"One of my favorite things about poetry is the private view of the world that it expresses," Arda Collins '96 says. "It seems irreducible, and there's something very comforting about it. It's an intensified version of the sense of recognition that we look for when we read."
The narrator of It is Daylight (Yale University Press, 2009) is strange, innocent and very funny, and moves through the world poised between thought and action, past and future. She evokes a Hopper-esque atmosphere, narrating the present by furnishing space with imagination, amidst the solid appointments: "Day comes/to your estranged bed,/the mood of the bathtub inexplicably/altered; the smell of the darkened kitchen, the morning/hallway, the evening chairs./Alone/on the couch in the daytime you say something/aloud, and it's not your own voice that carries/through the living room, but a voice/that comes from in front of you and everything moves toward it."
It is Daylight, Collins' first collection, won the 2008 Yale Series of Younger Poets Competition; past winners include Adrienne Rich and John Ashbery. Judge Louise Gluck, a former U.S. poet laureate, chose the collection from more than 600 manuscripts, and wrote the forward to it. Collins has written, she says, "a book of astonishing originality and intensity, unprecedented, unrepeatable."
Collins grew up on Long Island writing stories. She knew she wanted to be a writer, but instead of choosing a genre, she thought, "Wouldn't it be great to write with no plot and no characters, but just say things?" She thinks of her work as a hybrid, blurring lines between fiction and poetry, and complicating traditional notions of character, plot and narrative. "A lot of writers are currently talking about the messy process of defining one's work," she says, "and the fact that we often don't make formal genre decisions about it. For me, my work became poetry because I invented a different way of talking to myself."
Her first poetry workshop was at UNH with Charles Simic, who, she says, "has a subtle and engaging way about him, and is very funny. He was also critical and never minced words." After UNH, she made documentaries for public TV, becoming an associate producer and researcher for "Frontline" and "American Experience." She longed to write and teach, however, and earned an M.F.A. at the Iowa Writer's Workshop in 2004, and is currently in a doctoral program in poetry at the University of Denver.
Collins cites John Cheever, Gertrude Stein and Brazilian poets Carlos Drummond de Andrade and Fernando Pessoa as influences. Now that she has published a book, she is astonished at what readers find in it. "Creating it was like making a mixed tape--it's heavily ordered in that I was tracing out an arc of experience," she says. "But then someone said, 'Your collection begins in the morning, and ends at night.' I never thought of that!" ~
Overviews:
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Holding On to Good Ideas in a Time of Bad Ones: Six Literacy Principles Worth Fighting For
Thomas Newkirk, UNH professor of English
Heinemann, 2009.
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Written in response to the public school epidemic of "teaching to the test," Newkirk's thoughtful book draws on his 30-year teaching career to argue that effective teaching requires freedom for teachers to develop their own key goals and for students to help shape their own progress.
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Because I Am Furniture
by Thalia Chaltas '88,
Viking, 2009.
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Chaltas's powerful first novel for young adults is told in poems. In it, a 14-year-old girl witnesses the abuse of her family by her father and ultimately finds her own voice.
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The German Woman: A Novel
by Paul Griner '81,
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009.
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Set in Europe and spanning World Wars I and II, Griner's third book is a realistic and riveting depiction of the complexities of identity, citizenship and love during wartime.
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In Their Own Words:
Descriptions of new and recent written work by the authors themselves
Jeremy Lougee, '09G
Sustaining Agriculture in the Granite State: A Citizen's Guide to Restoring Our Local Foods, Farms and Independence
No matter how far removed one might be from the sight of corn, the sounds of a tractor, or even the smell of manure, we all share in the daily ritual of eating good food. And while it is not always apparent in the grocery store, the food system that supplies us cannot be sustained forever. From peak oil to water rights to global warming, we face an uphill battle to feed our growing populations. According to former Commissioner of Agriculture Steve Taylor, our state depends on outside sources for over 96% of our food. If there was ever a break in our global food supply, how would New Hampshire survive?
Growing up on a small dairy farm in central New Hampshire, I have always been proud of our state's agricultural heritage, based largely on the ideals of independence and self-reliance. But the burden of industrial agriculture weighs heavily on the future of this optimism. As early as the 1970s, documents have warned us to rebuild our local food system or suffer the consequences. Still, farmland today is being lost at an alarming rate. Farm operators continue to struggle with the increased costs of production and land values, despite a recent attempt to improve their long-term viability. Calls for added infrastructure and new farmers have languished without the necessary financial and human investment. As food is such a basic necessity, these issues demand an urgent response.
