That I could have written it shorter had I only more time has been attributed to great writers from Montaigne to Mark Twain. Those multiple attributions may be the best testament to the statement’s truth. It is hard to write “good short.” Unless you’re Writer-in-Residence Diane Seuss’78, winner of Indiana Review’s 2013 1/2K Prize for her prose poem “Wal-Mart Parking Lot,” which was published in IR’s Summer 2014 issue.
More good news: IR editor Peter Kispert interviewed Di about various prize-related matters, including which actual Wal-Mart inspired her, how she approached making her poem, and the challenges and triumphs of the compressed form. You can read that interview online. In the 1/2K, word count cannot exceed 500 and all genres are open–albeit constrained. Di is spending part of the summer at Hedgebrook on Whidbey Island in Puget Sound. Hedgebrook is a retreat for women writers. “If you receive the residency you get your own little cottage (overlooking Mt. Rainier and the Sound), solitude, and meals out of their organic garden,” wrote Di. “I’m not sure how to receive such a gift, but I’m working on it.”
In other news, The Missouri Review published Di’s poem “Still-Life with Two Dead Peacocks and a Girl (after Rembrandt),” one of a series that arose from Di’s interest in still life painting. “What I discovered about still lives is that they are not still,” Di said, “or their stillness draws out our projections like a poultice lures poison.”
Michael Finkler and Bel Da Silva study the embryonic development of snapping turtles.
Michael Finkler ’91, Ph.D., “pays forward” the kind of hands-on research opportunity he had at K (thanks to his mentor, Associate Provost Paul Sotherland, who was teaching biology when Finkler was a student). Finkler is a professor of biology at Indiana University Kokomo. This past summer he hosted in his lab Brazil native Bel Da Silva, an undergraduate student (Federal University of Amazonas) participating in an exchange program called Science Without Borders. She assisted in Finkler’s ongoing research of snapping turtle embryo development. IU-Kokomo posted a story about the collaboration in its online newsletter, and in the interview for that story, Finkler paid tribute to Sotherland: “’I had a really great mentor as I completed my undergraduate thesis, and that’s when research really clicked for me,” he said. “That’s why I’m a professor now, because of that mentoring. In Bel’s case, I also saw an opportunity to get experience working with an international student.’” Sotherland served as Finkler’s SIP advisor. In fact, their SIP work (a productive collaboration that included John Van Orman) eventually led to the 1998 publication of a paper titled “Experimental manipulation of egg quality in chickens: influence of albumen and yolk on the size and body composition of near-term embryos in a precocial bird” in the Journal of Comparative Physiology. Seems that the seed of a K experiential opportunity like the Senior Individualized Project grows across time and borders. After all, the IU-Kokomo article notes that Da Silva intends to become a professor and researcher, the kind of scientist and teacher who will provide hands-on research opportunities for students from Brazil and other countries.
Scientist, science writer, professor of science, and K alum Rob Dunn
Scientist and science writer Rob Dunn ’97 (also an associate professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at North Carolina State University) traveled to the Gulf of St. Lawrence in 2012, on assignment for National Geographic Magazine to write about the area’s ecosystem. He fulfilled his obligation and wrote a very fine article (great verbs!) titled “The Generous Gulf.”
Only months later did Rob learn some back story to his National Geographic story–specifically, that he wasn’t the first in his family to make a “tourist” voyage to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. His forebear, one Thomas But (or Butt or Butts), son of the doctor to King Henry VIII, set sail for the Gulf in April of 1536. The voyages of the two relatives, separated by nearly five centuries, nevertheless shared a few similarities. And, THANKFULLY, the voyages differed in other (significant) ways. For example, Rob didn’t kill and eat any of his fellow travelers.
What Rob did do is write the fascinating back story for the Blog, Your Wild Life. It’s a great read, and we recommend it to our readers.
Eleanor Wong ’12 plays harp for the group “Ensemble Kalamazoo.” Photo by Aaron Geller ’08
A group known as “Ensemble Kalamazoo” recently proved that music can be equal parts silence and sound. The group performed a collection of atonal pieces during a late June concert. Its harpist is Kalamazoo College alumna Eleanor Wong ’12.
Eleanor came to the harp by way of her reluctance for the piano. An early hint: during childhood piano lessons she much preferred to strum the strings inside the instrument rather than finger the keys outside. Not a problem when a musical tradition is as strong as it is in the Wong family. Eleanor’s uncle, Bradley Wong, who attended the June concert, was recently named Western Michigan University’s director of music.
