eleventh century in Anglo-Danish England.

Damico offers incisive arguments that major historical events and personages pertaining to the reign of Cnut and those of his sons recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, the Encomium Emmae Reginae, and major continental and Scandinavian historical texts, hold striking parallels with events and personages found in at least eight vexing narrative units, as recorded by Scribe A in BL, Cotton Vitellius A.xv, that make up the poem’s quasi sixth-century narrative concerning the fall of the legendary Scyldings. 

Given the poet’s compositional skill—widely relational and eclectic at its core—and his affinity with the practicing skalds, these strings of parallelisms could scarcely have been coincidental. Rather, Damico argues that examined within the context of other eleventh-century texts that either bemoaned or darkly satirized or obversely celebrated the rise of the Anglo-Danish realm, the Beowulfian units may bring forth a deeper understanding of the complexity of the poet’s compositional process.

Damico illustrates the poet’s use of the tools of his trade—compression, substitution, skillful encoding of character—to reinterpret and transform grave sociopolitical “facts” of history, to produce what may be characterized as a type of historical allegory, whereby two parallel narratives, one literal and another veiled are simultaneously operative. 

Beowulf and the Grendel-Kin lays out the story of Beowulf, not as a monster narrative nor a folklorish nor solely a legendary tale, but rather as a poem of its time, a historical allegory coping with and reconfiguring sociopolitical events of the first half of eleventh-century Anglo-Saxon England.

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Slow Fuse of the Possible
A Memoir of Poetry and Psychoanalysis
Kate Daniels
West Virginia University Press, 2022

“Daniels is a keen observer of visceral moments and powerful emotions.” —Kirkus Reviews
“A book of burning soulfulness.” —Edward Hirsch

An engrossing and beautifully crafted memoir of imagination, obsession, and disaster from the couch of old-fashioned four-times-a-week psychoanalysis.

Slow Fuse of the Possible is a poet’s narrative of a troubled psychoanalysis. It is also a commanding meditation on the powers of language, for good and for ill.

From the beginning of their time together, it is clear that the enigmatic analyst and Daniels are not a good match, yet both are determined to continue their work—the former in nearly complete silence, and the latter as best she can with the tools at her disposal: careful attention to language, deep reading, and literary imagination. Throughout, the story is filtered through the mind of Emily Dickinson, whose poetry Daniels uses as a fulcrum for the interpretation of her own experience. The book is saturated with Dickinson’s verse, and Dickinson is an increasingly haunting presence as crises emerge and the author unravels.

This compelling lyric memoir, so richly steeped in all facets of language and the literary, allows readers a glimpse into the mind of a renowned poet, revealing the dazzling and anguished connections between poetry and psychoanalysis.
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The Psalms of Israel Jones
A Novel
Ed Davis
West Virginia University Press, 2014

Secrets and snakes, rock and gospel, guilt and grace.

The Psalms of Israel Jones 
is the story of a father and son’s journey towards spiritual redemption. This novel tells the tale of a famous father trapped inside the suffocating world of rock and roll, and his son who is stranded within the bounds of conventional religion. 

When Reverend Thomas Johnson receives an anonymous phone call, he learns his Dylanesque rock star father is acting deranged on stage, where he’s being worshipped by a cult of young people who slash their faces during performances. In his declining years, Israel Jones has begun to incite his fans to violence. They no longer want to watch the show—they want to be the show.

Eager to escape troubles with his congregation as well as gain an apology from his dad for abandoning his family, Reverend Johnson leaves town and joins Israel Jones’s Eternal Tour. This decision propels him to the center of a rock and roll hell, giving him one last chance to reconnect with his father, wife, congregation—and maybe even God.

The Psalms of Israel Jones is the 2010 Hackney Literary Award winner for an unpublished manuscript.

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Algerian Diary
Frank Kearns and the "Impossible Assignment" for CBS News
Gerald Davis
West Virginia University Press, 2016

Frank Kearns was the go-to guy at CBS News for danger- ous stories in Africa and the Middle East in the 1950s, ‘60s, and early ‘70s. By his own account, he was nearly killed 114 times. He took stories that nobody else wanted to cover and was challenged to get them on the air when nobody cared about this part of the world. But his stories were warning shots for conflicts that play out in the headlines today.

