News from the Alumni Community

Becca Owen '18 curated Gender Euphoria: Contemporary Art Beyond the Binary, an exhibition for the Five Oaks Museum featuring twelve contemporary transgender and gender non-conforming artists from the Pacific Northwest. The exhibit is entirely non-location based, including a website gallery, online programming and events, and more. You can see the art and participate no matter where you are located. 

Alyssa Paparella '19 was awarded the prestigious National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. 

Dylan Doyle-Burke '12 announces Radical AI, a podcast he hosts featuring the voices of the future in the field of Artificial Intelligence Ethics. Radical AI lifts up people, ideas, and stories that represent the cutting edge in AI, philosophy, and machine learning. In a world where platforms far too often feature the status quo and the usual suspects, Radical AI is a breath of fresh air whose mission is “To create an engaging, professional, educational and accessible platform centering marginalized or otherwise radical voices in industry and the academy for dialogue, collaboration, and debate to co-create the field of Artificial Intelligence Ethics.” 

Sarah Olmsted Thomas '08 announces that her puppet theater company "Alex and Olmsted" was recently awarded a 2020 Jim Henson Foundation Grant to further develop their outer space show, "Marooned! A Space Comedy."

Thompson Street Opera Company will present a short opera by Rebekah Driscoll '08, *Apart/ment* during their *Faulty Systems: Hope & Home* in Chicago. This work tells the stories of how four individuals became homeless and aims to deepen the audience's understanding of our national homelessness crisis. The multidisciplinary event will bring together artists of many mediums with social activists to engage as a community with the issue of homelessness and housing insecurity.

Chanel Blancett ’13, Chia-Ying Kao MFA ’12, Sifiso Mabena MFA ’18, and Myra M. McPhee MFA ’19 are among seven artists unveiling their work in Prospect Park on November 15, starting at the Boathouse and ending at Lefferts Historic House. The project, put on by The Creators Collective and Prospect Park Alliance, is the second wave of Artists Elevating Immigrant Narratives, "a series of projects and events that elevate the narrative of immigration in America and engage art and activism in an environment that nurtures collaboration and results in meaningful action.”

Alison Walls MFA '07 will be a guest scholar participating in New York Shakespeare Exchange's  next Freestyle Lab: Our Own Voices, Our Own Tongues on Tuesday, November 19, 2019 at 7 p.m. at the 53rd Street Library. "Led by our curators and guest scholars, this lab will invite a discussion on Shakespeare and translation, asking us to consider how the work of a playwright who is known around the world might change as that work is "adopted" by other countries and cultures outside of his native England. What do we lose or gain when Shakespeare is translated out of its original text, and what are the different ways that translation can be its own creative act?"

Abigail Welhouse '09 teaches therapeutic horseback riding lessons at GallopNYC: "After I graduated and moved to New York City, I wanted a way to stay involved with horses. We're in real need of volunteers to assist with our lessons for people with disabilities. You don't need to have prior experience—we will teach you what you need to know. If you're interested or someone you know in the New York metro area might be, please check out the website and feel free to email me with questions: [email protected]."

In summer 2019, Joanna Beacom '86 studied ongoing research projects such as radio tracking, cheetah conservation, and ecosystem management as well as the design of school and community programs in Namibia as part of Miami University's Earth Expeditions global field course. Joanna, a music composer, lives in Los Angeles, California, and is a graduate student in Miami University's Global Field Program. 

Jessica Wilkerson MA ’06 will speak on “Prison Activism and the Organizing Tradition” at The Making and Unmaking Mass Incarceration (MUMI) Conference at the University of Mississippi, Oxford, December 4-6, 2019. “[MUMI] will bring together scholars, activists, policymakers, lawyers, students, and Mississippians to better understand the history of mass incarceration and shape the future of prison abolition.”

Clay McLeod Chapman ’00 will write for Marvel’s Scream series, beginning with Scream: Curse of Carnage with art by Chris Mooneyham, to be released in November. “This is my first series beginning with a big ol’ numero uno up front and it’s an honor to be able to tell this story.”

Dominique Fluker '14 joined the Package Your Genius personal branding podcast for "Episode 78: Safeguarding Your Mental Health as a High Achiever."

Justin Wayne Lutz ’10 is currently featuring the work of fellow Alabama native and Director of the Alabama Prion Arts + Education Project Kyes Stevens, MA '99, MFA '00 on a panel for 2019 Civic Institute, connecting civic-minded change-makers and thought leaders from across Alabama, taking place August 16. The panel is titled, "Inside Out: Strategies for Resisting Disconnection and Crafting Civic Identity in Alabama Communities and Prisons," which Lutz says, “Sounds like a conference paper if I ever heard one!”

The Wind-Bike is the fourth book of poetry by Kate Knapp Johnson ’79, MFA ’81 (Writing), out now.

Kacen Callender '11 was awarded the Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Children’s and Young Adult Award for their book Hurricane Child at the 2019 Stonewall Book Awards Ceremony on June 24.

Rachel Lit ’19 spent her spring semester interning at the Climate Museum on a program called Climate Speaks, a spoken word poetry program for NYC area high school students about climate change, which culminates in a spoken word concert at the Apollo Theater on June 14 at 7 p.m. Tickets available online.

PANTHEON by Happenstance Theater, featuring Craig Jaster '83 and Sarah Olmsted Thomas '08, will be at Joe's Movement Emporium (3309 Bunker Hill Rd, Mt Rainier, MD 20712) June 18-July 1. "The Happenstance quintet delves into Ancient Greek Mythology with guest artist Craig Jaster generating a live musical score. In a pared-down 1940’s aesthetic, a chorus of workers assembles lightning bolts and mines the Underworld. Like Sisyphus they must endlessly repeat their tasks. With an ample smattering of amusement, the performers invoke the Muses, offer Sacrifice, suffer Hubris, consult Oracles, and meet Fate as they portray an array of mortals and Gods whose flaws reflect their own." Tickets available online.

Sit How You Want by Robin Richardson MFA '12 is a finalist for the 2019 Trillium Book Award/Prix Trillium for Poetry in English language, the Ontario Government’s prestigious award for literature for four separate prizes. The winners will be announced on June 13, 2019.

Ann Cefola '81, MFA '97 is the translator of French poet Hélene Sanguinetti's The Hero (Chax Press, 2018), a book-length poem that explores the delusions of war.

Elisabeth von Uhl MFA '05 has two poems in Watershed Review.

Cuando Callo Mi Cuerpo Habla, the first book of poems in English and Spanish by Emilia Grace Dominguez Skidmore ’03, has been published and is available for purchase online. The translated title is When I Am Silenced My Body Speaks. Her first reading will be in July in Mexico City.

"I Am Not Trying To Hide My Hungers From The World Anymore," a poem by faculty member Kendra DeColo '05 was published in American Poetry Review.

The Columbia University MFA Thesis Exhibition will open Saturday, April 27, 3-6 p.m. at Wallach Art Gallery, where Shireen Abrishamian ’15 (as Xirin) will be showing a performative film and installation titled Hope Eats the Soul, which will remain on view through May 26, 2019. You can view a teaser for the project here.

Lock Down by Christine Marglin, aka Christine Benvenuto ’82, is one of the short plays selected for production in the 21st Boston Theater Marathon at the Stanford Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts.

The award-winning Happenstance Theater announces the world premiere of Pantheon. The Happenstance quintet delves into ancient Greek mythology with guest artist Craig Jaster ’83 generating a live musical score. In a pared-down 1940’s aesthetic, a chorus of workers assembles lightning bolts and mines the Underworld. Like Sisyphus they must endlessly repeat their tasks. With an ample smattering of amusement, the performers invoke the Muses, offer Sacrifice, suffer Hubris, consult Oracles, and meet Fate as they portray an array of mortals and Gods whose flaws reflect their own. Featuring Mark Jaster, Sabrina Mandell, Gwen Grastorf, Sarah Olmsted Thomas ’08, Alex Vernon and Craig Jaster ’83. Two sets of performances are currently scheduled for April 4-14 at Baltimore Theater Project and June 18-July 1 at Joe’s Movement Emporium in Mt Rainier.

Melanie Griffith MFA ’11 has co-founded the Rhode Island School for Progressive Education (RISPE). RISPE is Rhode Island’s first and only residency-style graduate school of education. Its purpose is to recruit, train, and support teachers and school leaders of color for Rhode Island’s urban public schools. RISPE believes strongly in social justice, anti-racist pedagogy, and the power of public education to transform society. RISPE was unanimously granted initial institutional approval by the Rhode Island Council on Postsecondary Education on March 20th, 2019, and it the first stand-alone institution of higher education approved by the council since 1964. RISPE anticipates a launch in June 2020.

A poem by Abigail Welhouse ’09 has been adapted into choral work by composer and poet Dale Trumbore that will be performed in two concerts in New York City on April 28 and 29.

Carnegie Hill, the first novel from Jonathan Vatner MFA ’11 comes out August 20 from Thomas Dunne Books, an imprint of St. Martin's Press. The novel chronicles the lives of four couples in a wealthy Upper East Side co-op apartment building, a hotbed of gossip and neighborly feuding.

“The Supplicant Undertaker” by Christine Quattro MFA '17 has been published online in The Rumpus.

"Self-Contained," an essay by Tania Pabon MFA ’17, has been published online by Cosmonauts Avenue.

Veera Hiranandani MFA ’96 will be presented with the Malka Penn Award for Human Rights in Children’s Literature for her book The Night Diary on Tuesday, April 9, at Konover Auditorium in the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center at the University of Connecticut (405 Babbidge Road, Unit 1205, Storrs, CT).

Nicaragua 1978–2018: Susan Meiselas, an exhibition featuring works by U.S. documentary photographer Susan Meiselas ’70 opens at the Amelie A. Wallace Gallery at the State University of New York College at Old Westbury on Monday, March 25 with public talks by Susan Meiselas and Mercedes Doretti at 1 p.m. and an opening reception at 4 p.m.. Taken mostly in color, Meiselas’s photographs of the Nicaraguan revolution sparked by the assassination of Pedro Joaquin Chamorro, the editor of the opposition newspaper La Prensa, have become iconic images that epitomize the courage and resolve of ordinary people. Meiselas’s book, Nicaragua June 1978– July 1979, originally published in 1981, became a contemporary classic that makes a significant contribution to the literature of concerned photojournalism. The exhibition runs through May 2, 2019.

On Saturday, March 23, 2019 at 4 p.m., the Manhattan Chamber Players will perform a new composition by Mary L. Bianco '61 along with musical works by Ludwig van Beethoven and Max Bruch in the Conservatory's Recital Hall in White Plains for a free, public concert.

In 2010, Ali Liebegott '98, MFA 99 took a road trip by train. Destination: the Emily Dickinson house. Along the way, she interviewed poets, including faculty member Marie Howe. The Believer is reposting the series to celebrate the release of Liebgott’s new book, The Summer of Dead Birds.

Statues Also Fall In Love, a solo exhibition by Aura Rosenberg ’71, features lenticular prints and sculpture and is on view at Martos Gallery (41 Elizabeth St) in New York through April 14, 2019.

The Sanctuary Gallery at the Rockland Congregational Church in Maine will reopen with a show by Nancy Glassman '73, Sunday, April 14. The show will continue until Sunday, May 12.

The dessert menu at Le Virtù in Philadelphia, co-owned by Catherine Lee '88, includes Sanctuary Bread Pudding, with all proceeds going to an asylum-seeking family. The fundraiser was featured in an article by The Inquirer.

A talk given by Jane Freeman ’71 about her art is now available to view on YouTube. 

Ann Cefola '81 MFA '97 and Ann Lauinger (literature) will be reading with Sally Bliumis-Dunn MFA ’02 and Margo Stever MFA ’88 in a new poetry series at the Desmond Fish Library in Garrison, New York on April 13 from 2-4 p.m. Cefola and Stever will also be reading at the JCC of Tarrytown on April 28 from 1:30-3:30 p.m. in the Sundays with George Poetry Series. View a selected reading from Cefola's Free Ferry online.

Flatiron Books has published Drive-Thru Dreams, a look at American culture, history, and identity through the prism of fast food, by Adam Chandler MFA ’10.

Burden Sparked with Eternity: ABC Poems and Others of a Grandchild's First Decade, a chapbook by Marilynn Talal ’59, will be published in April by Presa Press. Presa Press also published her chapbook The Blue Road: Poems of Marriage and Caregiving last year.

