Sermons by Jeannette Hopkins

When Jeannette was in her 70's, she was a lay preacher at South Church, the Unitarian church in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.   Thanks to the computer skills of my husband, Jeff Lee, you can listen to three of those sermons by clicking on the links listed below.

On Attaining Seventy

This sermon can also be listened to at the following link:  http://JeannetteHopkins.sermon.net/da/2761347/play

The Purpose of a Garden

The tape of this sermon is also available at this link: http://JeannetteHopkins.sermon.net/da/2761342/play

Life Expectancy (Martin Luther King, Jr. Service)

The audio of this sermon can also be listened to at the following link:
http://JeannetteHopkins.sermon.net/da/2761353/play

Obituary posted to Wesleyan University Press's blog

Jeanette Hopkins, press director (1980-89), dies

Aug. 12, 2011 by selliott

The literary world suffered a great loss last week when Jeannette Hopkins, renowned book editor, died unexpectedly at the age of 88. Hopkins died while in the hospital due to complications from a medical condition on Aug. 4, according to her niece, Carol Gray.

Hopkins was director and editor-in-chief for the Wesleyan University Press and an Adjunct Professor of English at Wesleyan University from 1980 until her retirement in 1989.  Cynthia Miller, now Director of University of Pittsburgh Press, worked closely with Hopkins at Wesleyan and recollects: “Jeannette was the best editor I’ve ever known, bar none, with a wide-ranging intellectual curiosity that informed her taste in books combined with a sophisticated sense of language and book structure.  Jeannette was a tough task-master, always putting her authors and their manuscripts first and expecting hard work and exceptionally high-quality work from herself and her staff.  I probably learned more in the two years I worked for her than I would have learned in five years with any other publisher.  It is hard to believe that she is gone.”

Known for her extraordinary intellectual toughness—Hopkins forced authors to clarify and rethink their ideas, spending days with them at her home helping them shape their books through rigorous rewrites. Her commitment to her craft was evident up until the hours before her death, said Gray, who called her aunt one of the most influential and iconic book editors of the post-World War II era. “The latest manuscript she was editing lay on the table next to her bed,” Gray said.

Hopkins was highly respected in her field. The list of authors and editors she worked with included James MacGregor Burns, Kenneth Clark, Eugene Genovese, Jaques Barzun, Frank Mankiewicz, Edwin Newman, Annie Dillard, Edwin Newman, Richard Rovere, C.S. Lewis and many more. Also among Hopkins’s clients were many Wesleyan faculty and alumni. In her last years she and Richard Elphick of the Wesleyan History Department prepared for publication Cradock: How Segregation and Apartheid Came to a Small South African Town, a volume written but not completed at the time of his death by Wesleyan’s Jeffrey Butler.

“Jeannette was one of the great mentors of the publishing business. She loved having young people on staff, working in positions where they could make real contributions to the operation,” said Peter Potter, Editor in Chief at Cornell University Press, who began his career as an editor at Wesleyan. Gray added that while at Wesleyan, Hopkins enjoyed teaching a class on publishing. “She believed in having students learn publishing by doing,” said Gray.

Potter further recounted that, “Every moment was a teachable moment for Jeannette. The end goal was to produce top-quality books, and she had the uncanny knack of getting everyone working together, striving toward that goal. Key to this, I think, is the fact that she never lost sight of what she had gone through when she started in the business. She was determined to have a staff that excelled through ability, regardless of whether they were men or women, and regardless of their race or background. She ran a tight ship but she treated everyone as equals–and, perhaps most important, she acknowledged a job well done. I will be always grateful to Jeannette for giving me my start in publishing. Not a day goes by that I don’t draw upon one of the many lessons I learned from her.”

Hopkins was born in Camden, NJ in 1922. She received a BA in English from Vassar College and a MS from the Columbia School of Journalism in 1945. She spent her early career working as a reporter for the New Haven Register, the Providence Journal-Bulletin and the Oklahoma City Times. At a time when women in the publishing industry were few and far between, she helped pave the way for female editors across the nation when she began working as a senior editor for the Beacon Press in Boston and eventually became a senior editor at Harcourt Brace. She left this post to become a senior editor at Harper & Row, where she spent close to ten years before leaving to set up her own editorial consulting business in New York City. During her time at Harper & Row, she also became executive editor of the Harper-Carnegie sponsored urban publications program.