In 1957, Senator John Kennedy described America’s view of the Algerian war for independence as the Eisenhower Administration’s “head in the sand policy.” So CBS News decided to find out what was really happening there and to determine where Algeria’s war for independence fit into the game plan for the Cold War. They sent Frank Kearns to find out.

Kearns took with him cameraman Yousef (“Joe”) Masraff and 400 pounds of gear, some of which they shed, and they hiked with FLN escorts from Tunisia, across a wide “no-man’s land,” and into the Aures Mountains of eastern Algeria, where the war was bloodiest. They carried no passports or visas. They dressed as Algerians. They refused to bear weapons. And they knew that if captured, they would be executed and left in unmarked graves. But their job as journalists was to seek the truth whatever it might turn out to be.

This is Frank Kearns’s diary. 

 
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EMBASSY GIRLS
JULIA DAVIS
West Virginia University Press, 1992

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The Shenandoah
Julia Davis
West Virginia University Press, 2011
In 1945, West Virginia author Julia Davis penned The Shenandoah as part of the Rivers of America Series, a landmark collection of books written by literary figures over a period of thirty years. In this classic reprint, now with an introduction by Christopher Camuto, Davis tells the history of the Shenandoah Valley and River, drawing on her own research and the experiences of ancestors who settled and lived in the area. Her book provides a poetic vision of both the river and the valley, preserving a fragment of America’s landscape.
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AMBASSADORIAL DIARIES
THE COURT OF ST. JAMES'S 1918-1921
JULIA DAVIS
West Virginia University Press, 1993

John W. Davis (1873-1955) was the most important national politician to call West Virginia home. Nominated for president by the Democratic Party in 1924, Davis lost to the incumbent Calvin Coolidge. This diary is an engaging day-by-day account of Davis's service as U.S. ambassador to England at a pivotal point in modern history. The recent World War and Russian Revolution, the new thirst for oil, the old strife in Ireland, and the final days of the Wilson presidency fill this diary with enduring significance. Davis also offers a look at the personalities which shaped the post-war world and describes the pageantry and social life of America's most coveted ambassadorial assignment.

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front cover of INNOVATION AND  TRADITION IN THE WRITINGS OF THE VENERABLE BEDE
INNOVATION AND TRADITION IN THE WRITINGS OF THE VENERABLE BEDE
SCOTT DEGREGORIO
West Virginia University Press, 2006

Works prior to this book focused on Bede as not only a European, but also as an English scholar, historian, scientist, or a biographer of saints, and have used a traditional approach towards his explanation of the Bible. Bede's interpretation of his work, its continuous progress, and the reasons behind his hurried appointment to an authority almost as high as the Church Fathers are all topics examined within the text. Essays are by Roger Ray, Faith Wallis, Calvin B. Kendall, George Hardin Brown, Scott DeGregorio, Arthur G. Holder, Lawrence T. Martin, Walter Goffart, and Joyce Hill.

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WELFARE REFORM IN WEST VIRGINIA
ROBERT J. DILGER
West Virginia University Press, 2004

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West Virginia
Its Farms and Forests, Mines and Oil-Wells
J. R. Dodge
West Virginia University Press, 2011

West Virginia: Its Farms and Forests, Mines and Oil-Wells celebrates the state of West Virginia. Originally published in 1865 as a series of studies on mineral resources, observations on agriculture, and interviews with businessmen, West Virginia details the industrial statistics, terrain, and population of a state during its infancy. With no record of natural wealth or reported transactions of agriculture or geography prior to this overview, West Virginia sparked the curiosity of non-residents, enticing investment and settlement through descriptions of abundant natural resources and an agreeable industrial condition. With an introduction by Kenneth R. Bailey, this new edition reminds us of the state’s alluring beginning and rich, yet often exploited development.
 

