University Press honored for supporting works of John G. Neihardt

The University of Nebraska Press was recently honored for work supporting the preservation and promotion of the life and works of John G. Neihardt. Neihardt was designated the Nebraska poet laureate in perpetuity in 1921 by an act of the state legislature.

The University of Nebraska Press is the first organization to earn the Word Sender Award from the John G. Neihardt Foundation.

The annual award honors work dedicated to the preservation and promotion of the life and works of Neihardt, Nebraska’s poet laureate. The University of Nebraska Press publishes many of Neihardt’s works, including “Black Elk Speaks.”

“The Neihardt Foundation recognizes the contributions of the University of Nebraska Press in spreading the words of John Neihardt throughout the United States and around the globe,” said Jon Cerny, president of the Neihardt Foundation. “It is fitting that they are the recipients of the 2018 Word Sender Award.”

One of John G. Neihardt's most popular books is "Black Elk Speaks." The book, published in 1932, relates the story of Black Elk, an Oglala Lakota medicine man. More than a million copies of the book have been sold.

Donna Shear, director of the NU Press, was presented the award at the Laureate’s Feast, Nov. 11 in Omaha.

“Please know that this is in no way the culmination of the (NU) Press’s efforts on behalf of the Neihardt corpus,” Shear said. “Rather, it will help to serve as another reminder of the importance, brilliance, and significance of his works and our special role in keeping them in front of readers all over the world.”

Learn more about University of Nebraska Press publications.