The film The Rest I Make Up from producer Heather Winters '84 will be screened at The Institute of Contemporary Arts in London April 5-9.

at the last minute, the third full-length poetry collection by Estha Weiner ’72, will be published by Salmon Poetry in March.

Best Friends in the Universe by Stephanie Watson ’01 is a finalist for the 2019 Minnesota Book Awards. Winners will be announced on April 6, 2019.

Pam Tanowitz MFA ’98 was named Bard Fisher Center’s first Choreographer in Residence. A major component of the residency will be the development of a digital archive of Tanowitz’s oeuvre, including the remounting and documentation of several of her performances. These archival initiatives will make her body of work more widely accessible to dance scholars, students, and the general public.

“Watching the Black Body” by Malkia Cyril ’96, which was originally published in The End of Trust (McSweeney's 54), has been published by the Electronic Frontier Foundation online.

Joni Iraci ’13 announces the publication of her debut novel Reinventing Jenna Rose by Fat Dog Books Inc in June. The novel’s first draft was written in Sarah Lawrence’s visiting professor Martha Southgate’s writing workshop in 2008. “Martha refused to let me give up and I didn’t. Thank you Sarah Lawrence.”

Casta, a bilingual hybrid performance piece by Adrienne Dawes ’04, premieres in The Blanton Museum of Art (200 E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd) this fall alongside exhibit Painted Cloth: Fashion and Ritual in Colonial Latin America, which will feature casta paintings from Lima and Puebla. Casta is inspired by a series of casta paintings by Miguel Cabrera. Casta paintings were a unique form of portraiture that grew in popularity over the 18^th century in Nueva España that depicted different racial mixtures arranged according to a hierarchy defined by Spanish elites. Performances will run from November 2-21.

Mujah Mariani-Melehi ’92 will show her personal visual memoir film/documentary Haiku on a Plum Tree at the Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò NYU (24 West 12th St) on Monday, March 4 at 6:30 p.m. with her aunt, Italian author Dacia Maraini.

Chloe Honum '03 was awarded the 2019 Grimshaw Sargeson Fellowship, New Zealand’s most prestigious writing fellowship. “It will allow me to research and work on a manuscript of poems for four months at the Sargeson Centre, in the heart of Auckland City. I grew up in Auckland, and to be returning with the purpose of writing as a Sargeson Fellow is beyond thrilling.”

Exposition Review nominated Jen Sage-Robison ’95 for a Pushcart Prize for her poem, “Before I Knew What Mania Was.”

Miserable Adventure Stories, a new short story collection from Alex Bernstein ’85, has won the Best Indie Book Award for 2018 in the Novella/Short Story Collection category. The Best Indie Book Award™ is an annual international literary award contest recognizing independent authors in twelve major genres. Entries are limited to independently (indie) published books, including those from small presses, e-book publishers, and self-published authors. Featuring stories from New Pop Lit, The Big Jewel, Frontier Tales, Near to the Knuckle, Headstuff, and other literary journals with equally fancy names, Miserable Adventure Stories is available in paperback and as an e-book at Amazon.com and fine bookstores everywhere.

“Pharmacy,” a short story by Shay Siegel MFA ’15, was selected for publication in Z Publishing House's anthology of America's Emerging Writers in December, 2018.

Michaela Brady ’17 will be on a panel at BETT, London's leading educational technology industry show, on January 24^th. As part of Microsoft Education's Transformation Leadership Forum, she will discuss social and emotional learning, provide insight on student mental health, and present an app she developed for Microsoft's Imagine Cup 2018 Finals that connects college students to their institution's mental health services.

Meg Lindsay ’98 has 3 paintings juried into the Upstream Gallery’s Small Works show January 3-27 (8 Main Street, Hastings-on-Hudson). Regular hours are Thursday-Sunday 12:30-5:30 p.m.

Jannie Wolff ’87 shares that the episode of The Cooking Channel’s “Late Night Eats” that she was a part of the filming for in the restaurant Antique Bar & Bakery had its first showing. It can be viewed online here.

Eugenia Lovett West ’42 is publishing her fourth book, Sarah's War, in April 2019. Set during the Revolutionary War, West paints the riveting tale of Sarah Champion–a young Patriot from rural Connecticut– as she spies on British officers, goes to Valley Forge about a plot to kill Washington, and ultimately digs deep for the strength and courage to overcome the threats she faces. Champion's efforts are driven by her determination to realize her only dream: being part of the formation of a new and independent country.

A poem by Gabrielle Calvocoressi​ '96, “Hammond B3 Organ Cistern,” was recently published in The New Yorker.

The New York Times named Transaction Histories by Donna Stonecipher '91 one of the ten best poetry books of the year.

Rebecca Wellner '14 co-authored a paper in Cortex on the use of brain stimulation for speech production. Wellner is currently an MS candidate in Speech Pathology at NYU.

The new production of The Mar Vista: In Search of My Mother’s Love Life, a play with music and dance created by award-winning Brooklyn-based playwright/choreographer Yehuda Hyman MFA ‘14, will run at the Pershing Square Signature Center on West 42^nd Street in Manhattan from Tuesday, March 5 through Sunday, March 24.

Necessary Fiction has published a short story by Samantha Paige Rosen MFA ’17, “Hollywood & Highland.”

Rena Trefman Cobrinik ’92 recently published the memoir A Different Mother, which just won first prize at the Independent Authors Book Expo. “The memoir portrays a strong vibrant woman—the backbone of a lively and creative immigrant family—and follows her into old age and a compassionate care facility. As she declines, she reveals unexpected strength—sometimes subtle and sometimes jarringly blunt—of a victorious life.”

The Rest I Make Up, a documentary from producer Heather Winters ’84 made The New Yorker’s list of “The Best Movies of 2018.”

Alice S. Kandell ’60 was profiled in The New York Times about her 50-year passion for Tibetan Buddhist Artifacts.

Missy Pfohl Smith MFA ‘02 is the Artistic Director of the modern dance company BIODANCE and the Director of the Institute for the Performing Arts and the Program of Dance and Movement at University of Rochester.

"Three Hasidic Dances," an essay by Yehuda Hyman MFA ’14 will be included in the new anthology, Dance in America, published by Library of America, edited by Mindy Aloff, with a foreword by Robert Gottlieb. The essay was originally published in Seeing Israeli and Jewish Dance by Judith Brin Ingber.

Rakia Seaborn MFA '14 will perform as part of Alex Romania's Hot Consumer Trash at Brooklyn Studios for Dance (210 Lafayette Avenue). Tickets are $20.

An article featuring Pamela Hart MFA ’04 and her work as a writing mentor for the Afghan Women’s Writing Project is in the new December issue of O The Oprah Magazine, "Writing Wrongs.”  There are links to information about her soon-to-be-published poetry collection, Mothers Over Nangarhar, which will be released in January 2019.

Waddington Custot, London, presents the first solo exhibition of American sculptor Jedd Novatt ‘80, “Conversations with Gravity,” on view on November 20, 2018. The exhibition will be on view through January 30, 2019 at Waddington Custot (11 Cork Street, London).

Jenna Ruth​ ’11 spoke to VFX Voice about her role as associate VFX artist at Insomniac Games and working on Marvel's Spider-Man.

Michele Turchin Mirman ’73 was listed in City & State's “The 2018 Women Power 100,” a list of the 100 most powerful women in New York. "Michele Mirman, the former president of the Brooklyn Women's Bar Association, was elected to lead the New York State Trial Lawyers Association, an organization whose members Gov. Andrew Cuomo once referred to as 'the single most powerful political force in Albany.'"

Pam Tanowitz MFA ’98 has begun to choreograph a dance on the Paul Taylor Dance Company to the music of Johann Sebastian Bach as a Guest Resident Choreographer of Paul Taylor American Modern Dance. Her new work will premiere as part of Orchestra of St. Luke's Bach Festival next June, and will then be part of PTAMD's Fall Lincoln Center Season.

Heidi Howard ’08 collaborated with her mother, sound artist Liz Phillips, on “Relative Fields in a Garden,” a multimedia mural and sound work at the Queens Museum until August 2019 as part of the eighth Queens International.

Jannie Wolff '87 is curating an art event at Antique Loft at Riverview in Hoboken Tuesday, November 13. Contact Jannie via email or on Instagram @jannie_wolff for more information.

Oranges, a short story collection from Gary Eldon Peter MFA ’96, was published by New Rivers Press.

“Core Being” by Jaclyn Gilbert MFA ‘15 was published online by Tin House.

After playing the patriarch in Lin Manuel Miranda's In The Heights on Broadway, Rick Negron ’83 will join Lin in his return to the title role of Alexander Hamilton for the Puerto Rico run of Hamilton. Rick is returning to his homeland playing King George III. This production will be a fundraiser for Lin's Flamboyan Arts Foundation. Supporting the arts on the island after the devastation of hurricane Maria. The National tour will then move for an extended run in San Francisco from February 2019 till January 2020.

Emma Bolden ’02 shares: “My third full-length poetry collection, House Is an Enigma, won the Cowles Poetry Book Prize and was published by Southeast Missouri State University Press. Written after my radical hysterectomy, the poems launch an investigation of the language used to house descriptions of the body, which so often seek to define and determine the boundaries and behaviors of the spirit that lives within.”

“Goblins in N’Awlins,” a recent composition by Mary Bianco ’61, will premiere this Sunday, October 28, on the final day of the Crescent City Chamber Music Festival for which it was commissioned at Rayne Memorial United Methodist Church (3900 St. Charles Avenue) in New Orleans.

Beverly Falk ’70 is pleased to announce the release of her new book, High Quality Early Learning for a Changing World by Teachers College Press. "This concise and accessible resource provides an overview of the fundamentals of teaching in early childhood settings (pre-K–2), with a focus on what high-quality practices look like. It details the features of developmentally appropriate, linguistically responsive, culturally relevant/sustaining teaching and how this approach can prepare our youngest citizens for the challenges of our 21st-century world. Beginning with what the research tells us about how young children develop and learn, Falk shows how to create learning environments, plan, teach, and assess in ways that support children’s optimal development. Specific strategies are described and explained, such as setting up the classroom environment and schedule, making smooth transitions, using effective communication strategies, and creating home–school partnerships.”

Barococo by Happenstance Theater, featuring Sarah Olmsted Thomas ’08 and Caleb Jaster ’16, will be playing at Baltimore Theatre Project Oct 25-Nov 11, 2018. “In this collaboratively devised ensemble work, Happenstance Theater portrays oblivious entitlement on the brink of extinction. We take a physical comedy dive into the late Baroque. We flaunt 18th century finery, wigs, panniers, gestural styling, elaborate ornamentation and the excesses of Rococo. We navigate the dangerous curves of manners and the Age of Enlightenment from the exquisite to the revolting. What fun we will have puncturing one percent pomposity!” Information and tickets for Barococo online.

Judy Klass ’88 shares: “My new, fairly topical musical, riffing on A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens will have a reading next Sunday. I'm flying in to NYC for the event. You can buy a ticket for $10, but if you show up and say you are being comped in, you will be!” Information and tickets for Senator Scrooge online.

A.P.E. Gallery in Northampton will display ceramic murals by Judith Inglese '65 and assemblages by Bernice Rosenthal for the month of November. The exhibit, entitled “Lost and Found,” speaks to the process of re-incarnation and transformation.

In the current issue of The Georgia Review, Jonathan Blunk, author of the recent biography of James Wright, A Life in Poetry considers Cherokee Road Kill, the third collection of poetry from Celia Bland ’85, in the lights of her previous books, Soft Box and Madonna Comix.

Soledad Fox Maura ‘90, author of the new biography Exile, Writer, Soldier, Spy: Jorge Semprún (published by Arcade Publishing), will introduce a rare screening of Alain Resnais’ La Guerre est Finie, starring Yves Montand on Sunday, October 7 at Film Forum in NYC. Semprún’s screenplay, based largely on his own experiences as an agent for the Spanish Communist party, earned him his first Academy Award nomination. On Monday, October, 8 she will introduce a screening of Jorge Semprún’s sole directorial credit, Les Deux Mémoires, an interrogation of the origins, course and legacy of the Spanish Civil War, with all-star narrators Yves Montand, Maria Caesares, Costa-Gavras, et al. This film has never been screened in the U.S. English-language subtitles were created especially for this screening.

Elizabeth Schwartz ’81 shares: Arc Music UK releases Yale Strom's Broken Consort: "Shimmering Lights", a new recording of ancient to brand-new Khanike songs performed by strings and voice; the songs come from Morocco, Turkey, Greece, Israel, Poland and America and are presented with lush and dynamic new arrangements. Available where all music is sold on CD and download.

