UNM Press releasing new annotated edition of 'Death Comes for the Archbishop' on Feb. 15

NEW EDITION OF LITERARY MASTERPIECE

On Thursday, Feb. 15, the University of New Mexico Press will release a new annotated edition of “Death Comes for the Archbishop,” Willa Cather’s masterpiece of literature set in the 19th century New Mexico Territory.

Richard W. Etulain wrote the introductory essay and the notes for the new edition of the novel.

“I think Dick is uniquely and ideally suited for the task,” said Stephen Hull, UNM Press director.

Etulain, a scholar and critic, is professor emeritus of history at UNM, and previously was editor of the New Mexico Historical Review and director of the Center for the American West.

UNM Press releasing new annotated edition of 'Death Comes for the Archbishop' on Feb. 15

Hull said the novel came into the public domain last year. It tells the story of the French Catholic priest Jean Marie Latour, who is appointed as the first bishop of the newly-created diocese of New Mexico after the Mexican-American War. Latour is joined by Vicar Joseph Vaillant. The New Mexico Territory was once considered “the cradle of faith in the New World,” but now is left with few priests and with mission churches in disrepair.

In an email, Etulain said Cather’s novel “is a jewel, one of the best ever written about New Mexico and the Southwest. It’s a superb work of fiction focusing on ‘learning.’ Two French priests arrive in New Mexico bent on returning Catholics in the region to more traditional ways of worshiping. Instead, Cather depicts the priests learning — and accepting — much of the religious faith they see among Hispanics and Native peoples. The pathway of the priests gaining knowledge and welcoming these new insights is a positive, inspiring storyline.”

The characters of Latour and Vaillant are based on the real-life historical figures of Archbishop Jean-Baptiste Lamy and Vicar Joseph Machebeuf.

The new annotated novel will be available at bookstores throughout New Mexico. “It is our hope that for New Mexicans and visitors to New Mexico that this will be the edition of choice,” Hull said. The first edition was published in 1927. The Pulitzer Prize-winning Cather is also known for her novels of the Great Plains, including “O Pioneers!”

AT BOOKWORKS IN ALBUQUERQUE

Jessica Naomi Keith will talk about her new debut memoir, “Saying Inshallah with Chutzpah: A Gefilte Fish Out of Water Story,” at 6 p.m. Friday, Feb. 16, at Bookworks. The book follows the unorthodox path of a Jewish woman working for a Muslim government — the consulate of Kuwait — in Los Angeles. Keith is a professor of cross-cultural communication at San Diego State University.

Bookworks is located at 4022 Rio Grande Blvd. NW.

AT COLLECTED WORKS IN SANTA FE

Sarah Scoles will be in conversation with Jim Falk about Scoles’ new book “Countdown: The Blinding Future of Nuclear Weapons” at 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 15, at Collected Works.

Scoles draws on years of reporting on the nation’s nuclear weapons labs and the notion that having such weapons keeps us safe, deters attacks and prevents radioactive warfare.

She reveals the state of nuclear weapons technology and what people working in the industry think of the technology and what if one day someone might deploy them.

Scoles, a Colorado-based science writer, is also the author of “They Are Already Here: UFO Culture and Why We See Saucers” and “Making Contact: Jill Tarter and the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence.”

Falk is program chair of Global Santa Fe.

Collected Works is located at 202 Galisteo St. in downtown Santa Fe.

Compiled by David Steinberg/For the Journal