The concert’s compositions sounded like a musical equivalent of the post-war art movement of abstract expressionism. Peter Ablinger’s Weiss/Weisslich 3” (White/Off-White), for example, sounded like a blank white canvas painted white and splashed with a few drops of various colors that seldom coincided.
“It was difficult to play at first,” said Eleanor. And she remarked on the long rehearsal sessions the unorthodox song structures required, “But the emphasis on texture rather than traditional melody and harmony trains your ear in a new way,” she added.
The unorthodox selections featured some fascinating instruments–such as WMU graduate Zachary Boyt’s comb-and-Macbook combination (part of fellow WMU graduate Valeria Jonard’s composition The Broken Harp) that produced a sound that seemed to blend a wind chime and a leaky faucet. The composition’s simplicity and complexity turned on the Boyt’s strumming of the comb, which was amplified by the computer.
“Watching the performance refueled my own artistic opinions,” said Adam Schumaker, an instructor of musical composition at Kalamazoo College. He stressed the importance of experiencing live performances. “Even though I approach music differently, avant-garde performances reinforce what I want to do with music.”
If he, or anyone else, wishes to enjoy Eleanor’s work with “Ensemble Kalamazoo,” then he will have to attend the group’s summer concerts. Eleanor is off to the University of Oregon in August to study arts administration.
The first ever economics and business Senior Individualized Project symposium is bringing back one the department’s own to serve as keynote speaker. Will Dobbie ’04 will address senior econ and business majors during a dinner that will follow the poster presentation to occur in the Hicks Center at 4:30 PM on May 22.
After graduating from K, Dobbie earned his master’s degree in economics from the University of Washington. He received his Ph.D. (economics and public policy) from the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government. Dobbie is an assistant professor of economics and public affairs at the Princeton University Woodrow Wilson School of Public Affairs.
Dobbie’s research interests are primarily in the areas of labor economics and the economics of education. His work has examined the effect of school inputs on student outcomes, the importance of peer effects, the impact of voluntary youth service, and the benefits of the consumer bankruptcy system. Earlier this year he received an award from the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research for writing the best doctoral dissertation in the field of labor-related economics. Ahmed Hussen, the Edward and Virginia Van Dalson Professor of Economics and Business, attended that event. “Will’s lecture was based on his highly acclaimed and controversial work on high performing charter schools in New York City,” says Hussen. “We are delighted to have him back for our first SIP symposium. He has accomplished a great deal in such a short period of time after graduating from K–living proof that we do more in four years so students can do more in a lifetime.”
Jason Kohl ’06 shows his award-winning film “The Slaughter” at Kalamazoo College, Tuesday, April 22 at 7:00 p.m. in Light Fine Arts Recital Hall. Sponsored by Kalamazoo College Media Studies, the film is free and open to the public.
Michigan-born Jason B. Kohl is an Austrian/American Filmmaker. He got his B.A. in creative writing from Kalamazoo College in 2006 before moving to Berlin, Germany on a Fulbright Scholarship. In 2012 he got his MFA in directing from UCLA Film School in Los Angeles.
His UCLA MFA Thesis Film “The Slaughter” premiered at the 2013 South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Texas and was a finalist for the Student Academy Awards. It continues to play festivals like BFI London, Locarno, and Ann Arbor. Filmmaker Magazine called it “a masterfully directed story.”
The short film stars “Breaking Bad” actor Michael Shamus Wiles, and is about a pig farmer who tests his unemployed son’s determination to join the family business.
Jason’s been a finalist or semifinalist for several prestigious labs including the Sundance Screenwriters Lab, the Torino Film Festival’s Adaptlab, and the Nantucket Screenwriters Colony.
He’s an alumnus of the Locarno Filmmaker Academy and a curator for Short of the Week, the premiere online destination for short films.
From 2012-2013 he returned to Berlin to complete postgraduate directing studies at the German Film and Television Academy as a DAAD Artist Study Scholar. He remains based in Berlin, where he is developing various feature projects.
Jason does for hire directing work with his partner Nora Mandray. As Mako Film, their clients include MSNBC, Etsy and Vocativ.
His first nonfiction book, a practical guide to film school, will be published by the Focal Press in 2015.