Hopkins was very active in the Unitarian church, and was particularly interested in public affairs such as civil liberties and race relations. With Kenneth B. Clark she co-authored the book A Relevant War Against Poverty: A Study of Community Action Programs and Observable Social Change. Hopkins was an elected at-large member of the National Board of the American Civil Liberties Union and remained a member of the ACLU’s National Advisory Council until her death.

A memorial celebration service is slated for 10 a.m. Labor Day, Sept. 5, at South Church, located at 292 State Street in Portsmouth, NH. A reception will be held in Hopkins’ garden following the service. Donations in lieu of flowers should be made in Hopkins’ name to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund or the ACLU Foundation.

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Here is the link to the WesPress blog:  http://wespress.blogs.wesleyan.edu/2011/08/12/jeanette-hopkins-press-director-1980-89-dies/

The same article is also found on the WesLive blog for the university as a whole at this link:  http://community.blogs.wesleyan.edu/2011/08/12/jeanette-hopkins-press-director-1980-89-dies/

Logistics for Jeannette’s Memorial / Celebration Service

Please RSVP as to whether you plan to attend by calling Carol Gray at 413-256-0433, carolgray_2000@yahoo.com or Susan Gray, 914-260-2406, sgray777@aol.com.   In lieu of flowers (-- Jeannette requested flowers from her garden only), donations can be made to the ACLU Foundation, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, the New Hampshire Democratic Party, the New York Civil Rights Coalition, Planned Parenthood NE, the Vassar College Scholarship Fund, or the Unitarian Universalist Church of Portsmouth Endowment Fund in memory of Jeannette. 
 

Hotel Recommendations in Portsmouth 

the first 3 are walking distance to the church)

Sheraton Harborside Hotel, 250 Market Street,  603-431-2300:  They have a few rooms available at the Friends and Family Rate (that is available for bereavement) which is half off their normal rate.  Their rates change but as of this moment, the normal rate for that weekend would be $271.41 (including tax) and the bereavement rate would be $129.71 including tax.  Once those few rooms are gone, they only offer a 10% discount which would be $244.

Sise Inn, 40 Court Street, 603-433-1200.  A couple blocks from the church.  If booking for the weekend, the normal nightly rate is $216.91 (including tax) and the discounted rate is $184.21 including tax, (more than a 10% discount).  If booking Sunday night, the nightly rate with the discount is $162.41 (including tax).  This rate includes breakfast and parking.  To obtain the discount, just say you are booking for the Jeannette Hopkins Memorial Service.

Hilton Garden Inn, 603-431-1477:  Their normal rate for Sunday night only including taxes is $238.71; the discounted rate is $206.01 (a $30 discount).  Parking is an additional $15 per night.  For the whole weekend, the rate if booking 3 nights would be $$195.11 per night including tax. Must speak with Tracy Jones for the discount.

Comfort Inn, 1190 Lafayette Road, Portsmouth, phone:  603-433-3330: Offering 20% off their normal rate.  Their normal rate for that weekend would be $163.45 (including tax), with the discounted rate being $130.76 (including tax).  Trip Advisor has good reviews for this hotel.  They said this rate includes breakfast and they have an indoor pool and fitness center.  They recommended you book early particularly if you want a nonsmoking room (-- you should specify this when you call).   The discount is only available by calling and mentioning the Funeral Discount, not by booking online.  This hotel is 4 miles from the center of town.

DRIVING DIRECTIONS to service:

From the West (NH Route 16/Spaulding Turnpike))

1. Continue to Portsmouth traffic circle, take the 2nd exit onto US-1 Bypass S                     Go 1.2 mi 2. Turn left onto Greenleaf Ave                 Go 0.2 mi 3. Slight left onto Lafayette Rd                   Go 0.3 mi 4. Continue onto Middle St                          Go 0.8 mi 5. Turn right onto State St Destination will be on the right                 Go 0.2 mi to 292 State Street.

