Palmer, R. Barton

Dr. R. Barton Palmer, Calhoun Lemon Professor Emeritus of English, retired from Clemson University in 2018 after 23 years of services. While at Clemson, Dr. Palmer served as Director of the World Cinema Program.

Book Details: With Murray Pomerance of Ryerson University, Dr. Palmer recently published a co-edited multi-author volume, THE MANY CINEMAS OF MICHAEL CURTIZ with the University of Texas Press.  This is the first full study of the most prolific and successful Hollywood generalist of the classic studio period (1920-1970).  Curtiz worked in all the genres Hollywood had to offer, turning out over a hundred films all together, including many classics such as CASABLANCA, MILDRED PIERCE, YANKEE DOODLE DANDY, and ROGUES OF SHERWOOD FOREST.  This book adds a major chapter to the history of Hollywood’s studio era.

In June 2018, he published, with musicologist Jacques Boogart, Volume 9 of a long-term scholarly edition, involving American and European universities: THE COMPLETE POETRY AND MUSIC OF GUILLAUME DE MACHAUT.  Machaut was the pre-eminent poet and musician of the late Middle Ages, and this project makes good the attempt of late 19th century French scholars to produce a complete edition of both his substantial body of poetry and his large repertoire of musical settings.  World War I interrupted the project, and the Machaut project team has made good their aim to provide this invaluable scholarly resource to medievalists.  This particular volume is devoted to Machaut’s motets (the motet is a complex musical form with extensive lyrics). Dr. Palmer’s contribution has been to provide the first translations into any modern languages of these French and Latin texts.  The edition is formatted so that it can be used both by performers and readers.  The publisher is Medieval Institute Publications. Dr. Palmer also has published a book chapter devoted to “The  Small Adult Film: A Prestige Form of Cold War Filmmaking” in Homer Pettey, ed., COLD WAR FILM GENRES (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press), 62-78.

Published Writing Details: Dr. Palmer is the editor of THE TENNESSEE WILLIAMS ANNUAL REVIEW. The 2018 issue includes an edited Williams document (a hitherto unpublished screenplay for what would become THE GLASS MENAGERIE) as well as Dr. Palmer’s essay exploring “PERIOD OF ADJUSTMENT: Tennessee Williams and Noel Coward.”

Other Activities:  Dr. Palmer also serves as the general series editor at five university/academic presses. They include University Press of Florida, Rutgers University Press, Edinburgh University Press-Traditions in American Cinema and Traditions in World Cinema, University of Georgia Press, and Palgrave MacMillan. He is the Editor for the SOUTH ATLANTIC REVIEW, a major, regional scholarly journal from the South Atlantic Modern Language Association.

Dr. Palmer also does pro bono teaching at the Hybrid Education in Greater Atlanta (HEGA), an alternative high school. “HEGA is a non-traditional, secular school dedicated to the individual potential of each student, providing them with academically challenging courses in a vibrant and safe environment.”