Marian Hyun ’77, Artistic Director for Jazz Choreography Enterprises, shares this upcoming event: The JCE Jazz Dance Project is a celebration of jazz dance featuring original works by emerging and established choreographers. Audiences of all ages will be treated to dances in a variety of jazz styles—from swing to contemporary—and the chance to see the richness of this great American art form. Performances are on October 27 at 8:00 and October 28 at 4:00. For more information: http://www.jazzchoreography.com/project/october-2018

Pieter Estersohn ’82 shares, “This week marks the publication of my newest Rizzoli book, Life Along The Hudson, The Historic Country Estates Of The Livingston Family. Although I have provided photography on more than 60 books on architecture, design, and travel, this is the first book I researched in depth and wrote as well as photographed. The book covers the homes of these erudite and fascinating relations , built between 1680 and 1946, and covers the history of American design as well as the political, social, and artistic legacy of this most eccentric family.”

Erica Ryan '98 announces the publication of her second book, titled When the World Broke in Two: the Roaring Twenties and the Dawn of America's Culture Wars. The book is a history of the deep cultural divides of the 1920s, which are, in sometimes surprising ways, the same cultural divides America battles over today.

Estha Weiner ’72 is teaching a one-day intensive with the Writing Institute on campus, Stealing from the Poet's Tool Box: A Workshop for Fiction Writers, on Saturday, November 3. For more information and to register, visit the website.

After decades of translating catalogues, cookbooks and whatnot, Regan Kramer '79 is exceedingly proud to announce Simon & Schuster's publication of her translation of Waiting for Bojangles by Olivier Bourdeaut. The novel, an international best-seller that has been translated into over 30 languages, is the "dark, funny and wholly charming tale of a young boy and his eccentric family, who grapple with the harsh realities of mental illness in unique and whimsical ways."

The Nap, featuring Max Gordon Moore ’00, is running at Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (261 West 47th Street) through November 11, 2018. Moore takes on two characters in the comedy about competitive snooker: the tournament emcee and Tony DanLino, the young snooker whiz's oily agent.

Miles Coon MFA ’02 shares the details for the upcoming 15^th Annual Palm Beach Poetry Festival January 21-26, 2019. Faculty poets include: Ellen Bass, Laure-Anne Bosselaar, Stuart Dischell, Sarah Lawrence faculty member Aracelis Grimay, Campbell McGrath, Matthew Olzmann, Sarah Lawrence faculty member Gregory Pardlo, and Eleanor Wilner. Special guest poet Sharon Olds will be interviewed by Laure-Anne Bosselaar and give the Annual Thomas Lux Memorial Reading. I-on-I Conferences: Lorna Knowles Blake, Sally Bliumis-Dunn MFA ’02, Nickole Brown. The deadline to apply for workshops is November 12, 2018.

Not for Nothing: Glimpses Into a Jersey Girlhood by Kathy Curto ’89, MFA ’12, Writing Institute faculty member, will be released by Bordighera Press this December.

Voyage Theater Company/PARTS UNKNOWN Play Reading Series will present a staged reading of Turkish playwright Sedef Ecer's e-smuggler.com, in a new English-language translation by Amelia Parenteau ’13, at the 53rd Street New York Public Library (18 W 53 St), Thursday October 18 at 7 p.m. RSVP online.

Eden Turned on its Side, an exhibition of works by Meridel Rubenstein ’69 is currently being presented by Peters Projects in Santa Fe and will run through October 27. “The three series being exhibited are Photosynthesis, Volcano Cycle and Eden in Iraq. Together they engage ecologies on the telescoping scales of human, geological and mythical time. Photosynthesis reveals the cycles of the seasons, Volcano Cycle the deep spanning of time over tens of thousands of years and Eden in Iraq by the eternal time of religious cosmologies.  These works are presented in formats including archival pigment on aluminum, linen, dye sublimation on aluminum and jacquard woven tapestry.”

New work from sculptor Jedd Novatt ’80 will be exhibited at Waddington Custot in London November 20 to January 30. The exhibition will comprise of new, large-scale sculptures from Novatt’s Chaos series.

“Rocket Rabbit Saves The Day” by Chesta Wadhwani MFA ’17 was published in an anthology titled Seven Minute Stories for Seven Year Olds by Scholastic India.

When We Went Electronic, a new play written by Caitlin Saylor Stephens ’08, will be at The Tank (312 West 36th Street, First Floor) October 25 – November 11. Tickets available online.

Mariah Smith ’13 is hosting Pick Me Up, a new podcast from Lyft and Gimlet Creative all about Lyft drivers who are chasing big dreams, both on and off the road.

Meghann Plunkett ’09 has been named a finalist for Best New Poets 2018. Her poem "In Which I Name My Abuser Publicly" will be included in the annual anthology.

Alexis Isabel ’09 invites alumni to her Alexis Isabel Trunk Show at Wolf & Badger (95 Grand St, New York) on Saturday, October 6 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Meet the designer and shop the new collection. 20% of proceeds will benefit the Susan G. Komen foundation for breast cancer research. RSVP to [email protected].

Marguerite Bennett MFA ’13 is now a writer for the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers comic series, beginning with issue #31, released September 26.

Christine Toy Johnson ’81 will star in the touring production of Come From Away, which begins in Seattle beginning October 9.

Grids: A Selection of Paintings by Lynne Golob Gelfman '66 opens September 15 at the Perez Art Museum Miami and runs until April 21, 2019.

John Jasperse ’85, Director of the Dance Program returns to The Joyce (175 Eighth Avenue, New York, NY 10011) September 24-28 to present Hinterland. “A varied group of dancers, including Jasperse, comes together with a commissioned score by Hahn Rowe, to build a micro-community, where dance is both celebration and a refuge from the wreckage of culture and history. Hinterland is performed by DeAngelo Blanchard, Eleanor Hullihan, Jasperse, Mina Nishimura, and Antonio Ramos, with costumes by Kota Yamazaki and lighting by Joe Levasseur.” Visit The Joyce online for more information and tickets.

Dietrich Rides Again, the one-woman show about Marlene Dietrich written and directed by Oliver Conant ’77, will be presented at the United Solo Festival on September 24 at 7:30 p.m. on Manhattan's Theatre Row (410 West 42nd Street). Tickets available through www.telecharge.com or call 212-239-6200.

Mai Perkins MFA ’06 published her first manuscript, The Walking Nerve-Ending. “TWNE is a 120-page collection that takes readers on a fanciful journey. It represents everything love, family, friendship and community, meticulously crafted in rhyming/free-verse poetry and prose. Many of these poems I toiled with during workshop at Sarah Lawrence while working on my MFA with my thesis advisor, Tom Lux.” The Kindle version debuted on Amazon as the "#1 New Release in African American Poetry" during the first week.

Jeremie Gluckman ’13 and Charles Peoples III ’12 will be performing contemporary dance for the first-ever Trans and Friends Rally as part of Silicon Valley Pride on Saturday, August 25, at Plaza de César Chávez (1 Paseo De San Antonio, San Jose) beginning at 4:30 p.m. The rally will showcase local Bay Area speakers and  performers and is free and open to the public.

The Rise of Genderqueer, the third collection of poetry from Wren Hanks '08, will be released in September from Brain Mill Press. The collection "marks a new departure for this accomplished poet, exploring intimate themes with broad appeal and taking on challenging questions about what it means to write about trans bodies with empathy and desire in our current political moment."

Rachelle Cruz ’07 has been recognized with a 2018 American Book Award for God’s Will for Monsters. The winners will be formally recognized on Sunday, October 28 at the SF Jazz Center in San Francisco, California.

Tommy Pico ’06 has been recognized with a 2018 American Book Award for Nature Poem. The winners will be formally recognized on Sunday, October 28 at the SF Jazz Center in San Francisco, California.

Charles Peoples III ’12 recently started an Indiegogo campaign for his debut album. “I've always been a singer, and I've always wanted to do my own music. Now I am finally directing all of my energy toward that and going for it!”

Julia Miele Rodas ’86 is happy to share news about the publication her new book. “Autistic Disturbances argues that autistic uses of language have been present in and an important contributing factor in many familiar texts. Includes chapters on Andy Warhol, Frankenstein, and Robinson Crusoe (the latter influenced by a seminar I taught as a visiting professor at SLC--thanks!). If this is your sort of thing, please come hear more at my talk in NYC on the evening of September 5.”

The cookbook Spoonbread and Strawberry Wine, co-authored by Carole Darden-Lloyd ’66 and her sister Norma Jean Darden ’61, has been listed by Southern Living as one of the best 100 cookbooks ever written.  The book was first published by Doubleday in 1978 and follows the history of their family through recipes, reminiscences and very old photographs.  It is available on Amazon.

Cynthia Kane MFA ’06 shares: “My latest book Talk to Yourself Like a Buddhist was published in April 2018 by Hierophant Publishing. My DailyOM course ‘How to Communicate Like a Buddhist’ has had over 25,000 people take the course, and I've created a certification program in Intentional Communication for coaches, therapists, educators, social works and those in the healing profession to be able to use the practice in their work.”

On Monday, August 13, at 6 p.m., Stephen Fife ’77 will be at the Cornelia Street Cafe in the West Village, giving an hour-long reading from his new novel, Angel's Glance (coming out mid-August from Cune Press).  “This will be the 11th book I've had published, but my first novel, so I'm very excited about it.” There's a $10 cover and a one drink minimum.

Ian Spencer Bell ’13 will be performing Marrow at the Sommers Studio at Jacob's Pillow (358 George Carter Rd, Becket, MA) on Sunday, August 5, at 1:15 p.m. Marrow is a dance with 10 original poems about growing up queer in rural Virginia. Dancers Gary Champi and Joshua Tuason join him in the performance. The 20-minute show is free, but seating is limited. For more information, visit Bell’s website, and read his poem from Marrow, “Repast,” in The Gay and Lesbian Review.

The Knish War on Rivington Street by Joanne Oppenheim ’60 was chosen as a Sydney Taylor Notable Book for 2018, it was a PJ Library selection and won the Guides of New York Apple Award for Fiction. It's a picture book, for 5-8's, a work of historic fiction based on a true event that happened on the Lower East Side in 1916. “I'm having good fun sharing the story with family groups around the country in person and via skype.” You can learn more at her website.

Mike Soto MFA ’09 was awarded a James Merrill Poetry Fellowship at Vermont Studio Center for the spring of 2018.

Gaslit Nation, a politics podcast from DAME hosted by Sarah Kendzior ’00 and Andrea Chalupa, launched July 9.

Spoken Word Sundays NYC on Sunday, September 2, from 4-6 p.m. at The Parkside Lounge (317 East Houston Street) will feature Jason Irwin MFA ’04 and Jee Leong Koh MFA ’05. There is a $3 suggested donation and two drink minimum.

Corelyn Senn ’64 was featured in a piece for the Pen Bay Pilot, “This Week in Lincolnville: One Determined Woman.”

Fireside Magazine, with managing editor Elsa Sjunneson-Henry MA ’11, was nominated for a Hugo Award this year in the Best Semiprozine category. The Hugo Award winners will be announced at a ceremony on the evening of Sunday, August 19, 2018 at Worldcon 76 in San Jose, California.

Melissa Faliveno MFA ’11 published an essay in the Summer 2018 issue of Prairie Schooner. "The Finger of God" is about tornadoes, faith, myth, and the Midwest. It was the runner-up for the 2017 Nonfiction Prize, judged by Esmé Weijun Wang.

Tommy Pico ’06 has a new podcast with Tin House Books called Junk. Pico “interviews a treasure trove of cultural luminaries about relics, keepsakes, and rando baubles in their apartments, sussing out the stories of their Junk.”

Victoria Smolkin ’02 wrote an opinion piece for The Washington Post, “This is what it feels like to be separated at the border.”

Marilynn Glick Talal ’59 has released a poetry chapbook, The Blue Road – Poems of Marriage and Caregiving. “Talal shares her experiences as wife and caregiver in twenty-one autobiographical poems that evoke tenderness, humor, sadness and longing.”

Three alumni reported graduating from top ten law schools this year: Mallory Craig-Karim ’15 from University of Virginia School of Law, Nate Montalto ’15 from the University of Michigan, and Ari Jones ’14 from UC Berkeley School of Law.

