2022 Hennig Cohen Prize Award
The Melville Society's Hennig Cohen Prize Committee has selected its recipient for the best article, book chapter, or essay in a book about Herman Melville published in 2022. The winner is Justina Torrance for her essay, “Melville’s Milton: Of the Devil’s Party and Knows It," published in A New Companion to Herman Melville, edited by Wyn Kelley and Christopher Ohge (Blackwell).
The award was founded in 1998 in honor of Hennig Cohen (1919–1996), an early member of the Society and a dedicated teacher, scholar, and modern editor of Herman Melville's works. The award is typically made in the year after the article or chapter was published.
The Hennig Cohen Prize Committee comments on this year’s winner:
The committee was unanimous in our decision to name Justina Torrance the winner of the Hennig Cohen Prize for best essay published in 2022. Her essay, “Melville’s Milton: Of the Devil’s Party and Knows It,” focuses on what, at first glance, may seem to be known territory, Melville’s avid reading of John Milton. Yet while Torrance returns to an often-examined topic, she draws out an incredibly subtle analysis of Melville’s reading of Milton. The committee members were equally impressed with her use of recent digital and biographical findings to alter our long-standing interpretations. In all, this article stood out for its detailed attention to Melville’s reading practices and its elegant presentation of the argument.
Nominations, including self-nominations, for the 2023 Hennig Cohen Prize should be sent to hennigcohenprize@gmail.com by Sept. 15, 2024. The nominated essay, article, or book chapter should have been published in 2023.