Directions From the North (I-95)

1. Take exit 2 to merge onto ME-236 S toward US-1/Kittery                 Go 0.9 mi 2. At the traffic circle, take the 2nd exit onto State Rd                     Go 1.1 mi 3. Continue onto US-1 S/Newmarch St                 Continue to follow US-1 S                 Entering New Hampshire                 Go 0.9 mi 4. Turn left onto Fleet St                               Go 407 ft 5. Take the 2nd left onto State St Destination will be on the right                 Go 174 ft to 292 State Street.

Directions From the South (I-95)

1. Take exit 3 for NH-33 toward Greenland/Portsmouth                 Go 0.3 mi 2. Continue straight                        Go 0.3 mi 3. Turn right onto NH-33 E                            Go 1.8 mi 4. Continue onto Middle St                          Go 0.8 mi 5. Turn right onto State St Destination will be on the right                 Go 0.2 mi to 292 State Street.

Driving Directions from South Church to Jeannette’s house, 39 Pray Street, for the reception following the service:  Passing in front of the church (which is State Street), take the first right on Pleasant Street, then a left a block or so up on Court Street.  (If you’re parked at the back of the church, then just stay on Court Street passing the church on your left and the fire department on the right.)   Court Street feeds into Marcy Street, veering right and crossing a small bridge right after a fish market on the left.  Stay left at the fork after the bridge, then take the 2^nd left on Pray Street.  Jeannette’s house is the 3^rd or 4^th on the left with a flag hanging outside.  There is no parking on Pray Street so you’ll want to find somewhere on Marcy Street to park.   You could also walk from the church to Jeannette’s.  It’s a pleasant 15 minute walk.

Jeannette's Obituary from the Portsmouth Herald

Renowned book editor Jeannette Hopkins dies at 88

Social justice at heart of work

By Charles McMahon

cmcmahon@seacoastonline.com

August 08, 2011 2:00 AM

PORTSMOUTH — The literary world suffered a great loss last week when Jeannette Hopkins, a city resident and world-renowned book editor, died unexpectedly at the age of 88.  Hopkins died while in the hospital due to complications from a medical condition on Aug. 4, according to her niece, Carol Gray.

Her commitment to her craft was evident up until the hours before her death, said Gray, who called her aunt one of the most influential and iconic book editors of the post-World War II era.  "She continued to work full time up to the hours before her death," Gray said. "The latest manuscript she was editing lay on the table next to her bed."  

Calling her death a "great loss," Gray said Hopkins was highly respected in her field. The list of authors and editors she worked with could serve as proof of that, she said.  They included James MacGregor Burns, Kenneth Clark, Frank Mankiewicz, Edwin Newman, Annie Dillard, Richard Rovere, C.S. Lewis and many more.

Having graduated as valedictorian of Vassar College's Class of 1944, Hopkins went on to study at Columbia School of Journalism. In addition to editing, Gray said Hopkins was also a great writer and co-authored a book with Kenneth Clark called "A Relevant War Against Poverty: A Study of Community Action Programs and Observable Social Change."  She started her career as a reporter for the New Haven Register and went on to work at the Providence Journal-Bulletin and later the Oklahoma City Times.  She then became senior editor at various publishing companies.

But writing was not her only passion, according to Gray.  Hopkins was an elected at-large member of the National Board of the American Civil Liberties Union. Gray said Hopkins would often comment that she was the only person alive who had ever read every page of the FBI files from the McCarthy era obtained by the ACLU when she was on the National Board.  Hopkins remained a member of the ACLU's National Advisory Council until her death. "She had a heart for social justice like no one else," Gray said.

Locally, Hopkins was a longtime member of the South Church. Gray said her aunt spent many years enjoying the Unitarian conferences on Star Island in the Isles of Shoals.

Having moved to Portsmouth in the early 1990s, Gray said Hopkins rarely left her home on Prey Street but still remained active in the community.  "She didn't get out much, but the community came to her," she said.

A memorial celebration service is slated for 10 a.m. Labor Day, Sept. 5, at South Church, Gray said. A reception will be held in Hopkins' garden following the service.

Gray said donations in lieu of flowers should be made in Hopkins' name to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund or the ACLU Foundation.

