Publications

- Stephanie Strickland MFA ’78
  
  Zone: Zero
  
  Poetry / Ahsahta, 2008
  
  Strickland’s wordplay combines scientific knowledge, playfulness, and technical savvy. Included with this new collection of poetry is a CD containing interactive digital versions of two poems.
- Kate Feiffer ’87
  
  My Mom Is Trying to Ruin My Life
  
  Children’s Novel / Simon & Schuster, 2009
  
  Moms can be so embarrassing! The mom in this story does mortifying things like kissing her daughter in public and telling loud jokes that nobody thinks are funny. When the heroine can’t take it anymore, she decides to run away. But the separation from her family might end up teaching this young girl that her embarrassing parents aren’t really trying to ruin her life—could it be that they actually love her?
- Suzanne Guillette MFA ’05
  
  Much to Your Chagrin: A Memoir of Embarrassment
  
  Memoir / Simon & Schuster, 2009
  
  While working on a book project about other peoples’ embarrassing moments, Guillette discovered that her own shame-filled experiences were just as important. Weaving the comic with the serious, this personal memoir explores the very human side of humiliation and the extent to which we try to hide our quirks from the world, and more importantly, from ourselves.
- Kate Feiffer ’87
  
  The Problem with the Puddles
  
  Children’s Novel / Simon & Schuster, 2009
  
  Meet the Puddles: 8-year-old Baby, her older brother Tom, their parents, and their two dogs (both named Sally). The quirky parents can’t agree on anything, and the simplest things become complicated. A family return trip from the country becomes an adventure when they realize they left the two Sallys behind. Chapters alternate between the Puddles and the dogs as one humorous mishap after another befalls the family on their journey to reunite.
- Andrew Boscardin ’96
  
  Four-Color Heroes!
  
  Jazz / Nickel & Brass Septet / Boscology, 2009
  
  These songs by composer and guitarist Boscardin are dedicated to, and take inspiration from, artists and writers of comic books from the 1960s and 1970s.
- Jee Leong Koh MFA ’05
  
  Equal to the Earth
  
  Poetry / Poets Wear Prada, 2009
  
  Writing faculty member Vijay Seshadri writes of this collection, “Jee Leong Koh is a vigorous, physical poet very much captured by the expressive power of rhythm, rhetoric, and the lexicon. He is also, paradoxically, a poet in pursuit of the most elusive and delicate of human emotions. The contradiction is wonderful and compelling, and so are his poems.”
- Kate Feiffer ’87
  
  Which Puppy?
  
  Children’s Book / Simon & Schuster, 2009
  
  Word gets out in the animal world that the First Family is looking for a puppy. But other animals want to be considered too—why not a White House kitten, guinea pig, turtle, or skunk? Animals from around the globe arrive and the competition heats up; but which one will be chosen?
- Jessica Hendra ’89 (co-author)
  
  Beverly Hills Adjacent
  
  Novel / St. Martin’s, 2009
  
  During pilot season, June Dietz’s husband, Mitch Gold, becomes a paranoid mess, filled with envy for his fellow television actors while he waits for a return phone call from his agent. June, a poetry professor at UCLA, struggles to navigate the pressure-filled world of Los Angeles’ social customs while putting up with her husband’s eccentricities. When a successful producer turns his romantic attention to her, June is faced with a dilemma. How does a regular person decide between husband and lover, family and fantasy?
- Michael Leong MFA ’03 (translator)
  
  I, The Worst of All
  
  Poetry / Blazevox, 2009
  
  Leong dexterously translates the work of Estela Lamat, a contemporary voice from Chile’s literary underground whose dense language is full of prophetic visions both beautiful and disturbing.
- Susan Schweik ’78
  
  The Ugly Laws: Disability in Public
  
  Nonfiction / New York University, 2009
  
  Schweik provides a social and cultural history of an ordinance adopted by many American cities in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that prohibited “any person who is diseased, maimed, deformed so as to be an unsightly or disgusting object” from exposing themselves to public view. Her book explores the history of the laws and the resistance to the ordinances, and includes the compelling life stories of people affected by them.
- Norma Lehmeier Hartie ’83
  
  Harmonious Environment: Beautify, Detoxify & Energize Your Life, Your Home & Your Planet
  
  Nonfiction / Lingham, 2007
  
  Writer’s Digest selected this book as the grand prize winner in their 2008 self-published books competition. Hartie demonstrates how to create beautiful, nontoxic, and natural living and workspaces using feng shui and other design principles. Included are hundreds of resources for eco-friendly home products, from household cleaners to construction materials.
- Nancy Thalia Reynolds ’68
  
  Mixed Heritage in Young Adult Literature
  
  Literary Criticism / Scarecrow, 2009
  
  An in-depth exploration of the depiction of mixed-heritage characters in young adult literature, the book analyzes literary classics by Zora Neale Hurston, Mark Twain, James Fenimore Cooper, and others. Reynolds investigates young adult racial and ethnic identity, focusing on people whose backgrounds defy easy categorization. Her book also provides new criteria for evaluating portrayals of mixed-heritage people in young adult literature.
- Yolanda Raven ’72
  
  A Day in the Life of a Runway Model with Image & Fashion Tips from the Trade
  
  Memoir / Lulu, 2008
  
  This up-close look at the world of professional runway modeling blends a realistic view of the hard work behind the glamour with “how to” tips gleaned from the author’s personal experience. Raven’s advice covers topics such as “One Bag Travel” and “How to Build a Wardrobe and Still Have Money Left Over to Eat.”
- Sarah Magid ’98
  
  Organic and Chic: Cakes, Cookies, and Other Sweets That Taste as Good as They Look
  
  Cookbook / William Morrow, 2009
  
  Organic baking does not mean flavorless and boring. Custom cake baker Sarah Magid provides a wide variety of recipes with step-by-step instructions for creating beautiful desserts with natural, healthier ingredients.