Gabriel Judet-Weinshel ’01 shares, “I wrote-directed-scored an award-winning indie film, 7 Splinters in Time, that just landed a theatrical distribution deal and will be out in select US theaters (and video on demand) July 13. The film was DP-ed by former SLC faculty member George Nicholas, our associate producer/unit production manager was Kenzan Tsutakawa-Chinn ’02, and finally, one of our starring roles is named after SLC's Ilja Wachs! It's a tiny movie, but we have ambitious hopes for it, and we're hoping it propels a handful of fledging careers.” Watch the film’s trailer online.

Patricia Bosworth ’55 was interviewed by CBS This Morning about her book, Dreamer With a Thousand Thrills: The Rediscovered Photographs of Tom Palumbo, a collection of photographs taken by her husband, who passed away in 2008. Palumbo was a fashion photographer in the 50s and 60s. The book includes photos of Miles Davis, Gloria Vanderbilt, Grace Kelly, Jack Kerouac, and Mia Farrow.

Everyone’s Fine With Virginia Woolf, written by Kate Scelsa ’02, was reviewed in The New York Times. "Fortunately, Ms. Scelsa has a take-no-prisoners approach to satire that sends deconstructionist theories of feminist and gender studies way up into the ether, where they flare and fizzle like fireworks."

Paula Rudnick ’72 was a guest on Episode 4: Paula Rudnick on her poetry, coping with Trump, and Lil Wayne of Persisters Podcast, hosted by Beth Rowe ’09.

The latest volume of poetry from Michael Leong MFA ’03, Words On Edge, was recently released by Black Square Editions. In a review that appeared in Seedings #5 (Spring 2018), John Olson says, "Michael Leong’s poetry is exquisite. We say something is exquisite when it is alluring and elegant, but also when it is razor-fine, when it has an edge, and that edge might be used to slice open a section of air and pull something out of it that hadn’t existed before, something that we did not know existed, something that existed outside of language and was conjured into being by an unorthodox employment of that very same language. This is called invention, and can lead to great and wonderful things, what André Breton would call the marvelous.”

For Girls Forged by Lightning: Prose & Other Poems, the debut poetry collection from Molly Fuller MFA ’07, was published by All Nations Press. Fuller's book has been reviewed in Rain Taxi Volume 23, Number 1, Spring 2018 (#89) by Matthew Duffus and in Poetry Matters by Barbara Sabol. Both Duffus and Sabol commend the unique hybrid form and the timely and topical relevance of this collection in relation to the #metoo movement.

Danny Katz ’99 is excited to announce his return to the late night NYC cabaret stage, courtesy of Billy Anderson's semi-annual punk/rock/pop cabaret! #RIPSEYRESISTS: An Election Night PTSD Musical Comedy will be Saturday, July 21, at 11:30 p.m. at Feinstein's/54 Below (254 W 54th St.). Tickets available online.

The Lucinda Childs Dance Company makes their Mostly Mozart Festival debut with Available Light at the Rose Theater, Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall (Broadway at West 60th Street, 5th floor) July 12–13. “Renowned postmodern choreographer Lucinda Childs ’62 arranges and rearranges her dancers in the three-dimensional space of Frank Gehry’s stark, split-level set, creating kaleidoscopic textures that echo the restless phase shifts, ambient washes, and fractured fanfares of John Adams’s work for synthesizer and recorded brass, Light Over Water.”

Cosima Littlewood ’15 is at the Cannes Film Festival with her film, Be Natural: the Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché. The documentary, which Littlewood co-produced, premiered on Friday in the Cannes Classics category.

Chongren Fan MFA ’13 is directing Friedrich Durrenmatt's Romulus the Great for Yangtze Repertory Theatre's 26th season. Merrick Williams’14 is the production stage manager, Rourou Ye MFA ’17 is the movement director and Jim Shankman MFA ’06 plays the title role. Set in a fictional Roman Empire, emperor Romulus the Great chose not to be “great.” Facing the increasing peril of the Germanic invasion and the demise of the Empire, Romulus prefers to stay at home breeding chickens. Is his refusal of responsibility to govern stupidity? Or does he have other plans? Tickets on sale: https://www.yzrep.org/romulus

American Socialist by Elizabeth Schwartz ’81 has opened in SoCal. “From May 4-10, our film plays at the Laemmle theatres in Santa Monica and Pasadena. May 11-16, the film runs at Digital Gym in San Diego. See it before November!”

The Comet's Tail: A Memoir of No Memory, a memoir from Amy Nawrocki ’96, was published by Little Bound Books Essay Series, through Homebound Publications. The memoir chronicles Nawrocki's journey into and out of an encephalitic coma. She contracted the illness after her first year at Sarah Lawrence but recovered and returned to graduate in 1996.

Rona Carr ’74 is offering individual private workshops from May 7 - September 21 at The Goddard Community Center (647 Columbus Avenue, between W. 91st & 92nd Streets). “Working, directly, one-on-one, we will focus on re-imagining yourself, by identifying:

• Work/life issues that have been difficult to navigate,
• Overcoming obstacles along the way to your satisfaction and success
• Work habits that you want to change,
• Attitudes about work that may be handicapping your success, and
• Setting meaningful goals to achieve your ambitions

In an informal setting, we will spend 90-minutes each session, addressing what you want to work on, and how to sustain the change you have envisioned for yourself. Email [email protected] and be sure to include your telephone number and email, so we can discuss your opportunity.” View the brochure.

Beatrix Gates MFA ’84 has been awarded one of two Alan Jutzi Non-Traditional Scholar fellowships at The Huntington Library in academic year 2018-2019 for "Good Seeing: Poem of the Full Sky," which highlights 20th c. astronomer Henrietta Swan Leavitt who discovered the means for Hubble’s measuring the universe. “Good seeing” defines available dark for viewing the night sky; the history of astronomy; human desire for connectedness across time; and the history of optics. The Huntington established The Alan Jutzi Fellowship for Non-Traditional Scholars in recognition of former chief curator of rare books, Alan Jutzi, and to honor Alan’s long service to the intellectual needs of researchers, regardless of academic pedigree. The Alan Jutzi Fellowship provides up to two months of annual research support and in keeping with Alan’s breadth of interests, applicants are not limited by field or profession, and may include writers, journalists, urban and city planners, architects, collectors, independent scholars, librarians, and others. Gates' time at the Huntington will be focused on Henrietta Swan Leavitt to understand the context for her brilliant achievement within the technology of the day. Writing about Leavitt requires studies in Astronomy, Music, Photography, Deafness, Disability Studies and Women’s History. The long poem, a form of fluid memory, includes experiments in biography in a lyric exploration of Leavitt’s story and of observation itself. There are rewards for “good seeing,” including curiosity and discovery, which speak globally and defy contemporary binary oppositions.

The Dating Profiles, a series from Rachael Heather Solomon ’09, has been picked up by Seeka TV. "Seeka TV is a next-generation curated platform carrying the best independent web series content and is available free to the public." Enstratius founders David Bagley (CEO) and George Reese (VP of Programming) joined with Dell Software CTO Donald Ferguson to build the filmmaker-oriented social viewing platform.

Transfers, written by Lucy Thurber ’92, is running at the Lucille Lortel Theater (121 Christopher St.) until May 13. “Cristofer and Clarence are two gifted students from the South Bronx.  After two years at a local community college being coached by faculty members, the young men are competing for a life-changing scholarship at an elite northeast university. During a campus visit, the young men are unexpectedly confronted with their shared past while trying to break through a system that seems designed to keep them on the outside.”

Faith Shearin MFA ’93 has published her sixth book of poems, Darwin's Daughter, with Stephen F. Austin University Press.

Allison Havey ’88, cofounder of The RAP Project, is featured in 200 Women, “a book and exhibition founded on original interviews and accompanying photographic portraits. This landmark project is the realisation of an epic global journey to find two hundred women with diverse backgrounds, and to ask them what really matters to them.”

Lisa Rybovich Crallé ’03 presented a public artist talk at Cornell University on March 19, 2018. The talk coincided with the opening of a group exhibition featuring her work entitled “Gross Domestic Product” at Cornell's Olive Tjaden Gallery. The show also features work by Bessie Kunath (LA), Emma Spertus (Oakland), and Richard Zimmerman (NY). For more info: www.lisaRcralle.com.

The Gargoyle Hunters, a novel by John Freeman Gill MFA ’95, was released in paperback by Vintage Books, “complete with a spiffy new 1970s cover image shot on a Bronx rooftop for LOOK magazine on the very last day of that publication's existence (the magazine went belly-up, but the photographer kept shooting).”

Sarah Olmsted Thomas ’08 and Karen Hansen MFA ’88 have been nominated for Helen Hayes Awards for their work with Happenstance Theater in the show, Bon Voyage: A Happenstance Escapade. Sarah was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress and Karen was nominated for Outstanding Musical Direction.

Laurie Nadel ’69 has published The Five Gifts: Discovering Hope, Healing ad Strength When Disaster Strikes (HCI Books) based on her work as a journalist, founder of the Committee to Protect Journalists and trauma specialist who directed a program for teenagers whose fathers were killed in the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center. Legendary newsman Dan Rather wrote the Foreword. He and Laurie will have a joint book signing at Barnes and Noble, Pembroke Pines, FL on April 19, 12 - 1:30 pm.  For media/events: www.laurienadel.com.

Suhasini Yeeda MFA ’15 has published a short story "Original Skin" in The Indian Review. Her short story "Dream State" featured in Madcap Review's Issue 4, was recently nominated for the Pushcart Prize XLI, The Best American Short Stories, and Best of the Net.

Kamilah Aisha Moon '06 was recently featured on Poem-A-Day through the Academy of American Poets. Her poem was selected by the guest curator for National Poetry Month, U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith.

Susan Wood ’53 will celebrate the publication of Women: Portraits 1960-2000 at the Michael Rosenfeld Gallery (100 11^th Avenue at 19^th Street) on Thursday, April 19 at 6:00 p.m. The compilation includes photographs of “some of the most prominent and influential women of the 20th century,” including Diane von Furstenberg, Martha Stewart, Nora Ephron, Alice Waters, Jayne Mansfield, and Gloria Vanderbilt. RSVP to [email protected].

Lynn Gilbert ’59 photographed 46 women for her book Particular Passions: Talks with Women Who Have Shaped Our Time. Twelve of those portraits will be exhibited at The Photography Show at Throckmorton Fine Art April 5-8. Gilbert told The Washington Post, “Change will continue, but these are the women who were the pioneers of this change.”

Lucy Andrews-Cummin '76 recently published her first novel, The Hounds of Spring. Cummin is donating $1 of every book sold to the Humane Society of Chittenden County, Vermont.

Janice Moore ’86 is the creator and guest curator of the exhibition Industrial Maine: Our Other Landscape, hosted by The Atrium Gallery at University of Southern Maine Lewiston- Auburn College (51 Westminster St) and featuring 27 Maine artists. Her painting Beer Plant  is also included in exhibition, which will be on view through June 1.

The Shoreline Review, coedited by Sreshtha Sen MFA ’17, recently released their inaugural issue. The journal publishes South Asian and South Asian diasporic poets, and this issue features ten poets from the US, UK, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Kashmir, and interviews with 2017 Ruth Lilly Fellows Fatimah Asghar and Sumita Chakraborty.

Carolyn Newberger ’63 will present her exhibition, In Concert, at Galatea Fine Art (460B Harrison Avenue) in Boston from April 4-29. “For the past several years, my husband Eli and I, both musicians, have been reviewing music and dance performances at the Tanglewood, Jacob’s Pillow, and Aston Magna festivals. We work for The Berkshire Edge, a newspaper of ideas, news and culture serving Western Massachusetts. Integrating drawings with music and dance commentary fits naturally into my complex identity as an artist, writer and musician. In this show, the first of its kind, I offer illustrative reviews with their attendant drawings that express my respect for art’s capacity to exalt and inspire.” An opening reception will take place Friday, April 6, at 6 p.m. An artist talk and closing reception will be held on Sunday, April 29, at 2 p.m.

Snow Child, with puppetry direction by Eric Wright ’03, is playing at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater (1101 6th Street SW) in Washington, DC from April 13 – May 20, 2018. Wright is a co-founders of the Puppet Kitchen, which has designed and built puppets for stage and screen productions around the world since 2008.

Singer-songwriter Sophie Auster ’09 was featured on the cover of the April 2018 issue of Cosmopolitan España.

Moncho Alvarado MFA ’17 is a 2018 Poets House Fellow. The Emerging Poets Fellowship at Poets House provides poets an opportunity to receive guidance and instruction from distinguished and diverse faculty, and camaraderie and support from a cohort of engaged emerging voices.

