The Scorpio Races By Maggie Stiefvater ’03 The Scorpio Races, winner of a Michael L. Printz Honor for excellence in teen literature and the Odyssey Honor for best audiobook for young adults, combines an island setting, dangerous horse racing, and a budding teenage romance that pits the players against death. The Los Angeles Times said of it, “A thrilling book that’s as unusual as it is alluring.” Published by Scholastic Press, October 2011 So There! By Nicole Louise Reid ’95 A collection of nine short stories about defiant women and girls standing at the edge of rebirth. Published by Stephen F. Austin State University Press, October 2011 Masculinity in Children’s Animal Stories, 1888- 1928: A Critical Study of Anthropomorphic Tales by Wilde, Kipling, Potter, Grahame and Milne By Wynn William Yarbrough ’91 This text examines the role of masculinity in the enduring animal tales produced around the turn of the 20th century. Published by McFarland Press, June 2011 … [Read more...]
Books by Faculty
Secure the Shadow By Claudia Emerson, UMW professor of English and Arrington Distinguished Chair in Poetry Death comes calling in Claudia Emerson’s Secure the Shadow. But as the poetry collection – dedicated to the memory of her father and brother, who both died within a three-year span – delves into the darkness of demise, it also illuminates the idea of conservation. It “may seem to be about death, the brother’s death, the father’s death, everyone’s death,” wrote Virginia Poet Laureate Kelly Cherry ’61. “Yet the poems themselves…are the poet’s brilliant argument for life.” Emerson’s words explore cultural and historical aspects of dying through everything from a burning home to the slaughter of farm animals, and, most profoundly, through the loss of her own family members. But, as its title – an old ad for postmortem images – suggests, the work extols preservation, and the author pays homage to the children photographed in death who live on in dusty … [Read more...]
When Disaster Strikes, PR Pro Gets the Word Out
While others flee hurricanes, fires, and floods, J. Suzanne Horsley ’93 rushes in. During the past decade, the self-proclaimed “disaster junkie” and national Red Cross public affairs volunteer has deployed to some of the country’s worst weather-torn areas, including New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and portions of North Dakota and Arkansas after floods. So when a massive tornado ripped through Tuscaloosa, Ala., the city where she lives and works, last April, Horsley was ready to help. She coordinated public information efforts and participated in more than 50 interviews. Horsley, an assistant professor at the University of Alabama, assembled a team of advertising and public relations students to create a website, write news releases, and produce online content for the local Red Cross chapter. The disaster brought a swirl of attention to Horsley. In August, the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication gave her its SuPRStar Award for Excellence in Community … [Read more...]
Philly Honors Philanthropist
Being the mother of six and the grandmother of 15, as well as the owner of 25 thoroughbred horses, might seem like a lot to handle. But for Elizabeth “Betty” Ranny Moran ’53it isn’t nearly enough. The consummate philanthropist, who finds leftover time, energy, and funds to pour into an array of causes, was honored last year on National Philanthropy Day with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the greater Philadelphia chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. “Here is a woman who is truly a philanthropist in heart and action,” Herb Moelis, president and founder of Thoroughbred Charities of America, said of Moran in County Lines online magazine. “All one needs to do is ask, and Betty steps forward.” A champion squash player and avid foxhunter, Moran owns Brushwood Stables in Malvern, Pa., and was a founding member of the Chester County Community Foundation. She has served on the boards of the Chester County Food Bank, Bryn Clovis Charity Foundation, Paoli … [Read more...]
Hoarders Star Comes Clean About Success
Garbage guru Matt Paxton ’97 shared his struggles and successes with a standing-room-only crowd in Monroe Hall on Feb. 1. “I wouldn’t be the best trash dude in the world if I hadn’t screwed up,” said Paxton, author of The Secret Lives of Hoarders and extreme cleaning expert on the A&E television show Hoarders. The business administration major displayed a photo of himself and his Mary Washington roommates in Bushnell Hall, looking like typical ’90s college students. After graduation, however, his life took several unexpected turns. Paxton, who owns the Richmond-based company Clutter Cleaner, spoke openly about his struggles with unemployment, failed business ventures, and the death of his father. All, he said, led him to his gig on an Emmy-nominated reality show. He shared hard-earned wisdom with today’s students. “Suffering is awesome,” he said. “Don’t be afraid of rock bottom.” And, “There is opportunity in everything.” He also stressed maintaining a … [Read more...]
