Creative Juices

Melanie Beals Goan ’96 ’00 AS has written “Simple Justice: Kentucky Women Fight for the Vote,” offering a deeper understanding of the women’s suffrage movement in Kentucky by following the people who labored hard to see the battle won, such as Laura Clay and Madeline McDowell Breckinridge. When the Declaration of Independence was signed by wealthy white men in 1776, poor white men, African Americans and women quickly discovered that the unalienable rights it promised were not truly for all. The Nineteenth Amendment eventually gave women the right to vote in 1920, but the change was not welcomed by people of all genders in politically and religiously conservative Kentucky. As a result, the suffrage movement in the Commonwealth involved a tangled web of stakeholders, entrenched interest groups, unyielding constitutional barriers and activists with competing strategies. Women’s suffrage was not simply a question of whether women could and should vote. It carried more serious implications for white supremacy and for the balance of federal and state powers — especially in a border state. Shocking racial hostility surfaced even as activists attempted to make America more equitable.

Richard G. Edwards ’62 ’64 ’70 EN

has written “Festival,” his ninth mystery novel based in Kentucky, with this one focusing on an international story taking place in Harlan.

Alex F. Menrisky ’14 ’18 AS has written “Wild Abandon: American Literature and the Identity Politics of Ecology,” which considers how ecology’s interaction with radical politics of authenticity in the 20th century has kept that narrative alive in altered form.

Burton Milward Jr. ’73 LAW (Joy de Livre) is coauthor of “The Woman in the Gazebo,” a novel about the aspirations of Marie who poses as live art two hours each day so as to “live art” with the material world becoming abstract.

Benjamin W. Nero ’67 DE is the author of “That’s the Way It Was: A Memoir,” which is a heartfelt story of family values passed through several generations, only two removed from slavery.

Henrietta Hampton Pepper ’85

CI BE has written “Out of the Gate: What Inspires Us Drives Us Forward,” a compilation of stories rooted in a blend of faith, family and friends inspired by her own life.

Kristin Stultz Pressley ’05 FA is the author of “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love, Baby: Dorothy Fields and Her Life in the American Musical Theatre.” Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein, Jerome Kern, Irving Berlin and … Dorothy Fields are the giants of the golden age of musical theater. Although she may not be as well-known as her male counterparts, Fields was America’s most brilliant and successful female lyricist, who for five decades kept up with the greats. This book introduces Fields to audiences who may not know her name but know her five decades worth of work. As the only woman among the boys’ club of popular song, she was welcomed by her fellow male artists, who considered her an equal and a beloved colleague. Working with 13 different composers, Fields wrote the lyrics and/or librettos for unforgettable masterpieces, such as “Annie Get Your Gun,” “Redhead” and “Sweet Charity.” Her more than 400 songs include the standards “On the Sunny Side of the Street,” “Pick Yourself Up” and “The Way You Look Tonight,” among other classic tunes. Beginning in the 1920s, Fields was one of the few women writing for commercial theater, and she did it so remarkably well that her work was recognized with a Tony Award and an Oscar.

Patricia Mullins Shifflett (Patti

Grace) ’62 BE is the author of “Our Fellowship with His Holy Spirit: Developing Intimacy with God,” about how to enrich your faith-based life.

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