Marian Hyun ’77, Artistic Director for Jazz Choreography Enterprises, shares this upcoming event: The New York Jazz Choreography Project is a celebration of jazz dance featuring 14 original works by emerging and established choreographers. Audiences of all ages will be treated to dances in a variety of jazz styles from classic to contemporary and the chance to see the richness of this great American art form. Performances: April 28th at 8:00, April 29th at 4:00. A talkback with the choreographers will follow the Sunday, April 29th, performance.

Jed Distler ’78, Artist-in-Residence for WWFM.Org The Classical Network, was named the 2017 recipient of the ASCAP Foundation Deems Taylor/Virgil Thomson Radio Broadcast/Internet Award for his weekly program Between the Keys, a creative, imaginative and unique journey through the keyboard repertoire.

Pixels and Particulates, an exhibition by Stephanie Bernheim ’62 that embraces and challenges the use of everyday technology in art while wresting with our 21st century obsession with seeing and responding to images, opens Saturday, March 24, at 5 p.m. at Hudson Hall in Hudson, New York.

Illustrated Manuscripts of the Inferno from La Divina Commedia, an exhibit by George Cochrane '95 in celebration of the 750^th anniversary of the birth of Dante Alighieri will be on view at the Esther Raushenbush Library, main level, Exhibit Area from Monday, March 19^th – Sunday, May 20^th. An artist talk and reception will be held on April 3^rd in the Library Pillow Room at 5:30. Refreshments will be served. Sponsored by the Italian and Literature Departments of Sarah Lawrence College. Click here for more information on Cochrane’s Inferno project. Working with Thornwillow Press, Cochrane uses the illuminated manuscript format while expanding the tradition by intermingling references to Dante-inspired artworks and illustrations by well and lesser-known artists, including comic book artists.

Samantha Paige Rosen MFA ’17 has essays in The Passed Note literary magazine and the anthology My Body, My Words: A Collection of Bodies. She will be reading on March 14 at MBMW's book launch at KGB Bar (85 E. 4th St, 2nd Fl) and would love to see some friendly faces!

Molly Tolsky MFA ’11 was interviewed by Time Out Israel.

Jessica Halem ’94 shares, “I am thrilled to announce that I have a new appointment at Harvard Medical School. I am now the LGBT Program Director in the Program for Medical Education. This new appointment allows me to support students as they navigate their identities and career successes, to engage with curriculum, training, research, admissions, and recruitment efforts. I will continue in my current role as LGBT Program Director in the Office for Diversity Inclusion, where I build stronger ties between all members of the Harvard Medical School community and our affiliates.”

Alphabet Publishing is launching its newest course book series, Integrated Skills Through Drama with the publication of Her Own Worst Enemy by Alice Savage. The series editor is Walton Burns ’99, senior editor of Alphabet Publishing. Each book in the series is a complete curriculum for ESL or ELA classes built around an original one-act play. Students learn communication skills such as pragmatics and pronunciation, do background readings on the theme of the play, and engage in academic and creative writing. And the play itself is fun for students, raising the question of how you chose a major. Aida wants to get a university degree in science. But her performance in a school play has caught the attention of the theatre director at a famous performing arts college. Which passion should she pursue, her love of science or her talent for acting?

Annie Rachele Lanzillotto MFA ’90 shares that her new double book of poetry and short memoir prose is out from Guernica Editions. Hard Candy: caregiving, mourning, and stage light and Pitch Roll Yaw are upside down in relation to one another; a flip book that meets in the middle with a gallery of Lanzillotto's spiral poetry. Book tour events listed at www.annielanzillotto.com/events.

Frederica Freyberg ’81, anchor of Wisconsin Public Television’s “Here and Now” program on Friday nights, was profiled in Madison magazine.

Joanne Braxton ’72 was awarded the the 2018 Thomas Jefferson Award, given each year to a member of the William & Mary family for “significant service through his or her personal activities, influence and leadership.”

Adrienne Dawes ’04 was interviewed for 50 Playwrights Project.

The National Opera Association awarded Susan Bingham ’66 a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Improvement, the most recent novel from Writing faculty member Joan Silber ’67 released in November, has been nominated for a National Book Critics Award in Fiction.

Kathy Westwater MFA ’01 was named one of the debut choreographers for the Stephen Petronio Company’s dance residency center in the Catskill Mountains, in upstate New York, which will open in July.

Rachel Marie Kerschhofer ’08 wrote a book of bedtime stories in honor of her legendary grandpa, Mr. Bernard Gross. Everybody Loves Bernie: A book of bedtime stories from a legendary Grandpa is a book of bedtime stories. Stories about children like you – wild adventurers, sneaky siblings, grandma’s favorite helper…These kids are strong and smart, dare I say, even kind! They have fun with their friends, and sometimes get into trouble. Like you, they dream of growing up, and doing something in the world, living happy and free, maybe even having some children of their own.

Thomas Brown MFA ’78 was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, in recognition of outstanding and distinguished contribution to dance.

Working in America initiative, created by Project& and curated by Jane M. Saks ’85, is currently installed at the Oakland Public Library Main Branch. 

Edith + Eddie, directed, edited, and produced by Laura Checkoway ’00, has earned a 2018 Academy Award® Nomination for Best Documentary Short. The film recently won the Best Short at the 2017 IDA Documentary Awards.

Rachel Parsons MFA ’17 published an essay, “My Mother’s Secret Ballot” with Guernica magazine.

Chris Hansen-Nelson MFA ’06 published his first book of poems, The Book of Clay, under the pen name C.S. Nelson. Published by Wicked Rufous Press, the book is narrative verse and follows the journey of a simple farmhand from the dust bowl of the Great Depression who is compelled to respond to the suffering of those he sees around him and the journey on which that calling takes him. For more information, visit the publisher’s website.

Maryann Aita MFA ’17 published a pop culture commentary piece, “Where’s My Emotional Male Lead?” in The Collapsar.

Estha Weiner ’72 will be teaching “Stealing from the Poet's Tool Box: A Workshop for Fiction Writers” for the Sarah Lawrence College Writing Institute on Saturday, February 24, on campus. “Please join us at this one-day intensive, or pass along to people you feel may be interested!”

In a recent episode of “Literary Arts: The Archive Project” on Oregon Public Radio, Ann Patchett '85 retraced the steps that lead to her 2013 essay collection, “This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage.”

Memories and Desire, an exhibition of work by Judith Steinberg ’62, is on display at the Silvermine Art Center in New Canaan, Connecticut through February 4, 2018. "Bits of flora and fauna began popping out here and there, soon demanding more space and definition. When my world disappeared, a new world came to life in my studio."

Andrea Reese ’84 once again made Expertise’s list of the top 25 wedding photographers serving New York City.

Rachel Feldman ’76 compiled the stories of female directors, including herself, who shared their experiences of sexism and discrimination in the industry for The Wrap. “I wrote a multiaward-winning screenplay to which I was again attached to direct. I found an Oscar-winning female producer and an Oscar-winning actress to star, both outspoken ‘feminists’ — who called me a ‘TV director’ and tried to boot me off my own project to hire a male director.”

Mira Singer MFA ’16 published an article analyzing the new Star Wars film entitled “The Last Jedi and the Power of Failure” on the blog Mythcreants.

Dr. Amanda Foreman ’91 presented “Stories from the Royal Collection” this Friday on BBC Radio 4. “I had no idea how many fascinating secrets lie hidden inside Windsor Castle.”

Elizabeth Schwartz ’81 announces the roll-out of a new documentary film, American Socialist: The Life & Times of Eugene Victor Debs, described as “essentially a course in Resistance 101”. A portrait of the co-founder of the American Socialist party, architect of FDR's New Deal, champion of labor rights and income equality and de factor progenitor of Bernie Sanders, the film is narrated by Amy Madigan and directed by Yale Strom. Premiering March 3-8 at the Siskel Film Center in Chicago, followed by a run at NYC's Cinema Village April 27-3 and the Laemmle Theatres in Los Angeles and Pasadena May 4-10.

A conference paper Joni Iraci ’13 wrote for Bill Shullenberger’s “Slavery in Literature” class, entitled, “Diary of Phillis Wheatley,” has been published in the winter edition of Review Americana, an online literary journal popular culture magazine. It is the second work published.

Milah Libin ’15 was selected by Brooklyn magazine for their annual issue highlighting 30 Brooklynites under 30, “who are marching fearlessly into the future, taking the borough with them―wherever they go.” Libin is the editor-in-chief of Dizzy magazine and a music video director. 

The Tempest named Molly Tolsky MFA ’11 one of 40 women to watch, “the boldest leaders transforming the world through music, art, journalism, business, philanthropy, politics and more.” Tolsky founded the website Alma, which is geared toward young Jew-ish women or, as the site puts it, “Ladies with Chutzpah.”

Cherokee Road Kill, the third collection of poetry from Celia Bland ’85, will be published in February 2018 by Dr. Cicero Books. Set in the 1970s in the Great Smokey Mountains of North Carolina, these poems describe the inhabitants of this isolated place, and in a series called “Bird Bone,” a woman killed by her lover. Artist Kyoko Miyabe’s numerous pen and ink drawings correspond with individual poems, presenting detailed and sometimes metaphorized elements from the text. In the book’s introduction, poetry editor Robert Kelly, writes: “These poems do not turn their backs on the places from which they come, and they don’t obsess, either. They move with deftness, forgiving and lamenting and adoring what happens, but quick, quick. I read them admiring the nimble social alertness of the writer, able from all sorts of human actions, interactions, to extract and express the moment —which is momentum— of their keenest meaning.”

Barren Island by Carol Zoref ’76, MFA ’97 won the Goldberg Prize for Debut Fiction in the 2017 National Jewish Book Awards.

Mikhaelle Schiappacasse ’01 has been elected as partner of global law firm Dechert LLP.

Happenstance Theater's BrouHaHa is, “a comedic, existential escapade inspired by images of refugees fleeing on foot, Edwardian workers, cinematic treasures like Fellini's La Strada and Bergman's The Seventh Seal, and the dark comedy of Samuel Beckett. In this devised, clownesque piece, Happenstance Theater's troupe of eccentrics walks the precipice at the end of the world. Their play lights up the darkness like a firecracker. This show appeals to audiences of any age.” Happenstance Theater includes Karen Hansen MFA ’88 and Sarah Olmsted Thomas ’08. Brouhaha is running January 4-21, with performances Thursdays through Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 3pm with an additional performance on Monday, January 15 at 8pm at the Theatre for the New City on the Lower East Side (155 1st Avenue between 9th and 10th Streets). This run is also showcasing as part of the Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP). Tickets are $15 student/senior and $25 general admission.

Estha Weiner ’72 will read at McNally Jackson book store in Soho with Elizabeth J. Coleman and Andrea Fry on Wednesday, January 10 at 7 pm. They will “read poems that explore their own emotional geography, and invite us to travel beyond it.”

Erica Cardwell MFA ’16 wrote an essay on racial trauma and self-esteem for The Believer, “Kara Walker and the Black Imagination.”

Michael LeVasseur ’04 published a study in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, entitled “The Effect of PrEP on HIV Incidence Among Men Who Have Sex With Men in the Context of Condom Use, Treatment as Prevention, and Seroadaptive Practices.”

Mirabelle Marden ’00 was featured in a Vogue piece written by Carmen Rosy Hall ’16 and edited by Ella Riley-Adams ’14. Marden has opened a holiday market in Chinatown and is collaborating with Jaclyn Hodes ’01 of Awaveawake along with curating gift items from local artists.

Newly-elected Nassau County executive Laura Curran ’89 was featured in The New York Times.

My Mother Was a Freedom Fighter by Aja Monet ’09 is a finalist for the NAACP Image Award for Poetry.

Leslie Rott MFA ’15 was a contributor to Real Life Diaries: Living with Rheumatic Diseases, which was published in October 2017.

Underwater New York, a digital arts project run by Nicole Miller MFA ’09, Nicki Pombier Berger MFA ’09, Nicole Haroutunian MFA ’08, and Helen Georgas MFA ’09, is producing A Held Posture. A Held Posture is a solo performance by multi-disciplinary artist and filmmaker Hyung Seok Jeon MFA ’17. The piece explores the image impulse of sinking into the deep ocean. What would you see when you get to the bottom? Through a visual investigation of the abyss, the piece explores the sensation of falling and the experience of generational loss. Formal experiments, including puppetry, a live video feed, and a soundscape created with wireless headphones, guide the audience into the intimate and minimal space within the self. Performances will be held the first weekend in January at Theaterlab (357 W 36th St, New York). Tickets available online.