Studying under John Carroll, Professor of Environmental Conservation at UNH, I was given a unique opportunity to examine these issues in more detail. My goal was to create a document that stimulates discussion around our state's food resources. Without a consistent market for their products, farmers cannot be expected to maintain their fields simply for aesthetic appeal. Our farms deserve the support of their surrounding communities, and the simple act of buying and eating local food represents a mutual declaration of permanence by both producer and consumer alike. If the citizens of New Hampshire refuse this responsibility, what will our cupboards look like in 50 years? Where will we turn for our food? Ultimately, it is this generation that will determine the future character and security of this great state, and it is my sincere hope that this book will contribute to a healthy, beautiful, and thriving New Hampshire for years to come.
Funding for the initial printing of my book was provided by Julia's Fund of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation. To request a copy, contact UNH Printing and Mailing Services, 603-862-0537, or printing.services@unh.edu.
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Beth Boynton, '81
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Confident Voices: The Nurses' Guide to Improving Communication & Creating Positive Workplaces
I wrote Confident Voices to provide a resource for nurses that helps to get at the heart of many complex problems we face and seek to change, like medical errors, staffing shortages, burnout, and workplace violence. As a nurse, consultant, and human being, I have discovered that these issues have common, underlying problems involving relationship patterns and work cultures.
I passionately believe that long-term, credible solutions lie in understanding and solving the roots of these problems and my book helps do both. There are about 3 million nurses in the United States and 12 million worldwide. We are healthcare's biggest workforce and visible in just about every setting. I see this as a huge potential for impacting positive change. Effective communication skills and supportive work environments are key for tapping into this potential, and work done here will lead to healthier workplaces, safer care, higher job satisfaction and less wasted resources.
For more info about me and a link to a comprehensive (and free) book prototype, visit www.bethboynton.com.
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Danuta Lipinska, '81
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Person-Centred Counselling for People with Dementia: Making Sense of Self
It started in New Hampshire in the early 1980s. One cold and snowy morning at about 3:30AM, I found myself chasing after a man in pajamas and bare feet, who was running after his dog. Except there was no dog. When I finally got him back into the warmth and safety of his house, I worried about how his wife and family were keeping him safe.
At the time, I was an agency nurse caring for men and women in the community as I finished my master's degree in counseling at UNH. The man with no dog, who was my patient, had Alzheimer's disease and I had no idea what I was doing - I had had no training in caring for people with dementia, either in England where I initially trained, or in my master's program.
I began a single person quest to find out as much as I could about various types of dementia, and thus began my career as a trainer as well. By 1988, I found myself elected the NH President of the NH Alzheimer's Disease and related Disorders Association (quite a mouthful). I ran support groups for families, and worked in a large community mental health centre as an elderly services specialist. Ahead of me was more interesting work with people with dementia, and a return to London, which is now home.
My book, Person-Centred Counselling for People with Dementia: Making Sense of Self, was published by Jessica Kingsley in London and Philadelphia, in January 2009. One of my critical readers, and a great supporter, was UNH Professor Dwight Webb. I owe him a great debt of gratitude as he was also my MA thesis chair all those many years ago.
The book was written in response to requests from numerous clients who I counseled over the past twenty years. When people with dementia are faced with the changes and crises dementia brings, they may wish to have a professional with whom to explore their experiences, outside of their partners, families and friends. It is often difficult for them to find one, either because of their age, or because of a widely held assumption that persons with cognitive changes, in memory, language and behavior, will not be able to engage with or benefit from counseling.
The book sets out to do what clients have asked me to do: to posit a different approach, and to encourage therapists and counselors world-wide to provide counseling for men and women who have so much to teach us, and so much to gain from the relationship we offer.
It was a great pleasure to come 'full circle' to my book launch in Concord, New Hampshire this past April. And yes, Professor Webb was there, as well as my son who is a freshman at UNH.
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Walter Hall, Jr. '57
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The Three Pillars of Sustainable Profit & Growth: Values, Leadership and Organization
After graduating from the University of New Hampshire in 1957, I served as an officer in the United States Air Force in Europe. Upon discharge in 1960, with virtually no capital, I founded Walter Hall, Realtors and, by 1968, built it into one of the largest, most diversified and innovative real estate firms in the country. The firm's training division was spun off in 1968 and became The Hall Institute of Real Estate, which quickly emerged as the premier real estate training organization in the nation, often referred to as "The Harvard Business School of Real Estate" within the industry.
Starting as an organization primarily focused on real estate agent training, I quickly saw the real need was management development training, which was then totally absent in the industry. This started my life-long quest for the best in management principles, and their application in real-world practice. Seeing an opportunity to apply my firm's knowledge of real estate and managerial principles to the emerging field of employee relocation, the Hall Institute evolved into Relocation Resources International (RRI) in 1978. Over the next 25 years, RRI became the largest and most successful privately-owned global relocation service firm in the industry, competing head-to-head with well-capitalized industry giants. Throughout the years, my companies were always respected as consistently having the best management team and professional staff in the business.
