Phillip Booth

(Bauhan Publishing, 2015), by noted scholar and educator Jeanne Braham, celebrates the life and poetry of Booth, who was an English professor and a poet-in-residence in the from 1966-1986. He died in 2007 at the age of 81.

Braham says the title reflects two aspects of Booth’s life. “Available Light” is a nod to his 1976 collection of poetry by the same name. In fact, it was through one of the book’s poems, “How to see deer,” that she first connected with Booth’s economic writing style. “Gift of Place” refers to Booth’s hometown of Castine, Me., a central character in nearly all of his work.

“I am writing a ‘portrait,’ a story of a poet, told through the unfolding of his poems,” Braham says.

“Portrait” may be an apropos descriptor, as evidenced by the many family photos, letters, papers and interviews that run through the book. The result is a vibrant collage, dedicated to the memory of a thoughtful and devoted mentor, teacher, artist and father.

“Available Light” opens with Braham’s visit to Castine, where she draws connections between Booth and Robert Frost, with whom he studied at Dartmouth College.

“If Frost served as a poetic mentor … , Castine provided the historic, geographic, and experiential canvas upon which Booth’s poems are painted,” writes Braham, adding that Frost had a similar love affair with his own hometown of Shaftsbury, Vt.

Braham hopes “Available Light” will bring Booth’s work more fully into the public eye. While prolific and highly respected throughout his life, he never quite gained the kind of widespread popularity enjoyed by some contemporaries.

The author of 10 collections of poetry, Booth was revered for what critics described as a “spare, emotionally intelligent, quintessentially New England writing style.” He also was an accomplished educator, having taught at Dartmouth, Bowdoin and Wellesley colleges prior to ���ϲ�����.

, professor of English at ���ϲ�����, was one of Booth’s students in the . He calls Booth an inspiration, adding that his teacher’s picture is still taped to his office door.

“He dedicated himself to writing with the kind of sustained intelligence and imagination that kept him making his best poems in his 50s and 60s. That is no small feat for a writer who started as strong as he did,” Haxton recalls. “When his book ‘Before Sleep’ [Viking] came out in 1980, I told him I thought it was his best work, and he said he thought so, too. His next four books kept building on that strength, which came in good part from a style that delivered imaginative poise and perpetual surprise and wonder at the tip of the unfolding sentence.”

Notes fellow poet and critic Dave Smith: “I can think of few poets who give us more clarity, humility and translucent dimension than [Philip] Booth.”

Frederick Charles Besier and Brita Wagener with the Cross of the Order of Merit

The prize, which includes a $5,000 award, is in recognition of his book “ (University of Oxford Press, 2015). The 600-page tome examines the historical and intellectual contexts of one of history’s most important philosophical movements, with emphasis on the contributions of its oft-neglected founders: Jakob Friedrich Fries, Johann Friedrich Herbart and Friedrich Beneke.

Beiser says the award caught him off guard.

“Aside from a flattering review in the British Journal for the History of Philosophy, the book hasn’t received much attention,” says Beiser, whose areas of specialization include the history of German philosophy and the English Enlightenment. “Then again, I don’t expect many reviews, because it [the subject matter] is not something many people can write about.”

In addition to the prestige factor (past recipients include such luminaries as Cambridge’s Michael Moriarty and UChicago’s Josef Stern), the award is noteworthy for the fact it does not involve a formal submission process. All books on the subject of philosophy, in any given year, are potential finalists for the JHP Book Prize. Hence, Beiser had no idea that his book was in the running.

Ben Bradley, the Allan and Anita Sutton Professor of Philosophy, as well as the departmental chair, considers Beiser one of the world’s leading historians of 18th- and 19th-century German philosophy. “I am fortunate to have him as a colleague at ���ϲ�����,” he says. “Moreover, we’re delighted that he has won this prestigious prize. It’s well deserved, and speaks volumes about his philosophical and scholarly mettle.”

It has been a landmark year for Beiser, who recently received the at a special ceremony in New York City. The award, which recognizes his lifelong dedication to engaging American students in the study of German philosophy, is the highest honor that Germany can confer on a non-German citizen.

