Celebration on July 19th in West Virginia
Posted: Fri Jun 06, 2003 3:20 pm
For Immediate Release
June 6, 2003
Contacts
Geoff George, Marketing Director, WVU Press
Danny Williams, Editor, WVU Press
304-293-8400
Celebration for book on Spanish immigration to West Virginia slated for July
West Virginia University Press is proud to announce that G. W. González’s Pinnick Kinnick Hill: An American Story will be released in July. A mixture of memoir, novel, and history, Pinnick Kinnick Hill is a surprising look at the Clarksburg, West Virginia area in the early to mid twentieth century. González, the son of immigrants from the Asturias region of Spain, recounts his youth in a past that seems almost forgotten.
A century ago, dozens of families made the journey from Spain to the United States in search of a better life. They found the life they were looking for in the rising zinc-industry towns in Harrison County. Hundreds of Spaniards settled in the area, and by 1920 the government of Spain had established a SpanishVice Consulate in Clarksburg to aid Spaniards living in the area.
The county was saturated in Spanish culture, with children like González being raised with a unique mixture of customs and heritage. As the Spanish community made West Virginia their home, Coca-Cola ads were printed in Spanish along with other top-selling products, but an equilibrium was always maintained between the Spanish origins of the people and their quest for the American Dream.
Decades later, a decline in the zinc industry led to the slow dilution of the Spanish community. Pinnick Kinnick Hill recounts the struggle and disappointment of the immigrants, while at the same time highlighting the remarkable triumph that the settlers made. Though some descendants still live in the area today, this book will ensure that their story is never forgotten.
The book will be published in English, with a facing-page Spanish translation. As Patrick Conner writes in his Foreword, “The very pages of Pinnick Kinnick Hill, An American Story swing between English and Spanish, and recall the balance required to keep ethnic identities alive.”
To celebrate the publishing of the book and the rich Spanish heritage of the area, WVU Press will be holding a book release party in Harrison County on July 19. For more information, contact the Press at (304) 293-8400 or visit us at www.wvupress.com.
June 6, 2003
Contacts
Geoff George, Marketing Director, WVU Press
Danny Williams, Editor, WVU Press
304-293-8400
Celebration for book on Spanish immigration to West Virginia slated for July
West Virginia University Press is proud to announce that G. W. González’s Pinnick Kinnick Hill: An American Story will be released in July. A mixture of memoir, novel, and history, Pinnick Kinnick Hill is a surprising look at the Clarksburg, West Virginia area in the early to mid twentieth century. González, the son of immigrants from the Asturias region of Spain, recounts his youth in a past that seems almost forgotten.
A century ago, dozens of families made the journey from Spain to the United States in search of a better life. They found the life they were looking for in the rising zinc-industry towns in Harrison County. Hundreds of Spaniards settled in the area, and by 1920 the government of Spain had established a SpanishVice Consulate in Clarksburg to aid Spaniards living in the area.
The county was saturated in Spanish culture, with children like González being raised with a unique mixture of customs and heritage. As the Spanish community made West Virginia their home, Coca-Cola ads were printed in Spanish along with other top-selling products, but an equilibrium was always maintained between the Spanish origins of the people and their quest for the American Dream.
Decades later, a decline in the zinc industry led to the slow dilution of the Spanish community. Pinnick Kinnick Hill recounts the struggle and disappointment of the immigrants, while at the same time highlighting the remarkable triumph that the settlers made. Though some descendants still live in the area today, this book will ensure that their story is never forgotten.
The book will be published in English, with a facing-page Spanish translation. As Patrick Conner writes in his Foreword, “The very pages of Pinnick Kinnick Hill, An American Story swing between English and Spanish, and recall the balance required to keep ethnic identities alive.”
To celebrate the publishing of the book and the rich Spanish heritage of the area, WVU Press will be holding a book release party in Harrison County on July 19. For more information, contact the Press at (304) 293-8400 or visit us at www.wvupress.com.