Frederick A. Hetzel
Encyclopedia
Frederick Armstrong Hetzel (September 6, 1930—September 13, 2003) was an American
publisher and academic.
. He received degrees from Washington and Jefferson College and the University of Virginia
. He was an associate editor at the Institute for Early American History and Culture in Williamsburg, Virginia
before going to the University of Pittsburgh
in 1961.
He served on the boards of the Mendelssohn Choir, the Pittsburgh Dance Council
and Winchester Thurston School
.
Hetzel was the director of the University of Pittsburgh Press
in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
, from 1963 to 1994, significantly growing the publishing house. In his efforts to acquire the best available scholarship, he focused Pitt scholarly titles in selected academic areas: history, political science, international studies, Latin American studies, Russian and East European studies, composition and literacy studies, natural history, and history and philosophy of science. Hetzel personally directed Press books about Pittsburgh and the region, including titles in history, natural history, photography, biography, guidebooks, and creative non-fiction.
Special literary and academic series developed by Hetzel include the renowned Pitt Poetry Series
; the Pitt Latin American Series; the Pittsburgh Series in Descriptive Bibliography; the Pitt Series in Russian and East European Studies; the Pittsburgh Series in Composition, Literacy, and Culture; and the Pittsburgh-Konstanz Series in Philosophy. Annual publications included volumes in Milton Studies and Cuban Studies and the winners of the Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize
, the AWP Award Series in Poetry, and the Drue Heinz Literature Prize
. Hetzel co-published titles with the Carnegie Museum of Art
, the Carnegie Museum of Natural History
, the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
, the Helen Clay Frick
Foundation, the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania
, and the Frick Art & Historical Center
. One of Hetzel's greatest publishing success stories was in 1976 when the University of Pittsburgh Press
reissued Thomas Bell's
Out of This Furnace
to wide acclaim.
for his Army service in the Korean War
.
home in Pittsburgh and is buried at Homewood Cemetery
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
publisher and academic.
Biography
Hetzel was born and raised in Connellsville, PennsylvaniaConnellsville, Pennsylvania
Connellsville is a city in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, USA, 57 miles southeast of Pittsburgh on the Youghiogheny River, a tributary of the Monongahela River. It is part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. In 1890, 5,629 people lived in Connellsville, which was a borough at that time...
. He received degrees from Washington and Jefferson College and the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
. He was an associate editor at the Institute for Early American History and Culture in Williamsburg, Virginia
Williamsburg, Virginia
Williamsburg is an independent city located on the Virginia Peninsula in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, USA. As of the 2010 Census, the city had an estimated population of 14,068. It is bordered by James City County and York County, and is an independent city...
before going to the University of Pittsburgh
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...
in 1961.
He served on the boards of the Mendelssohn Choir, the Pittsburgh Dance Council
Pittsburgh Dance Council
Pittsburgh Dance Council was established in 2002 as a programming division of . The programming mission of Pittsburgh Dance Council is to bring the best of contemporary dance from around the world to the Downtown Pittsburgh Cultural District stages....
and Winchester Thurston School
Winchester Thurston School
Winchester Thurston School is an independent, coeducational, college preparatory school with two campuses: a Pre-Kindergarten through grade five North Hills Campus in Hampton Township and a Pre-Kindergarten through grade twelve City Campus in Shadyside, Pittsburgh...
.
Hetzel was the director of the University of Pittsburgh Press
University of Pittsburgh Press
The University of Pittsburgh Press is a scholarly publishing house and a major American university press, part of the University of Pittsburgh. The university and the press are located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the United States....
in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
, from 1963 to 1994, significantly growing the publishing house. In his efforts to acquire the best available scholarship, he focused Pitt scholarly titles in selected academic areas: history, political science, international studies, Latin American studies, Russian and East European studies, composition and literacy studies, natural history, and history and philosophy of science. Hetzel personally directed Press books about Pittsburgh and the region, including titles in history, natural history, photography, biography, guidebooks, and creative non-fiction.
Special literary and academic series developed by Hetzel include the renowned Pitt Poetry Series
Pitt Poetry Series
The Pitt Poetry Series, published by the University of Pittsburgh Press in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, is one of the largest and best known lists of contemporary American poetry.-History:...
