Publishing music books would be much harder without our stellar editorial team. We sat down with three editorial assistants from the New York office – Lauralee, Eden, and Andrew – to talk about Oxford University Press, their music lives inside and out of the office, and current literary addictions.
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Lauralee Yeary
What is the strangest thing currently on or in your desk?
1) Matisse’s Odalisque in Red Pants printed on a postcard. I didn’t know until recently that it stems from a movement during which European artists perpetuated and fetishized the myth of voluntarily hypersexual servants in Far East harems (from what I understand). Really nice colors, though.
2) a bottle of pepto-bismol
What is your favorite word?
eavesdrop (v.) or gossamer (n.); eavesdrop because it comes from the term ‘eavesdrip’ referring to the water dripping from a house’s eaves or the ground space on which water could fall. So within that context, you can imagine an eavesdropper acting as a sort of human rain barrel for vocal precipitation and language / gossip as liquid refuse. Gossamer’s always good.
Do you play any musical instruments? Which ones?
Trumpet and some piano; slowly learning to program.
Do you specialize in any particular area or genre of music?
I focused on jazz studies and performance during school, later merged with computer music and music/gender studies.
What artist do you have on repeat at the moment?
Arvo Pärt; Max Roach/Clifford Brown; Ghost Town DJs/Inoj.
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Eden Piacitelli
When did you start working at OUP?
I started in August, and it’s been a whirlwind since.
What are you reading right now?
I’m rereading A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki. It’s mystifying, magical, and so beautifully written.
Open the book you’re currently reading and turn to page 75. Tell us the third sentence on that page.
“The fish shuddered in the curve of my rib cage.”
What drew you to work for OUP in the first place? What do you think about that now?
I’ve always admired the music scholarship published by OUP. OUP’s books have followed me through my academic career (e.g. Freedom Sounds by Ingrid Monson, Shostakovich: A Life by Laurel E. Fay, the Global Music Series from higher ed.), and it’s a dream to interact in some way with the vetting, contracting, development, and production of these fascinating, often groundbreaking, books.
What is in your desk drawer?
I guess you could say I have an ‘emergency’ drawer. It houses a plaid parka in case of rain, a sweater in case I’m cold (which is often), and snacks. It’s usually candy or cookies, and right now it’s a bag of Oreos and some banana chips.
Do you play any musical instruments? Which ones?
Yes, I play the cello.
Do you specialize in any particular area or genre of music?
I handle titles related to ethnomusicology, practitioner books, and certain series, including Oxford Theory in Ethnomusicology, Currents in Latin American and Iberian Music, AMS Studies in Music, and Master Musicians.
What was the last concert you went to?
I have a friend who has season tickets to Carnegie Hall, and I volunteered to accompany him to as many concerts I could fit in my schedule. On my latest excursion, I saw the Orchestre National de France perform Debussy’s Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune, Shostakovich Violin Concerto No. 1 with Julian Rachlin, and Tchaikovksy’s 5th. I don’t think I’ve ever been to a concert where both the soloist and orchestra play encores, so this concert was doubly exciting!
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Andrew Maillet
What’s the most surprising thing you’ve found about working at OUP?
They give you free croissants and access to the OED!
What’s the least surprising?
Everyone here is chronically addicted to reading.
What’s the most enjoyable part of your day?
Seeing final cover designs and proofs come in! It’s a moment when you realize the book is actually going to exist in the world beyond your computer screen.
What are you reading right now?
As always, I’m dipping in and out of many things. One of them is a book by Brian Kane, published last year by OUP, called Sound Unseen. It’s a fascinating work on how sound comes to be thought of as independent from its source, and how this peculiar principle has influenced the way people listen to music throughout history. Another is a history of physics by Bruce Gregory called Inventing Reality. I’m also looking at Oxford’s Very Short Introductions on Wittgenstein, Critical Theory and Jung.
Open the book you’re currently reading and turn to page 75. Tell us the title of the book, and the third sentence on that page.
It is a book of aphorisms by Franz Kafka. “Lurking, fretful, hoping, the answer creeps around the question, peers despairingly in its averted face, follows it on its most abstruse journeys—that is, those that have least to do with the answer.”
If you could trade places with any one person for a week, who would it be and why?
The J-POP star Kyary Pamyu Pamyu. I can’t imagine a more exciting and unpredictable week.
What is your favorite word?
Spoonerism.
Most obscure talent or hobby?
I make my own bread and sauerkraut.
Favorite animal?
The octopus, obviously.
All photos by Celine Aenlle-Rocha.
Lauralee, love this. Glad you are able to use some aspects of each of your double major. Looks like the job suits you to a tee.