| Long-awaited S.C. Encyclopedia set for Sept. 30 statewide launch |
|
|
|
By Marshall Swanson
|
|
|
Walter Edgar's calendar for speaking engagements and autograph sessions is full all the way through next fall. And he's not going to be embarking on any new writing projects until next July either.
 |
| Walter Edgar |
The reason?
The publication Sept. 30 of the long-awaited South Carolina Encyclopedia and the extensive pre-publication interest it has generated.
"The calendar is jammed full and it's mostly to talk about the encyclopedia," said Edgar, the encyclopedia's editor who also is the Claude Henry Neuffer Professor of Southern Studies at the University and director of USC's Institute for Southern Studies.
After eight years of work by almost 700 people, the 1,120-page volume with more than one million words and some 2,000 entries by 600 authors is a done deal and Edgar is very happy with the outcome.
"I'm delighted that it is coming out and I'm really very pleased with the product," he said. "I read every entry from A to Z while the encyclopedia was being prepared. But I was even more pleased with them when I got the final page proofs. I think everyone who worked on this project has produced a wonderful reference work for the people of South Carolina."
A collaborative effort of the Humanities CouncilSC, a state program of the National Endowment for the Humanities; the USC Institute for Southern Studies; and the University of South Carolina Press, the encyclopedia is "the first comprehensive reference source of the people, places, events, things, achievements, and ideals that have contributed to the ongoing evolution of the Palmetto State," according to the USC Press.
"The encyclopedia puts into one convenient compendium what is known about the state and provides a readily available definition of its history and culture," said press director Curtis Clark. "It's one of the most important things to happen in the state in years. It will help shape how people think about South Carolina far into the future."
The brainchild of former USC provost and graduate school dean George Reeves, the mammoth reference work was first conceived in 1998 and appeared as a finished manuscript in December of 2005. The total cost was about $1 million, some $700,000 of which was in grants from the Humanities Council to support the research and writing of the encyclopedia and paying for the 440 illustrations which appear in its pages.
The money was raised before the project started. Edgar is proud of the fact that the book's completion came in under budget and that money was turned back into the Humanities Council.
The encyclopedia provided a good practical historical and editing experience for four USC graduate students who served as research checkers and an honors student who completed an independent study working with Edgar on the illustrations. Untold numbers of other students and alumni also were among the 600 people who served in other roles, from managing editor to the 19 associate editors, national advisory board members, and 600 contributors.
A celebration to honor those who worked on the encyclopedia is tentatively scheduled for Oct. 3 in Columbia. The Humanities Council also is having small regional parties for donors in areas where they did fund raising for the project and numerous autograph parties are scheduled statewide through December (see sidebar at right).
With a "very strong" pre-publication sale of more than 4,000 copies, Edgar believes the encyclopedia has succeeded in presenting the essence of South Carolina "so that you really get a feel for its people and culture."
Though many states have talked about producing an encyclopedia, said Clark of the USC Press, not that many have succeeded. "For South Carolina to have been one of them is a tribute to the way its people embrace the state's historical richness," he said.
"We made every effort to provide the best possible product for the people of the Palmetto State," said Edgar. "The quality of the printing, the illustrations, and the writing are all first-rate and the finished product is going to be absolutely beautiful."
9/06
|
|
|
|
Creating the Encyclopedia
The South Carolina Encyclopedia represents research in the liberal arts and social sciences that will be useful for people not just in South Carolina but everywhere, said Walter Edgar.
In the seven years the project was in the research phase, some content became a moving target for researchers:
--At the start, editors didn't have the results from the 2000 census so they relied on the 1990 census to determine what municipalities they would write about. By the time the 2000 census figures arrived, the editors were obliged to add towns to the encyclopedia and take some others out, if they fell below or above a population of 2,500.
--Though he knows a great deal about the state from his work on South Carolina: A History several years ago, until Edgar began work on the encyclopedia, he wasn't aware that Beaufort was once known as the lettuce capital of the world, as it was at the turn of the last century.
--The encyclopedia has a number of entries on prominent women of the state, but "they're there because of what they did and not just because they are female," Edgar said. "The people who have helped tell South Carolinians who they are, whether they are Native American, African American, or women, are represented in the encyclopedia," he said.
--South Carolina is famous for its different regions of barbecue, but they are shifting, as the encyclopedia's entry on barbecue reports. The areas partial to mustard base are growing and regions of ketchup base are shrinking.
|
|
Fall 2006 Signing Schedule
Oct. 12, 5-7 p.m., Happy Bookseller, 4525 Forest Drive, Columbia
Oct. 14, 2-4 p.m., The Booksmith Inc., 283 Market St., Seneca
Oct. 15, 3-6 p.m., Calhoun County Museum, 313 Butler St., St. Matthews
Oct. 16, 5:30-7 p.m., Greenwood Museum, 106 Main St., Greenwood
Oct. 18, 4-6 p.m., Barnes & Noble, Shops at Greenridge, Greenville
Oct. 21, 2-4 p.m., Aiken Office Supply & Book Shop Inc., 2560 Whiskey Road, Aiken
Oct. 23, 5:30-7 p.m., Spartanburg County Library, 151 S. Church St., Spartanburg
Oct. 25, 5:30-7 p.m., Charleston Museum, 360 Meeting St., Charleston
Oct. 26, 3-5 p.m., I.P. Stanback Museum, S.C. State University, Orangeburg
Oct. 27, noon-3 p.m., Litchfield Books, Litchfield Landing, Pawleys Island
Nov. 11, 2-4 p.m., S.C. State Museum, 301 Gervais St., Columbia
Nov. 13, 5:30-7 p.m., The Ogletree Building, 300 N. Main St., Greenville
Nov. 18, 2-4 p.m., Barnes & Noble, Richland Mall, 3400 Forest Drive, Columbia
Dec. 1, 2-4 p.m., Barnes & Noble, 1812 Rittenberg Road, Charleston
Dec. 9, 2-4 p.m., Barnes & Noble, 278A Harbison Blvd., Columbia
|
|
