Jul 19, 2019
Jonathan Rose is the William R. Kenan Professor of History at
Drew University in Madison, NJ. His fields of study are British
history, intellectual history and the history of the book (in which
he happens to be a giant). His books include The
Intellectual Life of the British Working
Classes and The Literary Churchill: Author,
Reader, Actor both of which won important
prizes. He has held visiting appointments at the
University of Cambridge and Princeton University and he reviews
books for the The Times Literary Supplement and
the Daily Telegraph.
Most important viz our purposes: he was the founding president of the Society for the History of Authorship, Reading and Publishing (SHARP), and for many years, co-editor of its journal 'Book History'.
I met with Jonathan at SHARP'S annual conference in Amherst, MA #Sharp19, to talk about his role in establishing the society. We also chat about SHARP'S history, purpose, future, and noticeable vibrancy, about the importance of history text books; Gone with the Wind; JFK, and Playboy magazine (okay, the last only in passing).