Barbara Goldstein Mathes ’61 shares that the Barbara Mathes Gallery is pleased to participate in Art Basel from December 7-10 at Booth C12. 

Ilana Masad ’13 has joined Prairie Schooner, a literary journal based at the University of Nebraska where Masad is a PhD candidate in English and Creative Writing, as Assistant Nonfiction Editor.

David Grimm ’87 and David Adjmi ’93 were included in a feature of playwrights thriving in the world of television writing by the Los Angeles Times.

Rickey Laurentiis MFA ’11 has won the 2017 Lannan Foundation Literary Fellowship for Poetry. The Lannan Literary Awards and Fellowships honor both established and emerging writers whose work is of exceptional quality.

Michael Hovance '94 stars in “It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play,” presented by Surf City Theatre Company. Opens Saturday evening (November 18) at 8 pm in the Second Story Theatre (710 Pier Ave., Hermosa Beach). Additional performances, through Sunday, December 3, are Fridays at 8, Saturdays at 2 and 8, and Sundays at 2. Tickets, $28. Call (424) 241-8040, email [email protected], or go to surfcitytheatre.com.

Vrinda Manglik ’08 talked with Isis Tatiana Hockenos ’09 about an exhibit, "Rhizosphere," she curated last spring at San Francisco's Midway Gallery about the creative legacy of West Marin.

Michelle Koehn MFA ’12 is The Community Table’s new executive director. The group’s mission is reducing food insecurity in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

Academic publisher Elsevier has appointed NYU Silver Associate Professor Darcey Merritt ’88 to a two-year term as Associate Editor of Children and Youth Services Review (CYSR) effective January 1, 2018. A CYSR reviewer and editorial board member since 2009, in her new position, Dr. Merritt will oversee submissions to the publication in the area of public child welfare, including identifying reviewers and making recommendations based on reviewer evaluations.

Sahra Motalebi ’99 returns to The Kitchen (512 West 19th Street) - following her 2015 performance Sounds From Untitled Skies-with Directory of Portrayals, an open-form opera based on an ongoing online exchange between the artist and her sister. The show will be performed on Thursday, December 14 and Friday, December 15 at 8pm. General admission tickets are $20, and member tickets are $15. They can be purchased at www.thekitchen.org, by phone at 212.255.5793 x 11, or in person at The Kitchen, Tuesdays-Saturdays, 2-6pm.

Michael Leong MFA '03 recently published a new electronic collection of poetry entitled Who Unfolded My Origami Brain? (2017), which is one of the inaugural titles of Fence Digital, a new imprint of Fence Books. He is currently Assistant Professor of English at the University at Albany, SUNY, where he teaches creative writing and literary study.

Jon Grinspan ’06 wrote an op-ed in the New York Times, “The Right to Vote Is Never Safe.”

Current and upcoming shows featuring Joan Grubin ’67: Color: Primary to Tertiary, curated by Lilly Wei at Site:Brooklyn (165 7th Street, in Brooklyn), November 3-December 3; a new body of work, The Detritus Series, at Garvey Simon Gallery (547 West 27th Street in Chelsea), November 16-December 23; the annual Casheesh show at the Geoffrey Young Gallery in Great Barrington, MA, opening December 3, presenting affordable small works; participating in a three-person show at ODETTA in Bushwick, kicking off the new year on January 19, 2018. Stay tuned for more details.

Sam Robbins MFA ’16 published a dance review, “The Power of Vignette: 10th Anniversary for the New York Jazz Choreography Project.”

Robyn Ravlich interviewed Diana Jones ’84 and alumna Ann Patchett for an ABC Australia radio program about former faculty member Lucy Grealy ’85. “My Brilliant Friend” is available online.

Poet and filmmaker Michelle Yasmine Valladares MFA ’00 is the Americas Poetry Festival of New York’s Poet of the Year. The award is for her “lifelong literary achievements and for her poetry that reflects the rich multicultural spirit of The Americas.”

Erin Leigh Schmoyer ’04 co-wrote a Shakespearean adaptation of Mean Girls, Meaneth Girls, or The Tragedy of Regina George. It will premiere at the Players Theatre (115 MacDougal St) on Friday, November 3, at 10 pm. Tickets are now available.

Penny Wolfson ’76, MFA ’00 has launched an online international literary and arts magazine, called Dark Wood. “Work by three other alumni –Kim Larsen ’80, MFA ’04, Barbara Feinberg ’78, and Dan Azulay ’75 –also appears there, all beautiful, fresh, and original. Although the magazine is in no way connected to the college, and the first issue includes work by writers from Europe and the U.S.—including the prize-winning British poet George Szirtes, we are hoping that SLC students, alumni, and faculty will contribute.”

Rachel Feldman ’76 wrote a guest column in The Hollywood Reporter, “How to Fix Hollywood's Toxic Gender Exclusion Problem.”

Boston-based attorney Marjorie Suisman ’70 has been listed among the 2017 rankings for Massachusetts and New England Super Lawyers, a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high-degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The results will be published in Boston magazine and in New England Super Lawyers.

Eric Glover ’09 received the Grand Prize in the WeScreenplay Television Competition for his dramatic screenplay “Panthers.”

West Virginia University Press has published Marked, Unmarked, Remembered, a new book on American history from photojournalist Andrew Lichtenstein ’88.

Lynne Golob Gelfman ’66 presents new paintings from thu, a series of paintings that she began in the 1960s in New York City. sometimes random will be at Marisa Newman Projects (38 West 32^nd St, Suite 1602 New York, NY) October 11 – November 10, 2017. An opening reception will be held Wednesday, October 11 at 6 pm. 

Miles Coon MFA ’02 invites alumni to apply for a workshop at the 14^th Annual Palm Beach Poetry Festival, presented in loving memory of Thomas Lux, January 15-20, 2018 in Delray Beach, Florida. Nine rewarding workshops led by Laure-Anne Bosselaar, Gabrielle Calvocoressi, Chard DeNiord, Beth Ann Fennelly, Ross Gay, Rodney Jones, Phillis Levin, Aimee Nezhukumatathil, and Tim Seibles will provide careful critique and/or inspire new work. Special guest, Coleman Barks, will read his renowned translations of Rumi, a poet of the 13^th century, proof positive that great poems transcend time and distance; and performance poets Elizabeth Acevedo and G Yamazawa will scintillate with sizzling spoken word! Individual conferences with Lorna Knowles Blake, Sally Bliumis-Dunn and Nickole Brown are available. Apply online by November 10, 2017 at www.palmbeachpoetryfestival.org. 

Janlori Goldman MFA ’09 recently published her first full-length poetry book, Bread from a Stranger's Oven, which won the White Pine Poetry Prize.

Samantha Stark ’05 led the New York Times team that won an Emmy for Outstanding New Approaches: Arts, Lifestyle & Culture for the documentary The Forger.

Alexi Hawley ’89 wrote a guest column for The Hollywood Reporter on on-set safety.

Barren Island by Carol Zoref ’76, MFA ’97 has been longlisted for the National Book Award. Winners will be announced in November.

Wendy Whelan and Kathy Westwater MFA '01 recently shared the in-process "Sophie," a solo Westwater choreographed over fifteen years ago and never before performed in New York City, and talked about working together for the first time and their dancing friendship since growing up together. Kathy also continues to teach ShakeWalk classes at the Brooklyn Studios for Dance.

Manal Abu-Shaheen ’03 has a solo show, Beirut, at York College Fine Arts Gallery in Jamaica, Queens. The opening reception is Thursday, September 14, 12-2pm. The show will be open through October 13. 

Chongren Fan MFA ’13 has been appointed Artistic Director of Yangtze Repertory Theatre of America.

Laurie Nadel ’69, author of The Five Gifts: Finding Hope, Healing and Strength When Disaster Strikes (Health Communications, Inc., April 2018) was mentioned on Dan Rather's News and Guts Facebook page for her essay, "For the Victims of Houston: Top Ten Things Superstorm Sandy Taught Us."  The Top Ten List was the idea of classmate Bernice Green ’69 who published it in Our Time Press, a Brooklyn weekly newspaper that she and her husband publish.

Suhasini Yeeda MFA ’15 recently had a short story, “Dream State,” appear in Madcap Review. The story has since been nominated for the Pushcart Prize XLI, The Best American Short Stories, and Best of the Net.

Bethany Ball MFA ’13 has made the short list for The Center for Fiction's First Novel Prize for her debut novel What to Do About the Solomons. The winner will be announced at The Center for Fiction’s Annual Benefit and Awards Dinner held on December 5.

Freddy, Newark, New Jersey from the series Nothing Gold Can Stay by Nicholas Pollack ’10 is now part of the collection of the Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University where it will be on view in the upcoming exhibition Subjective Objective: A Century of Social Photography alongside photographers Berenice Abbott, Walker Evans, Larry Fink, Dorothea Lange, Gordon Parks, and Weegee, among others. The exhibit runs through January 7, 2018.

In July 2016, Amanda Bankert ’03 and her husband Louis Scott opened Boneshaker Doughnuts in the second arrondissement of Paris (77 Rue D'Aboukir). The bakery serves traditional American raised doughnuts made from scratch with seasonal ingredients.

Jaclyn Vorenkamp MFA ’15 has a story in Post Road Magazine #32.

“We make our own games,” a Paper Dances production and show choreographed by Sam Robbins MFA ’16, will be performed at Dixon Place (161 Chrystie St) on Tuesday, August 29, at 7:30 p.m. “As children, our freedom and creativity, sense of play, storytelling ability, and constructive tendencies inspired our parents and teachers to believe in our ability to do and be more. As grown-ups we’ve lost the ability to play, and live in a world full of anger, hostility, war, and violence. This performance revisits a time when the world was full of innocence, happiness, wonder and, most importantly, play.” Robbins will be performing with Stephanie Coleman ’07 and Emily Goucher ’04. Tickets are $15 in advance, $18 at the door, $12 for students, seniors, and those with an NYC ID.

Millennial Ethics Productions, founded by Sam Reetz ’12, will make its formal company debut at the Made in NY Media Center by IFP (30 John St) on Wednesday, August 9, at 6:30 p.m.

Julia Barry ’04 invites alumni to an evening of new music spanning theater, art song, and opera by New York City writers (including herself). “Tickets support our wonderful working performers, and also Cornelia Street Cafe, one of the few listening rooms left in NYC that's struggling to stay afloat. Music, friends, food & drink...all good things. See you August 8 at  8:30 p.m.!” Details for the event can be found on Facebook.

Susan Haskins-Doloff ’71, Executive Producer and co-host of "Theater Talk," accepted the 2015-16 NYC Emmy Award for "Best Interview/Discussion Program" on May 6, 2017. The series, now in its 20th year on PBS, won in a field of 8 nominees for its retrospective episode, "Talk to Remember," which featured interviews with guests including Danielle Brookes, Jeff Daniels, Cynthia Erivo, Jennifer Hudson, Ivo van Hove, George Takei and critic Ben Brantley of The New York Times.

With her company, My Photo Preservation, Alice O'Keefe ’15 provides in-home photo preservation and restoration services to her Brooklyn clients, with searchable drives that make finding photos easy. O’Keefe says the easiest way to reach her is via email, [email protected], or through the contact page on her website.

Ellen Winter ’14, Sam Monaco ’11, and A. Sarr ’13, members of NYC indie group Chamber Band, all recently collaborated on the musical theatre podcast “36 Questions,” which can be streamed for free on iTunes, and is the first of its kind. It also features violin from Lily Desmond ’16 and many other talented writers and musicians. The podcast was recently featured in The New York Times.

Sarah Gottlieb ’09 will be hosting a workshop developed in collaboration with Catalina Mahecha in Madrid, Timing in Contact Improvisation, in Chicago at Jam Links Hall on July 22. “Our research focuses on 1) Bio-rhythms, or rhythms and time signatures produced by anatomic functions 2) Membranes, kinespheres or auric spaces that separate and conjoin 3) Gravity, which we track by studying cycles of suspension, dynamic falling, undercurrents and over-currents, and spatial trajectories. The work incorporates various forms of energetic and somatic practice into Contact Improvisation.” Information and Registration: [email protected]

Lauren Palmor ’08 is a contributor to the catalogue "Revelations: Art From The African American South," published on the occasion of the exhibition at the de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. The exhibition and catalogue celebrate the Fine Arts Museums’ major acquisition from the Souls Grown Deep Foundation in Atlanta of sixty-two paintings, sculptures, drawings, and quilts by twenty-two acclaimed contemporary artists, including Thornton Dial, Ralph Griffin, Bessie Harvey, Lonnie Holley, Joe Light, Ronald Lockett, Joe Minter, Jessie T. Pettway, Mary T. Smith, Mose Tolliver, Annie Mae Young, and Purvis Young. The catalogue, co-published with ​DelMonico Books / Prestel, is filled with compelling content and gorgeous color plates.