John Evans (left) and Aaron Thornburg during their Hornet soccer days
During their K days, Aaron Thornburg ’02 and John Evans ’02 were often together. After all, both majored in psychology, and both played on the Hornet men’s soccer team, where they shared MIAA championships (three) and team MVP honors. This year they are teaming up again.
In their junior year, 2001, John and Aaron spent a summer together in Guatemala City to train for their upcoming K soccer season and to conduct research for their Senior Individualized Projects. Thirteen years later they will be back in Guatemala City together, this time collaborating on a different scholarly initiative.
In June, the two Hornets will lead a group of some 20 Seattle University students on a Central American study abroad experience, part of a course Aaron developed called Cultural Intelligence and Global Business Communication. The project seeks to improve international leadership abilities among graduate and undergraduate students, so they may better facilitate constructive outcomes and effective cross-cultural interactions in global business.
Aaron’s interest in cultural intelligence dates to his first experience in international living—his K study abroad experience in Strasbourg, France. “The quarter in France opened my eyes to a world with a rich diversity of cultures. Because crossing borders will continue to grow in both frequency and importance, we all need to better understand how to function as leaders across cultural boundaries. Cultural intelligence is a crucial skill and aptitude in the world of business. But more importantly, it helps us understand and relate better to people with backgrounds different than our own. And that enables people to connect on a personal and empathetic level, which I believe is the foundation to a better world.”
After graduating from K, Aaron, an Okemos (Mich.) native, earned his J.D. and M.B.A. from Michigan State University. He then lived and worked in Asia, South America, and Europe. Currently, he resides in Seattle, Wash., where he teaches international business at Seattle University’s Albers School of Business and Economics.
Aaron’s résumé includes work at Instituto de Empresa (IE) (Madrid, Spain), a top-ranked international business school. One of his colleagues there was fellow classmate Justin Swinsick ’02, who served as the school’s executive director of international programs. Aaron’s time at IE also coincided with those of Lisa Emami ’02 and Nathan Burns ’03—a tribute to how international the K study body truly is!
John Evans’ international experience began before he even arrived at K. He grew up living part-time in Petoskey, Michigan, and part-time in Guatemala City, Guatemala.
After K, John earned his master’s degree in counseling psychology from Western Michigan University (2007). He worked one year as an admission counselor at K, and then attended the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where he completed his doctorate in sport and exercise psychology. In North Carolina he worked with athletes with skill levels ranging from developmental to Olympic-class. Today John lives in Columbia, S.C. He works for the United States Army Training Center at Fort Jackson in the Comprehensive Soldier and Family Fitness program, sharing sport and performance psychology skills with soldiers and family members.
Buena suerte to both men this June. You can follow their Guatemala study abroad experience @GuateAbroad on Twitter and Instagram. Article by Ross Bower ’03
Con Hilberry, dean of Kalamazoo area poets, during a recent reading and celebration of his latest collection of poetry in the College’s Olmsted Room. Photo by Ly Nguyen ’14.
… would be the advice of an article by Anna Clark titled “Kalamazoo quietly emerging as a literary hot spot” that appeared in the Detroit Free Press and Lansing State Journal. Of course, K stands for Kalamazoo (the city) but certainly includes Kalamazoo College. The article quotes Bonnie Jo Campbell (author of American Salvage and Once Upon a River, among others) extensively, and Campbell has taught creative writing at K, and she has served as the College’s 2012 Summer Common Reading author. Literary prizes abound for Kalamazoo-area-related authors (Campbell has been a finalist for both the National Book Award and the National Book Critics’ Circle Award; David Small is a National Book Award finalist for his graphic memoir Stitches (and a former faculty member in K’s art department); and Western Michigan University’s Jaimy Gordon is the 2010 National Book Award Winner (Lord of Misrule). Kalamazoo College connections abound, as well. Campbell was a frequent member of a Monday night poetry class taught by Professor Emeritus of English and poet Con Hilberry (11 books, including, most recently, the highly acclaimed Until the Full Moon Has its Say). Campbell’s poems have appeared in Encore Magazine. Other former students of Con include published poets (and Kalamazoo residents and alumnae) Susan (Blackwell) Ramsey’72 (A Mind Like This) and Gail (McMurray) Martin ’74 (Begin Empty Handed and The Hourglass Heart). Kalamazoo College Writer in Residence (and Kalamazoo resident and alumna) Diane Seuss ’78 will soon publish Four Legged Girl, which follows her two previous volumes of poetry (It Blows You Hollow and Wolf Lake White Gown Blown Open). Fiction writer and Professor of English Andy Mozina has published The Women Were Leaving the Men, and his new collection of short stories, Quality Snacks, is forthcoming. Professor of English Bruce Mills is currently on sabbatical promoting his new memoir An Archeology of Yearning. Mozina and Mills both reside in Kalamazoo. Professor Emeritus of English Gail Griffin (another Kalamazoo resident) is using her retirement to work on her next work. She is the author of the breathtaking “The Events of October”: Murder-Suicide on a Small Campus. Gail is also a published poet, and she has written a number of essay collections, including Calling: Essays on Teaching in the Mother Tongue and Season of the Witch: Border Lines, Marginal Notes. Yes, Kalamazoo College is the right place for literature. There may be no other place where it’s likely to go better.