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West Virginia University
Symbol of Unity in a Sectionalized State
William T. Doherty, Jr
West Virginia University Press, 2013
First published in 1982, West Virginia University: Symbol of Unity in a Sectionalize State details the history of WVU from before its inception as the Agricultural College of West Virginia in 1867 to its expansion and development in the 1980s. This comprehensive history includes an index of people, places and events; photographs and illustrations; and in-depth descriptions of campuses, buildings, colleges, and academic and sports programs. A joint effort between William T Doherty, Jr., a Professor Emeritus History at WVU and Festus P. Summers, the first University Librarian who passed away before this project was complete, this new edition once again grants access to the diverse and complex elements which shaped the institution.  
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On Homesickness
A Plea
Jesse Donaldson
West Virginia University Press, 2017
2017 Mountain Heritage Literary Festival Appalachian Book of the Year 

One day, Jesse Donaldson wakes up in Portland, Oregon, and asks his wife to uproot their life together and move to his native Kentucky. As he searches for the reason behind this sudden urge, Donaldson examines both the place where he was born and the life he’s building.

The result is a hybrid—part memoir, part meditation on nostalgia, part catalog of Kentucky history and myth. Organized according to Kentucky geography, with one passage for each of the commonwealth’s 120 counties, On Homesickness examines whether we can ever return to the places we’ve called home.
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Tolkein Studies
Volume XI
Michael Drout
West Virginia University Press, 2014
Tolkien Studies: An Annual Scholarly Review presents the growing body of critical commentary and scholarship on both J. R. R. Tolkien’s voluminous fiction and his academic work in literary and linguistic fields.
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Tolkien Studies
An Annual Scholarly Review, Volume II
Michael D.C. Drout
West Virginia University Press, 2005
Tolkien Studies: An Annual Scholarly Review presents the growing body of critical commentary and scholarship on both J. R. R. Tolkien's voluminous fiction and his academic work in literary and linguistic fields.
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Tolkien Studies
An Annual Scholarly Review, Volume IV
Michael D.C. Drout
West Virginia University Press, 2007
Tolkien Studies: An Annual Scholarly Review presents the growing body of critical commentary and scholarship on both J. R. R. Tolkien's voluminous fiction and his academic work in literary and linguistic fields.
[more]

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Tolkien Studies
An Annual Scholarly Review, Volume IX
Michael D.C. Drout
West Virginia University Press, 2012
Tolkien Studies: An Annual Scholarly Review presents the growing body of critical commentary and scholarship on both J. R. R. Tolkien's voluminous fiction and his academic work in literary and linguistic fields.
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Tolkien Studies
An Annual Scholarly Review, Volume V
Michael D.C. Drout
West Virginia University Press, 2008
Tolkien Studies: An Annual Scholarly Review presents the growing body of critical commentary and scholarship on both J. R. R. Tolkien's voluminous fiction and his academic work in literary and linguistic fields.
[more]

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Tolkien Studies
An Annual Scholarly Review, Volume VI
Michael D.C. Drout
West Virginia University Press, 2009
Tolkien Studies: An Annual Scholarly Review presents the growing body of critical commentary and scholarship on both J. R. R. Tolkien's voluminous fiction and his academic work in literary and linguistic fields
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Tolkien Studies
An Annual Scholarly Review, Volume VII
Michael D.C. Drout
West Virginia University Press, 2010
Tolkien Studies: An Annual Scholarly Review presents the growing body of critical commentary and scholarship on both J. R. R. Tolkien's voluminous fiction and his academic work in literary and linguistic fields.
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front cover of Tolkien Studies
Tolkien Studies
An Annual Scholarly Review, Volume VIII
Michael D.C. Drout
West Virginia University Press, 2011
Tolkien Studies: An Annual Scholarly Review presents the growing body of critical commentary and scholarship on both J. R. R. Tolkien's voluminous fiction and his academic work in literary and linguistic fields.
[more]

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Tolkien Studies
An Annual Scholarly Review, Volume III
Michael D.C. Drout
West Virginia University Press, 2006
Tolkien Studies: An Annual Scholarly Review presents the growing body of critical commentary and scholarship on both J. R. R. Tolkien's voluminous fiction and his academic work in literary and linguistic fields.
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front cover of Tolkien Studies, Volume X
Tolkien Studies, Volume X
Michael Drout
West Virginia University Press, 2013
Tolkien Studies: An Annual Scholarly Review presents the growing body of critical commentary and scholarship on both J. R. R. Tolkien's voluminous fiction and his academic work in literary and linguistic fields. The founding editors are Douglas A. Anderson (The Annotated Hobbit), Michael D. C. Drout (Beowulf and the Critics), and Verlyn Flieger (Splintered Light: Logos and Language in Tolkien's World). Volumes I-IX of this journal are currently available for individual purchase.
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