Ryan Strong MFA ’14 is now a publicist at Penguin Random House.

"American Socialist: The Life & Times of Eugene Victor Debs", co-written and executive produced by Elizabeth Schwartz ’81 has just been acquired by First Run Features for North American theatrical and non-theatrical distribution. Directed and co-written by Yale Strom (Schwartz's partner in BlackStream Films) and narrated by Amy Madigan, this feature-length documentary explores the life and legacy of the co-founder of the American Socialist movement (and not coincidentally, hero and inspiration to Bernie Sanders) in the context of American populism and social and economic injustice 100 years ago and today.

"Distractions," a short story by Joni Iraci ’13, was published in Review Americana.

Bronwen Mullin ’06 has been appointed by the Jewish Theological Seminary of America as its rabbinic artist in residence. She will create a performing arts wing for the Artists’ Beit Midrash.

Sarabande Books is pleased to announce Rowan Ricardo Phillips has selected Mothers Over Nangarhar by Pamela Hart MFA ’04 as the winner of the 2017 Kathryn A. Morton Prize in Poetry.

Heather Wedvick Mathews ’95 and her filmmaking partner, Tiffany Rhynard, made a documentary about rising senior Moisés Serrano ’18. Beginning before he even dreamed of going to Sarah Lawrence, the film ends on campus, at the start of his first year. Forbidden: Undocumented & Queer in Rural America will premiere on Logo TV on August 3rd. It also won the first ever Social Justice Award from the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Freedom Award at OutFest 2016, where it premiered last summer.

Molly Bess Rector ’10, along with poets M.D. Myers and J. Bailey Hutchinson, founded and co-curates the nonprofit poetry series Open Mouth Reading Series in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Green Mountain Fine Art Gallery presents “Summertime,” an exhibit of new landscape paintings by Burlington-based artist Bonnie Acker ’70. The show opens on Saturday, June 24, with a public reception from 5 to 7 p.m. at the gallery at 64 S. Main St., Stowe.

Waypoints Magazine recently published “Slate,” a short story by Natasha Yglesias ’14.

Under the Volcano, a modular program of writing master classes in Tepoztlán, Mexico directed by Magda Bogin ’73, is now officially a not-for-profit organization. Visit their website to learn more about their upcoming program in January 2018, their 15^th year.

Nicole Dennis-Benn MFA ’12 won a Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Fiction for her novel, Here Comes the Sun.

Theresa Sullivan MFA ’17 interviewed Writing faculty member and Brooklyn Poet Laureate for Garrison Institute.

"Address," a poem by Elizabeth Sochko MFA ’17, was published online in Interrupture. 

Lindsy Van Gelder ’66 shares: “Many classmates and other 60s era Sadie Lou-ers may appreciate a memoir on birth control back in the day that I recently wrote for Allure.”

Allan Mann MFA ’70 is looking for help, “putting together stage production, book, video recording, documentary and possible feature of Earthlight, my 1969-72 New Age stage revue company, the one that saved the Woodstock Festival.”

AmpLit Fest, a NYC literary festival co-produced by Katie Longofono MFA ’14, is taking place Saturday, June 10 on Riverside Park. It is a free, daylong festival that brings authors of all backgrounds, styles, and levels of recognition to center stage. With readings, workshops, panels, and a community market, AmpLit Fest makes one of life’s most solitary acts — writing — a public celebration.

Sweet Parents, a feature film co-written and co-starring Leah Rudick '06 will premiere at the Brooklyn Film Festival this June followed by a run at the Lower East Side Film Festival.

Sacha Yanow ’99 wrote and performed Dad Band at Joe's Pub in June. “An intimate psychological portrait of the artist’s father, her internalized dad, and patriarchy in general, ‘Dad’ covers and lip synchs to his favorite songs from the 50s and 60s, shares footage of his 1970s winning appearance on the To Tell the Truth game show, presents motivational speeches, and more. His button-down shirts become his costumes, his yellow notepad—usually reserved for stock market details—contains his set list, and his Agatha Christie novel collection and Wall Street Journal become his props. Over the course of the evening, we get to know Dad as he dances, sings, screams, and lectures.”

Eli Rosenblatt ’06 has earned his PhD in Jewish Studies from University of California at Berkeley. His dissertation was titled, "Enlightening the Skin: Travel, Race, and Rabbinic Intertextuality in Yiddish Literature, 1860-1960."

Chelsea Catalanotto ’12 has joined the staff of the CW show iZombie as a writer.

Built to Fail, a streetwear documentary co-produced by Matti Leshem '83, will premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival this summer.

Pamela Hart MFA ’04 has been named the inaugural winner of the Brian Turner Literary Arts Prize for poetry. Poems from her manuscript, Over Nangarhar, will be published in the upcoming issue of the Sierra Nevada Review.

Salvage Vanguard Theater (SVT), an Austin, Texas-based theater company, will be in New York City May 22-25, 2017 for a “Next Stage” residency with the Drama League Theater Center (32 Avenue of the Americas). Director Jenny Larson will be developing performance piece Casta written by Adrienne Dawes ’14 in collaboration with composer Graham Reynolds and visual artist Beth Consetta Rubel. Casta is inspired by a unique genre of portraiture that grew in popularity over the 18th century in Nueva España (Mexico). Casta paintings depicted various different racial mixtures in the New World, arranged in a specific hierarchy of race and status, as defined by Spanish elites. The complexities of contemporary racial and ethnic identity(ies) are echoed in this distant mirror of casta paintings. How do Old World anxieties about ambiguous identities reflect contemporary biases? How can the interaction between performance and visual art, specifically portraiture, open a window for a unique audience experience about racial identity? Reservations available online. 

Anita Silvers ’62 was featured in Diverse: Issues In Higher Education for her work as an advocate for students and others with disabilities. 

Bernice Green ’69 quoted classmate Laurie Nadel ’69 in the April 13^th issue of Our Time Press. Nadel said, “Artists are our canaries in the coal mine.  The president’s decision to cut funding for the National Endowment for the Arts and the Humanities should remind us that dictators are threatened by artists and writers.  It is an ominous sign. After the military seized power in Chile after President Salvador Allende’s assassination in 1973, soldiers raided artists’ homes and burned ‘Cubism’ because they thought it referred to Castro’s Cuba and ‘Revolution in the Arts.’  In the present climate, art challenges us to face our fears and get stronger.” Green and Nadel came to Sarah Lawrence from Brooklyn's Midwood High School where they met in 1963.

Dylan Brody ’85 shares, “This July my theatrical solo show Dylan Brody’s Driving Hollywood, based on my award-winning special of the same name comes to the People’s Improv Theater (PIT) in New York for a weirdly intermittent three-week run.  I would love to have you come see what I’m doing in this show.  It’s about the friction between art and commerce, the need for critical thinking, and the whole thing feels more salient and needed under the Trump administration than it did when I wrote it.” Visit Brody’s website for more information.

The Theater for the New City (155 First Avenue) presents GIOVANNI THE FEARLESS, a commedia dell’arte folk opera for young and old audiences with music by Mira J Spektor ’50 from May 12-21. More information and tickets online.

Inspired by the poetry of M. Nourbese Philip and Ntozake Shange, Vanesa Evers ’13 re-invisioned the intended audience (and victims) of the Declaration of Independence by dissecting every word in the historical document and turned it into a play. Come and reimagine this historical document with Evers at Studio 34 Yoga Healing Arts (4522 Baltimore Avenue, Philadelphia) on Saturday, July 8 at 6 p.m. Tickets online.

Part IV of WRENCH, a play by Elana Greenfield ’82, will be presented at LABAlive OTHER: THREE. Inspired by ancient Jewish text, Greenfield is among the last Fellows will presenting their new work in an evening of art, drinks, and celebration at The 14th Street Y Theater (344 East 14th St) on Thursday, May 11 at 7:30 p. m.

Everyone’s Fine With Virginia Woolf, a new play by Kate Scelsa '02, was read by Obie-winning theater company Elevator Repair Service (ERS) at Little City Books. In this queer, irreverent parody of Edward Albee’s iconic "Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf," no one is left unscathed by Martha's feminist ambitions. Rubbing alcohol will be consumed, imaginary pregnancies will be indulged, and gender constructs will be destroyed. 

FRIGID New York @ Horse Trade in association with Cave Theatre Co. will present the World Premiere of Divorce Party, written by Lauren Wimmer ’13 and directed by James Masciovecchio, April 21-May 7 at UNDER St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place between 1st Avenue and Avenue A) with performances Friday and Saturday at 8pm and Sundays at 3pm. Tickets ($20) may be purchased in advance.

Marian Goldstein Fontana ’89 will be honored 15th anniversary benefit for the New York Writers Coalition (NYWC) this May.

Lois Farfel Stark ’65 gave a TedEx presentation at SMU in December of 2016 on Shape: Hiding in Plain Sight.

Boni Alvarez '96 was featured in The Inquirer for the success of his play Bloodletting. Alvarez "has been adding Filipino American stories to the fabric of the US stage."

The Honolulu Museum of Art will feature a series of photographs by Maui artist Christopher Cole ’06 as part of its Contemporary Hawai’i Artist program in the John Dominis and Patches Damon Holt Gallery. “The Global South” exhibit runs through July 9. Read more in the Maui News.

Josh Gannon ’03 will be running this year’s Boston Marathon for St. Francis House, a day shelter in downtown Boston. Gannon placed second in the cross country championship his first year at Sarah Lawrence College. “Marathon Monday is a very special day in Massachusetts and to be able to be a part of that while supporting St. Francis House is a really big deal for me.”

Performances of Anywhere and Extemporaneous, choreographed by Kathy Westwater MFA ’01, will be held April 19, 20, 21, and 22 at Brooklyn Studios for Dance (210 Lafayette Avenue). Tickets available online.

Marian Hyun ’77 is an artistic director of the New York Jazz Choreography Project, a celebration of jazz dance featuring 14 original works by emerging and established choreographers. On April 29^th and 30^th at Salvatore Capezio Theater at Peridance 126 E. 13th Street, audiences of all ages will be treated to dances in a variety of jazz styles from swing to contemporary and the chance to see the richness of this great American art form. Featured choreographers include Antuan Byers, Ashley Carter, Sharlane Conner, Rachel Leigh Dolan, Kavin T. Grant, Billy Griffin, Karin Kawamoto, Ali Koinoglou, Gregory Kollarus, Cat Manturuk, Vanessa Martínez de Baños, Bryan Menjivar, Sue Samuels, Jaime Shannon, Ashley Stafford, and Kyle Weiler.  Tickets available online.

Kyle Chu ’10 aka Panda Dulce was part of San Francisco Public Library’s "Drag Queen Story Hour" at the Harvey Milk branch, in a FUSION viral video.

Reynolds Tenasas-Norman '78 has been named a Paducah Arts Alliance (PAA) Artist In Residence in Kentucky. Tenasas-Norman began her two-week residency on February 12 at Pinecone Art Studio & Gallery (421 N 7th Street). An exhibit of a selection of her small drawings inspired by The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s 1850s historic work of fiction, will be on display at StudioMars (418 N 7th Street) Friday, February 24, from 5-7 p.m. Tenasas-Norman’s drawings will be presented as a mosaic-style exhibit that showcases the diversity of women who choose their own destiny.

Suhasini Yeeda MFA ’15 recently had a short story, “Dream State,” appear in Madcap Review.  The story has since been nominated for the Pushcart Prize XLI.

Slothrust, a band composed of Leah Wellbaum '11 (guitar/vocals), Kyle Bann '10 (bass), and Will Gorin '11 (drums), announced new tour dates for their most recent album, Everyone Else.

Donna Gigliotti '76 spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about how she started her career after Sarah Lawrence, her work with producer Harvey Weinstein, and her upcoming project.

Emma Bolden ’02 has been awarded a 2017 Creative Writing Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Erica Abeel ’58 will be at Cornelia Street Café (29 Cornelia Street, New York) January 26 reading and talking about her new novel Wild Girls about 3 women rebels of the 50s who live against the grain. One theme explored will be: Can you truly live outside of your time? A second theme: female self-invention in a conformist age.

