Abstract
Some 30 years ago Barbara Metzger, a seasoned and extraordinary manuscript editor, joined with Frances Chilcote in overseeing the challenging task of working closely with authors and in the editing and shaping of their manuscripts into publishable form. Fran had devoted the early twenty years to this task, and shaped a process and the way we edit manuscripts for Latin American Perspectives. Barbara had spent considerable time in Mexico, was fluent in Spanish, and was a manuscript editor for the journal, Current Anthropology, and for book manuscripts published by the University of Chicago Press. During her 30 years with LAP, she edited all the conservation books of Laguna Wilderness Press (LWP); the 25 books in two series “Latin American Perspectives in the Classroom” and “Critical Currents in Latin America” published by Rowman and Littlefield; and for LAP she edited close to a hundred manuscripts yearly. What she brought to the journal is insistence that writing be clear and comprehensible, and that editorial style be consistent. At a time when most journals devote minimal attention to copy editing, Barbara engaged in “developmental editing” that delves into content, its meaning, consistency, and readability. Also remarkable was Barbara’s amazing speed, her technological knowledge and skill, and ability to keep up with current publishing standards and technical requirements.
Barbara also was active in her community of Laguna Beach, California, where she served on the planning commission, the design review board, and the board of Village Laguna while editing its monthly newsletter around community issues and concerns. Together with others she wrote and edited the book Laguna Beach and the Greenbelt: An Historic American Landscape (2017). Many publishers have sought to republish a revised cloth edition, and it will soon be published by LWP as a quality book in the hope that the story of Laguna and its Greenbelt will never be forgotten.
Barbara was a dear friend and we shall miss her but never forget our weekly walks together into Laguna’s open space, and the frequent phone calls in search of how to stay the course with editing the unending flow and publishing of manuscripts and a half million words before us each year. And most important has been her contributions to community and all those impacted by her efforts at home and abroad.