Prior to joining the Arts and Sciences faculty in 2001, Beiser taught more than a decade at Indiana University Bloomington, and held various positions at Harvard, Yale and the University of Pennsylvania. He earned a Ph.D. in philosophy from Oxford University.

His current research involves the rise of German anti-Semitism and the ensuing controversy over Jewish emancipation at the end of the 19th century.

Deborah Justice

“When I was doing my dissertation fieldwork down in Nashville, the white church I was studying was taking part in a congregational exchange with a black church. Because each of us come from those respective backgrounds, I knew that Fredara would enjoy studying the experience, and I also knew that the two of us working together would result in stronger ethnographic fieldwork than either of us would be able to create alone,” says Justice.

The reason, she says, is sometimes we are just too close to our own stance to examine it objectively.

“Fredara would be picking up on aspects of the white Presbyterian experience that are so familiar to me that I don’t notice that I am experiencing them, and vice versa regarding my asking her about the music and culture of black Baptist worship,” Justice adds.

The article has been a long time in the making. From initial fieldwork to publication, it has taken seven years, but it was worth it to get into the Yearbook for Traditional Music. A highly regarded scholarly journal established in 1974, the Yearbook publishes essays, reviews and reports about traditional music and dance research. “We had sent the paper around to different journals, but did not find the right fit until working with the Yearbook,” says Justice.  The article appears in the 47th volume, released this November.

Her hope for anyone who reads the article is that they will talk about it. “Too many scholars work in isolation from each other,” she says, “so we are hoping to help people reach out to each other and do better work!”

As the Schragis Postdoctoral Fellow, Justice has been busy. In the past three years, she has presented at 10 conferences; completed reviews, book chapters and articles; and taught several courses, including “History of Western Music,” “History of American Music” and “Music and Sports.” She intends to use the time between semesters to work on her current book, “Electric Guitars vs. Pipe Organs: Music and the Future of American Mainline Protestantism.” Justice holds a Ph.D. in ethnomusicology from the University of Indiana, Bloomington.

Frederick Charles Besier and Brita Wagener

Last month, he was presented the (Bundesverdienstkreuz) by German Consul General Brita Wagener at a special ceremony in New York City. The award was given to him in recognition of his lifelong dedication to engaging American students in the study of German philosophy. 

Among those in attendance were Beiser’s wife and daughter; Karin Ruhlandt, dean of A&S and Distinguished Professor of Chemistry; and Zachary Braiterman, professor of religion and director of the Jewish Studies Program.

“Professor Beiser is one of the generation’s leading scholars of the history of modern philosophy,” says Ruhlandt, citing his expertise in German idealism and romanticism, as well as the writings of philosopher Immanuel Kant. “His teaching, research and service have led to a deeper understanding of and respect for German history and culture on both sides of the Atlantic.”

An Arts and Sciences faculty member since 2001, Beiser is also interested in Early Modern and 19th-century philosophy, including the Enlightenment. Prior to ���ϲ�����, he spent more than a decade on the faculty at Indiana University Bloomington, and served brief stints at other institutions, including Harvard, Yale and the University of Pennsylvania.

A common thread throughout Beiser’s career has been the desire to promote German philosophy to English-speaking students. A tireless proponent of study abroad, he says it is important for American students to see, first hand, how Germans approach their own philosophers.

“My aim has been not only to make the field more intelligible, but also to expand it—covering figures whom have been forgotten or neglected,” says Beiser, the author of more than a dozen books, including “The Genesis of Neo-Kantianism, 1797-1880” (Oxford University Press, 2014). “These so-called ‘minor figures’ often have very interesting things to say, although they are overshadowed by major ones.”

Beiser says that receiving the Order of Merit marks the culmination of work that began more than 40 years ago at Oxford, where he earned multiple degrees, including a B.A. and D.Phil. Since then, Beiser has received many accolades, including Harvard Press’ prestigious Thomas J. Wilson Memorial Prize and various teaching awards from IU and the University of Colorado Boulder. He also has been awarded research fellowships from the Guggenheim, Humboldt and Thyssen foundations, as well as the National Endowment for the Humanities.

His current research involves the rise of German anti-Semitism and the ensuing controversy over Jewish emancipation at the end of the 19th century.