(Note:  Jeannette would have been pleased to see she made the front page.  Here is a link to this Portsmouth Herald article:   http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20110808-NEWS-108080324)

Vassar College's Website: "An Editor with a Cause"

The following write up is found on one of Vassar College's webpages featuring prominent alumni.  Here is the link to that page:  http://english.vassar.edu/major/where/Jeannette-Hopkins-44.html

An Editor with a Cause

Library at Vassar College. 
Photo from Goooge Images.

Editor of one of Vassar's premier literary magazines, the Vassar Brew, Jeannette Hopkins, class of '44, began to forge her career in publishing as a junior English major at Vassar College. Equipped with a BA in English from Vassar and an MS from the Columbia University School of Journalism, Jeannette spent her first few years out of academia working as a reporter for the New Haven Register, the Providence Journal-Bulletin and the Oklahoma City Times. At a time when women in the publishing industry were few and far between, she helped pave the way for female editors across the nation when she began working as a senior editor for the Beacon Press in Boston and eventually became a senior editor at Harcourt Brace. She left this post to become a senior editor at Harper & Row, where she spent close to ten years before leaving to set up her own editorial consulting business in New York City. During her time at Harper & Row, she also became executive editor of the Harper-Carnegie sponsored urban publications program.

Returning to academia, Jeannette became director and editor-in-chief for the Wesleyan University Press and an Adjunct Professor of English at Wesleyan University. She also allowed her interest in public affairs, specifically civil liberties and race relations, to become a priority in her life. In addition to co-authoring A Relevant War Against Poverty with Kenneth B. Clark, she has been an active member of the Unitarian church and was involved with the American Civil Liberties Union for many years as an elected member of the National Board; she still remains a member of the ACLU's National Advisory Council.

Even in her "full-time" retirement, Jeannette continues to mentor young authors and young assistant professors on the tenure track. Her devotion to the craft of writing and the aspiring authors that she has helped shape is perhaps most evident in the subject of her unpublished manuscript: her experience working with writers from Lewis Mumford, C.S. Lewis, James MacGregor and others. On her experience with editing the work of young authors, she writes: "If I can, I expect to continue this work as long as possible."

Photo from google images of Vassar College.

The Early Years

Jeannette was one of two girls.  Her sister, Susan Hopkins (later Gray), was my mother.  Her mother, Gladys Hopkins (formerly Hull), was a bold woman who taught in an African American high school in the south when she was in her early 20's.  She met her husband, Carleton Hopkins, three days before he was headed off to World War I.  He proposed to her after only 3 days and she accepted so they were engaged while he served in the war.  Carleton Hopkins later became a well-respected high school principal in Camden, New Jersey.  Jeannette's family lived near Camden in a town called Collingswood. 

Here are a couple photos of Jeannette as a child in her college years.



Jeannette is on the left.



Jeannette is on the left, her mother, Gladys, in the middle,
and my mother, Sue, on the right.



Jeannette's Garden

"If you have a garden and a library,

you have everything you need."
Marcus Tullius Cicero

Many of you know how much Jeannette loved her garden, as did anyone who visited it.  Here are some photos to remind you how beautiful it is or to show it to those of you who've never seen it. Jeannette was proud that her garden was on the South Church Garden Tour.  When she offered me the diagrams of her garden as part of her 'recycling' Christmas presents, I was amazed (though I guess I shouldn't have been, knowing Jeannette) at the level of detail in her drawings.  I'm guessing these were made in preparation for the Garden Tour, or perhaps just for her own records.  You can click on the diagrams or any of the photos to make them larger.

Here is a map of the "Back Gardens": 

Here is Jeannette's diagram of the "Front Gardens":
Here's the map of the front gardens.

Here's a map of the side gardens called "Raised Perennial Side Garden":

View looking up at the sky from underrneath
the trellis over Jeannette's gate.

Jeannette had beautiful hosta.  She gave me a few hosta plants
so now they are thriving in our garden in Massachusetts.

Here is a photo of the entry to the "Rose and Lavendar Garden" and below that is the map for that garden.

Every corner of Jeannette's house and yard is quaint, even the little stairway leading to the outside entrance to the basement. 

Here's a map of this section called "Gate Gardens":

Here's a map of this section called "River-view side Gardens":

The above diagram is labeled "Terrace Garden."

In full bloom: 

The photo below is inside the Rose and Lavender Garden and the diagram below that is a close-up of that garden.