Modus Vivendi
Publications
The University
of Wisconsin Press
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Bringing In Praise of Black Women to the English-speaking world has been an exciting and challenging goal for me. It forced me to grow in ways than I never imagined when I undertook the project. I share the story of my journey as a publisher in the hopes that it will serve as an inspiration. Once upon a time, in May 1989, when I was 21 years old and a student in International Economics at the Sorbonne University in Paris, a friend invited me to the famous Foire de Paris, a huge fair with all sorts of products under the sun, available to the general public. It was there that I discovered an amazing collection of 6 volumes, Hommage à la Femme Noire, by renowned Guadeloupean-born writer Simone Schwarz-Bart. I was fascinated by the abundance of information and illustrations about Black women that I simply had never seen before. I learned from the publishers that the author, Simone Schwarz-Bart, spent three years with her husband, award-winning writer André Schwarz-Bart, researching historical women and illustrations throughout the world. The Schwarz-Barts even spent a very memorable and rewarding time in the United States, at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem, doing research for this series of books. The collection sold as a set of six was too expensive for my student means, but the sales director of the publishing company convinced me to buy it in installments over 18 months. This was the first big purchase of my life. In 1991 after obtaining a Master's Degree in International Economics and a Post Master's Degree in Franco-British Business Administration, I moved to London where I started my career in the cosmetics industry. Yet, always I felt that Hommage à la Femme Noire should be translated into English, but was truly a beginner and couldn't really see how this could happen yet. A couple of positions later, as an Account Director for Dark & Lovely Hair Care and a Sales Director for Fashion Fair Cosmetics, both brands for Black women, in April 1996, I called the French publishers and started to conceive the best way to have this collection published in English. I was concerned about the quality of the final product: the "packaging" of the book, the quality of the translation. In my mind, it had to be as glorious as possible to match the glory of its original content. I was also concerned that it should be affordable and that as many people as possible of all ethnic backgrounds should have these books in their home and that every school should have them in their library. In June 1996, when I met and talked with my future husband, Thierry Pélage, about how important it was to me to publish Hommage à la Femme Noire in English, he was very supportive. I became Sandrah Monthieux Pélage in September 1996, and in 1997 my husband encouraged me start the project of bringing Hommage à la Femme Noire to the English speaking world. Purchasing the rights to the collection proved to be a struggle. I have to thank my friends Sharon Byfield, Margrette Francisco, Marc Jean-Baptiste-Simonne, and Régine Psiché, who gave me priceless encouragement when things were the most difficult. It was also uplifting for me to know that Simone Schwarz-Bart, the author, never doubted that I would find a way. That way came in the person of Neslyn Watson-Druée, a Jamaican-born business owner and former nurse, who was introduced to me several months before by Yvonne Thompson, President of the European Federation of Black Women Business Owners, soon after I became the Vice-President of the Federation in 1996. When I called Neslyn Watson-Druée, to tell her of my difficulties in bringing this book to the public, and of my strong belief in these books, she, in an extraordinary act of faith, decided to invest in the project and in me. This was the beginning of Modus Vivendi Publications. Danielle Marcelline, my French lawyer, and friend, and David Ashton, my British Lawyer, assisted me in the purchase of the rights. I was very happy to find African-American Rose-Myriam Réjouis and her husband Val Vinokurov of Princeton University, who have successfully translated before for Random House, with great reviews, to carry out the translation of the volumes. They would be significantly helped in their task by Stephanie Daval. It was Rose who translated the English title for the books as In Praise of Black Women. Robert Baensch, the Director for the Center for Publishing at the University of New York, became my mentor and helped me through several rejections from several publishing companies both large and small, black owned and mainstream. He was the catalyst of my transformation from a Cosmetics Sales Director into a Publisher. Through his contacts I found a publishing lawyer, Neal Gantcher, who assisted me with a deal at last. When this deal fell through in July 2000, after a year of negotiation, I was still determined to publish no matter what. A New York distributor was very
interested in the books and a few days before signing, my publishing
lawyer, Neal Gantcher, called me to gracefully introduce me to
editor Irene Vilar-Cuperman, who in turn recomended the project
to her boss, Dr. Robert Mandel, who was to become the new director
of the University of Wisconsin Press. Dr. Mandel didn't hesitate
and committed the same day. He understood immediately the importance
of the project. Sandrah Monthieux Pélage
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 President, Modus Vivendi     |
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A Note on the French and English Editions This series originally appeared in French as a six-volume work entitled Hommage à la Femme Noire published in 1988 by Editions Consulaires, with more than 10,000 sets sold. Volume 1 in English combines the French Volumes 1 & 2. Volume 2 in English is a translation of Volume 3 in French. Volume 3 in English is a translation of Volume 4 in French, but will also include new material. Volume 4 in English combines the French Volumes 5 & 6, but will also include new material. |
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