Kat Long ’97 is working on a biography of her ancestor William Scoresby, a 19th century Arctic explorer and whaling ship captain who is considered the first polar scientist. Kat has launched a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo.com to raise money for a book research trip to England. While there, she plans to investigate his personal letters and scientific discoveries, which are helping today's scientists understand climate change. 

Tess Leopold ’82 shares, “Peter and I have moved to Connecticut. I am working in property & casualty insurance at Beazley. We are renovating a 1962 house on a lake and enjoying the Hartford area. We expect to be playing in the snow soon.”

In response to the election, Judy Klass ’88 recorded an album, Protest Songs in an Age of Trump. “Because the recount is ongoing, I did not do a full band recording, and have not (at this time) pressed a CD.” The entire album is posted on YouTube.

Lady Of The Castle, a chamber opera with music and lyrics by Mira J Spektor ’50, based  on a true story & an Israeli Play by Lea Goldberg, is at Theater for the New City (155 1st Ave, New York, between  9th & 10th Street) November 30 through December 11, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday at 8pm - Sunday at 3pm. Tickets are $18, contact [email protected] for more information.

Ellen Kaye ’82 will perform songs from her album Ice Wine: Songs for Christmas and Dark Winter Nights at The Metropolitan Room (34 West 22^nd St, New York) on Tuesday, December 13 at 7 pm. The performance is a part of Cabaret Productions' "New York Cabaret's Greatest Hits" series. Make reservations online or call 212.206.0440.

Noguchi Breton (8375 NE 2nd Ave, Miami) proudly presents “sometimes random,” an exhibition of new paintings by Lynne Golob Gelfman ’66 from November 18, 2016 - January 14, 2017. In some paintings, the clarity of the grid becomes muted by an all over color field. In others, the triangular patterns are fractured and almost disappear. In all the paintings, the structure of the support quietly emerges, and the patterning may evoke associations with the handwoven textiles of Africa, South America and Japan. A vernissage will take place on Friday, November 18 from 6-10 p.m.

Kyes Stevens MA ’99 has been recognized as one of 2016's Women Who Shape the State, for changing neighborhoods, cities and Alabama for the better. Stevens is a poet and founder and director of the Alabama Prison Arts + Education Project at Auburn University.

The first book of poetry by Claudia Cortese MFA ’09, Wasp Queen, will be published by Black Lawrence Press in December 2016.

Kathy Westwater MFA ’01 has begun a yearlong residency at Brooklyn Studios for Dance that includes leading four SHAKE/WALK workshops 31-Oct thru 20-Nov, curating a performance and installation, hosting a reading group, open rehearsal, and panel discussion, and presenting the New York premiere of Anywhere in the spring of 2017. A benefit performance for Anywhere and Brooklyn Studios for Dance with invited artists will take place Saturday, November 5. 

Nima Etemadi ’04 and Lily Fischer ’04 will open Cake Life Bake Shop in its Fishtown location in Philadelphia on Saturday, November 5. The new shop will sell a full menu of savory and sweet pastries, including cookies, scones, pies, muffins, cakes by-the-slice, whole cakes to-go.

Matthew Holloway ’01 will return to The Duplex (61 Christopher Street @ 7th Ave, New York)  on November 5th, 2016 at 9:30 p.m. to present Mother Always Said!, a cabaret performance featuring Josh Kight on piano. Tickets may be purchased at matthewhollowaysings.com or at theduplex.com.  $10 online and $15 at the door with a two drink minimum; 21+ only.

Claire Jeanine Satin ’56 presents Concrete, a documentary that “traces the mission and devotion of Ruth and Marvin Sackner’s exceptional archive of visual and concrete poetry created by Sara Sackner,” at Cinema Paradiso (503 SE 6th Street, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33301) on Thursday, November 3 at 7 p.m. Bookworks by Claire will also be on display as part of the event.

Rachelle Cruz ’07 won the 2016 Hillary Gravendyk Poetry Prize, judged by rob mclennan and Megan Gravendyk Estrella. Her first full-length collection of poetry, God's Will for Monsters, will be published by Inlandia Institute in Spring 2017.

John Kelly MFA ’94 was named Executive Director of The ToonSeum, Pittsburgh's museum of comics and cartoon art. “The ToonSeum is one of only two museums in the US to be dedicated to the art and history of comic and cartoon art. I am very excited by this opportunity and hope to grow the presence of the museum, which is currently celebrating its 10^th year of existence. Prior to this job, I had served as Senior Director of Communications at the National Basketball Association and Director of Communications at Columbia University. I am still writing for The Comics Journal and other places and am currently finishing up a book on the history of the comics of the Alternative Weekly Newspapers, which will be published by Fantagraphics Books in a year or so.”

Marian Rich ’79 recently returned from a clowning and caring trip to Costa Rica with Dr. Patch Adams. “As a longtime teacher and performer of improvisational comedy, I use improv and performance to train and coach people, helping them grow and develop their life performances. Spending time with Patch Adams has given me a way to provide attentive care to people who are suffering. I will be bringing this approach to the Lillian Booth Actors Home (run by the Actors Fund) on October 15th when I will be "clowning around' with their residents, which includes my father, Allan Rich.”

Secret Saturdays: Performance Series is a once-a-month evening of new work with a rotating theme, curated by Theatre alumni, Vinny Mraz MFA ’15 and Josh Rice MFA ’14.  Featuring short pieces of theatre, comedy, and new devised work, SS:PS gives new and emerging artists a chance to showcase their work, on its feet, in front of an audience. Featuring: Clara Elser MFA ’14! Jesse Heffler MFA ’13! Carolina Ordonez MFA '15! Patrick Vermillion ’15! Keisha Zollar (SLC Lampoon Instructor)! Andrew Kimler! Among others! Tickets are $10 at the door. The Secret Theatre is in Long Island City, Queens, only 3 stops into Queens off the 7 train from Grand Central.  October 22, November  19, December 17 at 10 pm.

Elissaveta Iordanova MFA ’00, MS ’15, Artistic Director and choreographer of GORANA DANCE -Bulgarian folk dance collective, announces tickets are now available for “Rhythms & Patterns”, a gala concert to commemorate the company’s 10th anniversary, at JCC Manhattan on April 2 at 7 p.m.

ArtWorks for Freedom founder and artistic director Kay Chernush ’66 joined partnering artists to help raise awareness about human trafficking at the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival in Mumbai. Chernush was also recognized at the Anne Frank Awards and the McCain Institute Human Trafficking Symposium for her compelling photographs as part of "Bought & Sold: Voices of Human Trafficking".

Alysson Light '07 recently accepted a position as an Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. “I'll be starting in the Fall, and looking forward to connecting with other alumni in Philly!”

The Earle Ernst Lab Theatre recently held a retrospective celebration of the Aloha Legacy of Dance of Jean Erdman '38. Dancers, musicians, friends, and other professional associates gathered to celebrate her distinguished career on her 100th birthday.

Janet Dephoure '60 Just began a new job as a senior technical writer at Digital Guardian, a computer security company in Waltham, Massachusetts.

Annie Lanzillotto MFA '90 invites alumni to attend the launch of her audiobook "L is for Lion" Saturday, February 13 from 6 to 9 pm at CityLore (59 East 1^st St, New York). “Beads, masks, libations, antics…Mardi Gras and San Valentino energies abound. Have a listen: http://tiny.cc/kikk8x

Erica NewHouse '03 will be teaching a new six-week acting workshop in New York City beginning Sunday, February 7 from 4 to 6 pm at Larry Singer Studios (118-122 Baxter St, Suite 403). To sign up or to get more information, call 917.327.5406.

Jay Strong '78 invites alumni to join the next SLC Playwrights Workshop on Sunday, January 10 at 6 p.m. If you'd like to be a part of this exciting opportunity to read, present, and develop new works by up and coming playwrights, please contact [email protected] to join their mailing list.

Leah Umansky MFA '04 will have a new dystopian/sci-fi poetry chapbook out in Spring 2016 with Kattywompus Press called Straight Away the Emptied World.

Virginia Pye MFA '87 published her second novel, Dreams of the Red Phoenix, in October. The novel is set in the summer of 1937 in North China, taking her grandmother's life as inspiration.

Jay Strong '78 announced that November 8 is the NEXT SLC Playwriting Workshop. Attention Playwrights and Screenwriters: Need a fresh perspective? Have all or part of your current work in progress read by professional actors, then supportively discussed in a relaxed atmosphere at the SLC Playwriting Workshop. SLCPW is a FREE informal writing development group, we meet second Sunday of every month at 6pm. Our next meeting is Sunday, November 8. If you'd like to participate, contact [email protected]

Margo Stever MFA '88 announced the publication of the book, Looking East: William Howard Taft and the 1905 U.S.Diplomatic Mission to Asia, that she co-authored with her son, James Taft Stever. The book was first published by Zhejiang University Press in 2012 and then through a collaboration of the University of Cincinnati and Zhejiang University Press in 2015. Looking East documents a historic trip led by William Howard Taft during his tenure as secretary of war during Theodore Roosevelt's administration.

Teaching Writing While Standing on One Foot, by Robert Danberg '96, was published by Sense Publishers in June 2015. A work of creative nonfiction bends genres such as the lyric essay, instructional manuals, midrash and self-help. It invites readers to meditate on their own lives as learners and teachers, alongside their reading to create a commentary of their own on the essential uncertainty of teaching what must be learned from experience.

Audrey Heimler MS '71 shared with us that in 1991, she wrote an article about an unidentified genetic syndrome, that has since been known as Heimler syndrome. Recently a geneticist identified the gene for Heimler syndrome. He was successful and this report was published in the American Journal of Human Genetics -- so now there is a Heimler syndrome and a gene for Heimler syndrome!

Kate Scelsa '02 will be promoting the publication of her novel Fans of the Impossible Life with a reading and conversation with fellow YA author Nicola Yoon at the Los Angeles Central Library (630 W. 5th St) on Sunday, September 20 at 3pm.

Nancy Donehower '79 announced the publication of her book, College Admissions Without the Crazy (Senza Pazzia Press, 2014). The book draws on Nancy's background as a psychologist and thirty years of experience helping students navigate the college admissions process. It helps students understand why they get stuck as they search for, apply to, and ultimately choose a college to attend.

Meredith Monk '64 will be among the recipients of the 2014 National Medal of Arts and National Humanities Medal today for her "contributions as a composer, singer, and performer. Renowned for her groundbreaking vocal techniques, Ms. Monk has reimagined the instrument of voice with her innovative work." See whitehouse.gov for more information.

Alexandra Davin '98 will be offering a therapeutic drama group for support and personal growth through creative play, this September on Friday mornings. Using theater, movement, music, and art as tools, the class will build a supportive environment to explore uncertainy and to promote positive change. Sessions are 90 minutes long weekly and run for eight weeks. The location is in midtown Manhattan and the cost is $350. For more information, please email [email protected].

Robert Ivey MFA '08 announced that his chapbook, Letters to My Daughter, is being published by Blue Lyra Review on February 15, 2016. It will be featured in Vol. 1 of the Delphi Series of books. Blue Lyra Review will sell the book on kindle and in print and at Association of Writers and Writing Programs. The book will contain three chapbooks by three authors: Robert Ivey, Anna Leahy, and Karen George.

The Ascent of Woman is a landmark four-part documentary series for BBC Two written and presented by Amanda Foreman ‘91 that charts the role of women in society over the course of 10,000 years. Amanda argues that the history of women isn't a straight line from Eve's apple to Margaret Sanger's Pill. Over the past ten thousand years it has veered wildly between extremes of freedom and oppression, inclusion and exclusion. The Ascent of Woman starts 2nd September on BBC Two at 9pm.

Carol Zoref '76, MFA '97 has won the 2015 AWP Award Series for the Novel for Barren Island (New Issues Press). Judge Paul Harding said: "Barren Island is a wonderful synthesis of character and history… the author immerses us in a world most readers would never otherwise have known existed.”

Jeffrey McDaniel '90 will be reading at The Ugly Mug Cafe in Orange on Wednesday, August 26th at 8 pm, $3 cover.

After serving as a member of the editorial board for five years, Melissa Crowe MFA '99 has been named co-editor, with Rachel Contreni Flynn, of Beloit Poetry Journal.

Michael Leong MFA '03 received a 2016 Literature Translation Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts to translate, with Ignacio Infante, the avant-garde Chilean poet Vicente Huidobro.

Rhona Free '78, became president of the University of Saint Joseph on July 1, 2015.