Morris Philipson
Encyclopedia
Dr. Morris H. Philipson was an American novelist and book publisher. Philipson was the longest-serving director in the history of the University of Chicago Press
, which position he held from 1967 to 2000.
Dr. Philipson was a native of New Haven, Connecticut
, and received his B.A. (1949) and M.A. (1952) from the University of Chicago
. He received a Ph.D. (1959) in philosophy from Columbia University
. He worked for several New York publishers, including Random House
, Pantheon Books
, Alfred A. Knopf
, and Basic Books
before coming to the University of Chicago.
At the University of Chicago Press, Philipson became known for large-scale scholarly projects such as The Lisle Letters (a six-volume collection of 16th-century correspondence by Arthur Plantagenet, 1st Viscount Lisle
), The Works of Giuseppe Verdi, a four-volume translation of the Chinese classic The Journey to the West, and Jean-Paul Sartre’s five-volume The Family Idiot: Gustave Flaubert, 1821-1857. At Chicago, Philipson also published trade paperback editions of works by many literary figures beginning with Isak Dinesen, and continuing with R. K. Narayan
, Arthur A. Cohen
, Paul Scott
, Thomas Bernhard
, and others. Philipson cultivated strong relationships with French and German publishers, resulting in numerous translations published by the University of Chicago Press, including works by Jacques Derrida
, Paul Ricoeur
, Yves Bonnefoy
, and Claude Levi-Strauss
. In 1984, Philipson was awarded the Commandeur de L’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from the French ministry of culture.
In 1982, Philipson became the first director of scholarly press to win PEN American Center
’s Publisher Citation. He also received the Association of American Publishers
' Curtis Benjamin Award for Creative Publishing shortly before his retirement.
Philipson was the author of more than fifty articles and reviews and five novels:
Bourgeois Anonymous (Vanguard, 1965; Schocken, 1983), The Wallpaper Fox (Charles Scribner's Sons, 1976), A Man in Charge (Simon & Schuster, 1979), Secret Understandings (Simon & Schuster, 1983), and Somebody Else’s Life (Harper & Row, 1987).
Philipson was married for thirty-three years to Susan Philipson, an editor whom he met when they worked at Knopf, and who died in 1994. They had three children.
Philipson died on November 3, 2011.
University of Chicago Press
The University of Chicago Press is the largest university press in the United States. It is operated by the University of Chicago and publishes a wide variety of academic titles, including The Chicago Manual of Style, dozens of academic journals, including Critical Inquiry, and a wide array of...
, which position he held from 1967 to 2000.
Dr. Philipson was a native of New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
, and received his B.A. (1949) and M.A. (1952) from the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
. He received a Ph.D. (1959) in philosophy from Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
. He worked for several New York publishers, including Random House
Random House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
, Pantheon Books
Pantheon Books
Pantheon Books is an American imprint with editorial independence that is part of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.The current editor-in-chief at Pantheon Books is Dan Frank.-Overview:...
, Alfred A. Knopf
Alfred A. Knopf
Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. is a New York publishing house, founded by Alfred A. Knopf, Sr. in 1915. It was acquired by Random House in 1960 and is now part of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group at Random House. The publishing house is known for its borzoi trademark , which was designed by co-founder...
, and Basic Books
Basic Books
Basic Books is a book publisher founded in 1952 and located in New York. It publishes books in the fields of psychology, philosophy, economics, science, politics, sociology, current affairs, and history.-History:...
before coming to the University of Chicago.
At the University of Chicago Press, Philipson became known for large-scale scholarly projects such as The Lisle Letters (a six-volume collection of 16th-century correspondence by Arthur Plantagenet, 1st Viscount Lisle
Arthur Plantagenet, 1st Viscount Lisle
Arthur Plantagenet, 1st Viscount Lisle, KG was an illegitimate son of King Edward IV of England, and an important figure at the court of Henry VIII...
), The Works of Giuseppe Verdi, a four-volume translation of the Chinese classic The Journey to the West, and Jean-Paul Sartre’s five-volume The Family Idiot: Gustave Flaubert, 1821-1857. At Chicago, Philipson also published trade paperback editions of works by many literary figures beginning with Isak Dinesen, and continuing with R. K. Narayan
R. K. Narayan
R. K. Narayan , shortened from Rasipuram Krishnaswami Iyer Narayanaswami Tamil: ) , Madras Presidency, British India. His father was a school headmaster, and Narayan did some of his studies at his father's school...
, Arthur A. Cohen
Arthur A. Cohen
Arthur Allen Cohen was an American Jewish scholar, theologian and author.Cohen wrote The Natural and the Supernatural Jew , tracing the history of Jewish theology from the late 15th century, through the German Jewish renaissance, and into what he saw as a hopeful yet troubled American Jewish scene...
, Paul Scott
Paul Scott
Paul Mark Scott was a British novelist, playwright, and poet, best known for his monumental tetralogy the Raj Quartet. His novel Staying On won the Booker Prize for 1977.-Early life:...
, Thomas Bernhard
Thomas Bernhard
Thomas Bernhard was an Austrian novelist, playwright and poet. Bernhard, whose body of work has been called "the most significant literary achievement since World War II," is widely considered to be one of the most important German-speaking authors of the postwar era.- Life :Thomas Bernhard was...
, and others. Philipson cultivated strong relationships with French and German publishers, resulting in numerous translations published by the University of Chicago Press, including works by Jacques Derrida
Jacques Derrida
Jacques Derrida was a French philosopher, born in French Algeria. He developed the critical theory known as deconstruction and his work has been labeled as post-structuralism and associated with postmodern philosophy...
, Paul Ricoeur
Paul Ricoeur
Paul Ricœur was a French philosopher best known for combining phenomenological description with hermeneutic interpretation...
, Yves Bonnefoy
Yves Bonnefoy
Yves Bonnefoy is a French poet and essayist. Bonnefoy was born in Tours, Indre-et-Loire, the son of a railroad worker and a teacher....
, and Claude Levi-Strauss
Claude Lévi-Strauss
Claude Lévi-Strauss was a French anthropologist and ethnologist, and has been called, along with James George Frazer, the "father of modern anthropology"....
. In 1984, Philipson was awarded the Commandeur de L’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from the French ministry of culture.
In 1982, Philipson became the first director of scholarly press to win PEN American Center
PEN American Center
PEN American Center , founded in 1922 and based in New York City, works to advance literature, to defend free expression, and to foster international literary fellowship. The Center has a membership of 3,300 writers, editors, and translators...
’s Publisher Citation. He also received the Association of American Publishers
Association of American Publishers
The Association of American Publishers is the national trade association of the American book publishing industry. AAP has more than 300 members, including most of the major commercial publishers in the United States, as well as smaller and non-profit publishers, university presses and scholarly...
' Curtis Benjamin Award for Creative Publishing shortly before his retirement.
Philipson was the author of more than fifty articles and reviews and five novels:
Bourgeois Anonymous (Vanguard, 1965; Schocken, 1983), The Wallpaper Fox (Charles Scribner's Sons, 1976), A Man in Charge (Simon & Schuster, 1979), Secret Understandings (Simon & Schuster, 1983), and Somebody Else’s Life (Harper & Row, 1987).
Philipson was married for thirty-three years to Susan Philipson, an editor whom he met when they worked at Knopf, and who died in 1994. They had three children.
Philipson died on November 3, 2011.