My book, The Three Pillars of Sustainable Profit and Growth (soon to be re-named Talent: the ONLY Solution to Surviving Turbulent Times and Growing in Normal Times), was written through anecdotes and examples culled from my years of real world experience. Consistent, long-term profit and growth can only be achieved through a sustainable competitive advantage in the market place. The only sustainable competitive advantage any business can achieve in the future is the quality of the human talent it can recruit, develop and retain. This sustainable competitive advantage is built on what I like to call "the three pillars: values and leadership, existing within an organization that fulfills its mission and achieves its vision. I share with the readers how I employed these principles to build three successful businesses.
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Douglas Campbell III, '75
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Where to Go From Here: Reinventing Your Career, Your Business, Your Working Life
When I was an undergraduate at UNH, I co-authored a textbook with Dr. David Larson (Major Issues of the Law of the Sea, UNH Press, 1976). We received a grant, and graduate students Jonathan Waltz and Richard Pabst and I spent five months in the UNH graduate school library working with material I had collected from my US State Department internship, interviews and other research. It was used by professors at Harvard, John Hopkins and 40 other universities to anchor their courses on ocean law. We spoke at the International Studies Association Annual Conference in Toronto, and I later consulted for the UN and the US Congress on the 200 mile fishing zone. It was an incredible experience for a recent college graduate, and an opportunity to learn about policy from the executive, congressional and NGO viewpoints.
Since then I have worked with many well-known entrepreneurs as "the Success Coach." In my book, I share experiences gleaned from over 30 years as a business owner, a CEO coach, a professor, a director of marketing for a fortune 100, and an entrepreneur (I have started five businesses). The book is designed as a resource for business owners, talented professionals, and top performers. In today's business world, it is important to understand that we are always reinventing. Consequently, it is crucial to first understand yourself, and how to reposition your company or your career. For example, I write about "the 1628 theory" - when you reinvent in your career, you go back to what you were naturally passionate about in high school, college, your first and second job - and include related exercises. I also outline "the Advocates theory," and how reaching out to someone who knows you well can help you in reinventing yourself. I offer valuable information about networking, professional development tools and how to work with a broker.
E-mail me at doug@thesuccesscoach.com for a book or ebook. www.thesuccesscoach.com
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Also of Note...
Living on the Flood Plain: Poems
by James Zoller '71,
WordFarm, 2008.
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The rhythms of the language in this lovely collection follow the rhythms of water collecting and receding, as the speaker meditates on the connections between the natural world and his own inner landscape, as in "One Must Survive": "Each page is white like snow outside my window, though it bears/no marks from deer who come during the night, who graze on the/myrtle or nibble, as high as they might reach, the soft needles of/the yew./From the warm distance of my window, I examine these tracks./This is how one begins these labors. Fix the tracks in the mind. Fill/the tracks with language, make a mold."
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Asian Americans in New England: Culture and Community
by Monica Chiu, UNH associate professor of English
University Press of New England, 2009.
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The nine lively essays in this collection, which is the first to focus on Asian American contributions to the region, explore Chinese American friendship albums, Japanese acrobats, the construction of Asian Indians and religion, among other subjects; in the editor's words, the collection "rearticulates this place called New England as it introduces the actors who encouraged all manner of new images and invigorated our New England imaginations."
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The Specter of Salem: Remembering the Witch Trials in Nineteenth-Century America
by Gretchen A. Adams '01G
The University of Chicago Press, 2008.
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This lucidly written and well-researched study focuses on how, in the political and social crises of the nineteenth century, the unlikely example of the seventeenth-century witchcraft trials in Salem, Massachusetts, became a common symbolic point of reference for Americans.
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News from alumni of the Department of Theatre and Dance:
- Michael Vaccaro '92 is currently featured in three television commercials: two national commercials, for "Ford F-150" and Sprint, and one regional commercial for "Qwest Communications".
- Sarah Duclos Cost '05 has recently been hired by Boston Ballet as their Education and Community Outreach Coordinator. She continues to be a lead teacher for Taking Steps, the Ballet's expanded learning time program for 11-14 year old girls, and to direct the North Shore Adaptive Dance Program, a nationally acclaimed program developed in partnership with Boston Children's Hospital. The program was recently featured on NBC's nightly news.
- Bunty Thakkar '05 is currently playing the role of "Diesel" in "West Side Story" at the Riverside Theatre Works in Boston.
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