; the Pitt Latin American Series; the Pittsburgh Series in Descriptive Bibliography; the Pitt Series in Russian and East European Studies; the Pittsburgh Series in Composition, Literacy, and Culture; and the Pittsburgh-Konstanz Series in Philosophy. Annual publications included volumes in Milton Studies and Cuban Studies and the winners of the Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize
Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize
The Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize is a major American literary award for a first full-length book of poetry in the English language.This prize of the University of Pittsburgh Press in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA was initiated by Ed Ochester and developed by Frederick A. Hetzel. The prize is...
, the AWP Award Series in Poetry, and the Drue Heinz Literature Prize
Drue Heinz Literature Prize
The Drue Heinz Literature Prize is a major American literary award for short fiction in the English language.This prize of the University of Pittsburgh Press in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA was initiated in 1981 by Mrs. Drue Heinz and developed by Frederick A. Hetzel...
. Hetzel co-published titles with the Carnegie Museum of Art
Carnegie Museum of Art
The Carnegie Museum of Art, located in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is an art museum founded in 1895 by the Pittsburgh-based industrialist Andrew Carnegie...
, the Carnegie Museum of Natural History
Carnegie Museum of Natural History
Carnegie Museum of Natural History, located at 4400 Forbes Avenue in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, was founded by the Pittsburgh-based industrialist Andrew Carnegie in 1896...
, the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh is the public library system in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Its main branch is located in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, and it has 19 branch locations throughout the city...
, the Helen Clay Frick
Helen Clay Frick
Helen Clay Frick was an American philanthropist.She was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania the third child of the coke and steel magnate Henry Clay Frick and Adelaide Howard Childs . She grew up at the family's Pittsburgh estate, Clayton, although the family later moved to New York City in 1905...
Foundation, the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania
Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania
The Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania is a cultural organization in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After several attempts during the early and mid-century to establish a historical society, an organization called Old Residents of Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania was formed on January 10, 1859...
, and the Frick Art & Historical Center
Frick Art & Historical Center
The Frick Art & Historical Center is a cluster of museums and historical buildings located at 7227 Reynolds Street, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States and collectively known as "Clayton"...
. One of Hetzel's greatest publishing success stories was in 1976 when the University of Pittsburgh Press
University of Pittsburgh Press
The University of Pittsburgh Press is a scholarly publishing house and a major American university press, part of the University of Pittsburgh. The university and the press are located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the United States....
reissued Thomas Bell's
Thomas Bell (novelist)
Thomas Bell was an American novelist.Bell was born Adalbert Thomas Belejcak on March 7, 1903 in Braddock, Pennsylvania, USA of immigrant Lemko Rusyn parents from the village of Nižný Tvarožec, Slovak republic. He worked in the steel mills there, beginning at the age of fifteen as an apprentice...
Out of This Furnace
Out of This Furnace
Out of This Furnace is a historical novel and the best-known work of the American writer Thomas Bell .The novel is set in Braddock, Pennsylvania, a steel town just east of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania along the Monongahela River. It was first published in 1941 by Little, Brown and Company...
to wide acclaim.
Military service
He was awarded a Bronze StarBronze Star Medal
The Bronze Star Medal is a United States Armed Forces individual military decoration that may be awarded for bravery, acts of merit, or meritorious service. As a medal it is awarded for merit, and with the "V" for valor device it is awarded for heroism. It is the fourth-highest combat award of the...
for his Army service in the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
.
Death and burial
Hetzel died at age 73 on September 13, 2003 at his Squirrel HillSquirrel Hill
Squirrel Hill is a residential neighborhood in the east end of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The city officially divides it into two neighborhoods, Squirrel Hill North and Squirrel Hill South, but it is almost universally treated as a single neighborhood...
home in Pittsburgh and is buried at Homewood Cemetery
Homewood Cemetery
Homewood Cemetery is a historic, nonsectarian burial ground in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in Squirrel Hill and is bordered by both Frick Park and the neighborhood of Point Breeze....
.