Teju Cole ’96 (photo by Chester Higgins Jr./New York Times)
Nigerian-American Teju Cole ’96 (nom de plume of Yemi Onafuwa) is coming out with a new old(er) book. This week Random House is publishing Every Day Is For the Thief, a work of fiction Cole wrote prior to his critically acclaimed novel Open City (published by Random House in 2011). The New York Times recently published an article on Cole (“In Words and Photos, Cramming in Life,” by John Williams, March 19, 2014). The article notes the liberal arts journeys of Cole, which include an original pre-med school undergraduate pathway that morphed into his B.A. (from K) in art and art history; master’s degrees in art history and philosophy; a Ph.D. (in progress) on Northern Renaissance Art, which may or may not be completed due, in part, to his recent deep explorations of writing and photography. Cole also has written for his alma mater. LuxEsto published his story on artist Julie Mehretu ’92 in Spring of 2011. Cole took the photographs for that article as well. According to Williams, Every Day Is For the Thief was inspired by Cole’s return trip to Lagos, Nigeria, after more than a decade away. Both books have in common the voice of a wandering narrator, though Open City opens the interior life of its narrator through its stream of consciousness style. “Every Day adopts the more simple perspective of a travel journal,” wrote Williams. “Like Open City, Mr. Cole said, it includes ’versions of some things that might have happened, and then things that are completely made up, but made up to look like they are memoirish.’” Cole is currently at work on a non-fiction book about Nigeria.
The power of science in large part is the power of great storytelling. When the stories lead into mystery … well, that’s when science continues, generating more stories and encountering more mysteries. The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Genetics/Biotech center harnesses the power of stories during a public series called Wednesday Nite @ The Lab, occurring every Wednesday, 50 times a year. Attendance is high, and K alumna Rachel Mallinger ’05 will be the featured presenter on Wednesday, March 26. Her topic: “Wisconsin’s Wild Bees: Who Are They, What Do They Do, and Why Should We Conserve them?” Rachel earned her B.A. in biology at K, her M.S. in entomology and agroecology (UW-Madison) and is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in entomology at UW-Madison. Wisconsin has more than 500 species of native wild bees, and their contributions to pollination are becoming more and more important as honey bee populations decline. Mallinger’s talk will focus on effect of land use change and farm management on the abundance and diversity of wild bees. “I will also discuss the role of wild bees in crop pollination, and address whether or not they can fulfill our food needs,” she wrote. Mallinger wants to learn more about the roles of insects in agricultural ecosystems and how insects can be managed to enhance the sustainability of farming. She currently studies wild bees and pollination services within fruit orchards. She enjoys working with farmers, experimenting in her own vegetable garden, and cross-country skiing during the winter. At K, Rachel studied abroad in Thailand, and she also mentored a SIP student supervised by Ann Fraser, associate professor of biology. According to Fraser, that student is now applying to Ph.D. programs to work on wild bees. “That will make at least four grads in the last eight years who have done to work on wild bees,” adds Fraser. “I’ll be working with three students this summer on another bee project (looking at the impacts of honey bees on wild bees), and a student organization on campus is starting work on constructing ’buzz boxes’ on campus to improve foraging and nesting habitat for wild bees. Maybe,” grins Fraser,” we need a new college mascot.” The hornet’s probably safe for now.
That I could have written it shorter had I only more time has been attributed to great writers from Montaigne to Mark Twain. Those multiple attributions may be the best testament to the statement’s truth. It is hard to write “good short.” Unless you’re Writer-in-Residence Diane Seuss ’78, winner of Indiana Review’s 2013 1/2K Prize for her prose poem “Wal-Mart Parking Lot,” which was published in IR’s Summer 2014 issue.
