I’m not sure what’s sadder, the fact that Mark Linz—former director of American University of Cairo Press and all around great guy—recently passed away, or this obituary from PW (reprinted here in full with no permission, since the “fair use” rule would limit me to probably 5 words):
Werner Mark Linz, founder of Continuum and director of American University in Cairo Press for more than 25 years, died February 9. Linz also held positions with McGraw-Hill and Seabury Press.
Thankfully, AUC Press has a bit more:
Already a successful New York publisher, Mark arrived in Cairo in 1983 to lead the AUC Press into a period of growth and transformation. He left in 1986 but returned in 1995 to continue to develop the Press into the largest English-language publishing house in the Middle East, with an international reach and reputation, until his retirement at the end of 2011.
And this interview is pretty great:
Mark will definitely be missed.
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“South”
To have watched from one of your patios
the ancient stars
from the bank of shadow to have watched
the scattered lights
my ignorance has learned no names for
nor their places in constellations
to have heard the ring of. . .