Virginia Commission for the Arts Recognizes Great Writing
As a child, Steve Watkins was shocked to learn from a librarian that books don’t appear like magic. They are actually written – by people. “As dumb as it may sound,” he told Front Porch Fredericksburg magazine, “I thought books just were.” Now a UMW professor of English and an award-winning novelist, Watkins got another kind of literary surprise in December as one of four fiction writers to receive a $5,000 fellowship from the Virginia Commission for the Arts. The award recognizes and supports pursuit of artistic excellence. Watkins won acclaim for The Black O: Racism and Redemption in an American Corporate Empire, his 1997 nonfiction account of America’s largest employment discrimination class-action lawsuit. Since then, he has produced a steady stream of celebrated fiction, including the short-story collection and Paterson Fiction Prize finalist My Chaos Theory in 2006 and the Golden Kite Award-winning Down Sand Mountain in 2009. He also wrote the young adult novels What … [Read more...]
UMW Holiday POPS: A Down-Home Christmas
UMW’s 2011 Philharmonic Holiday POPS concert warmed the spirits of Fredericksburg music lovers, and if things go as planned, it will do the same for folks across the country. The footage is in the running to be part of a PBS television holiday special. Emmy-winning producer Jim Brown corralled cameras, crewmembers, and bright TV lights inside Dodd Auditorium to film A Down-Home Christmas, featuring husband-wife folk duo Jay Ungar and Molly Mason. Also onstage was next-generation husband-wife folk duo Ruth Ungar Merenda and Michael Merenda. In Ungar’s practiced hand, the bow glided over violin strings, producing haunting melodies including Ashokan Farewell, the title theme from Ken Burns’ Grammy-winning PBS documentary The Civil War. Mason joined in on vocals, bass, and mandolin in a sampling of songs from the couple’s recent release, The Pleasures of Winter, featuring traditional Appalachian, Quebecois, and Shetland Island numbers. The duo, their family, and the UMW … [Read more...]
Prize Crowns Seay’s Queen
For her collection To See the Queen, Allison Seay ’02 has received a royal honor. The 2012 Lexi Rudnitsky First Book Prize in Poetry ensures publication of Seay’s manuscript and comes with a stay in a 15th-century castle in the Italian countryside. Seay, who is teaching advanced poetry and creative writing at UMW this semester, is serving as Arrington Poet-in-Residence while Pulitzer Prize-winning Professor of English and Arrington Distinguished Chair in Poetry Claudia Emerson is on sabbatical. A writer and editor, Seay has taught at Greensboro and Lynchburg colleges and at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where she earned a master of fine arts degree. She is the winner of last year’s prestigious Ruth Lilly Poetry Fellowship, and her work has been featured in The Southern Review, Crazyhorse, and Poetry. The Lexi Rudnitsky award was named for a 32-year-old graduate student whose first poetic manuscript had been accepted for publication when she died of cardiac … [Read more...]
Cambodia Gives Students Something to Blog About
The stories of several UMW students in Cambodia during winter break unfolded through blogs and other social media. Participants took turns posting daily about their endeavors during the 31⁄₂-week study abroad. The group visited a rice farm and a floating village; did fieldwork in the capital, Phnom Penh; attended meetings with the Peace Corps; spoke with survivors of the infamous Khmer Rouge Cambodian genocide; and earned credits toward a UMW degree in geography. Associate Professor of Geography Donald Rallis led the students, and Assistant Dean of Academic Services Amber Huffman ’10 accompanied them. Offered for the first time at Mary Washington, the program is one of only a few of its kind in the country, Rallis said. While in Cambodia on his 14th visit to the Southeast Asian country, the professor posted on Facebook, “It is immensely rewarding and more than a little humbling to see students so engaged, interested, and motivated.” … [Read more...]
Angela Davis Tells Black History in First Person
Angela Davis is still passionate about racial equality, women’s rights, and political issues. And – at 68 – she’s still speaking out for her beliefs. The University invited the activist, author, and University of California Santa Cruz professor emerita to be its James Farmer Visiting Lecturer and keynote speaker for the UMW Black History Month celebration. Four decades ago, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover put Davis on the bureau’s “Ten Most Wanted” list related to charges of murder, kidnapping, and criminal conspiracy. The daughter of Alabama schoolteachers, Davis served 18 months in prison before a jury acquitted her. She twice was a U.S. vice presidential candidate on the Communist Party ticket. Today, Davis’ scholarly work focuses on incarceration and criminalization of the most impoverished and discriminated against. She advocates against what she calls the prison-industrial complex. Other Black History month events included the steel drum music of Ewabo, exhibits, film … [Read more...]