Monday, December 5, 2016

Standoff by UNH English professor and poet David Rivard

Standoff

David Rivard, Graywolf Press, Aug. 2016

In his sixth collection, poet and UNH English professor Rivard persuades readers to recognize those human touchstones that arise as we navigate the wreckage of our present moment. Once again, Rivard proves himself a master of an understated yet powerful and compelling moral compass, just as he is also an acute observer of those disquieting daily nuances seeping into our lives. The ghosts of beloved friends, poets and family haunt many of these poems, as Rivard considers the constant gravitational pull of mortality, only to posit that experience itself offers us the power to call it, at least for now, a clear and hard-won standoff.

 

Finding Wonders

Finding Wonders by UNH alumna Jeannine Atkins '84

Jeannine Atkins ’84, Atheneum Books for Young Readers, Sept. 2016

In seventeenth-century Germany, Maria Merian wonders how caterpillars become butterflies, and documents her observations about metamorphosis in paintings. In England, a century later, Mary Anning puzzles over fossils and draws some controversial — but accurate — conclusions about life on Earth. On the other side of the Atlantic, New Englander Maria Mitchell studies star charts and discovers a comet. In her latest book for young readers, Atkins uses poetry to tell the true stories of these three girls, separated by a century and the width of the sea, whose curiosity about the natural world became scientific insight.

 

The True Meaning of Myrrh by UNH alumnus John Manderino ’88G

The True Meaning of Myrrh

John Manderino ’88G, Ice Cube Press, Oct. 2016

Thirteen-year-old Len Rossini has been asking for hockey gloves since before Thanksgiving, but the last promising-looking box left under the tree holds house slippers. Meanwhile, his older brother Sam receives not only the sophisticated smoking jacket he asked for but also a tape recorder to capture all the “magic” of Christmas 1966, which includes a serious falling out between the boys’ parents. Manderino’s sixth title for young readers serves up the holiday with both humor and pathos — and the answer to an age-old question: Just what is myrrh, anyway?

 

Toward the Hanging Tree by UNH alumna Ginny Lowe Connors ’73

Toward the Hanging Tree: Poems of Salem Village

Ginny Lowe Connors ’73, Antrim House Books, June 2016

Connors’ latest book is a lyrical history, weaving together the evocative language of poetry and the stark reality of an important period of American history. Through the voices of the accused, the afflicted and those who stood by, Toward the Hanging Tree brings to life the familiar story of the Salem, Mass., witch hunt of 1692 in new and surprising ways.

 

Auctions by UNH alumnus Timothy Hubbard ’03 and Harry Parsch

Auctions

Timothy Hubbard ’03 and Harry Parsch, MIT Press, Jan. 2016

Colby College assistant professor of economics Hubbard provides an accessible and engaging look at one of the financial markets’ oldest and most ubiquitous economic tools. Auctions explains both the theory and the practice of auctions, highlighting different auction formats and pricing rules and explaining bidder behavior with a range of real-world examples.

 

Sex, College and Social Media by UNH alumna Cindy Pierce ’88

Sex, College and Social Media: A Commonsense Guide to Navigating the Hookup Culture

Cindy Pierce ’88, Bibliomotion, Inc., Sept. 2016

In her followup to 2015’s Sexploitation, a guide to help parents raise children with healthy attitudes about sex, Pierce directly addresses college students and high school seniors entering the increasingly ambiguous and fraught world of “hookup culture.” Pierce covers issues including communication (both online and off), LGBTQ issues, sexual assault, affirmative consent, hookup culture, masculinity, porn, bystander behavior, STIs and contraception, providing the essential information young adults need to experience happier and healthier sexual lives.

 

But You Scared Me the Most by UNH alumnus John Manderino ’88G

But You Scared Me the Most

John Manderino ’88G, Chicago Review Press, June 2016

Mandarino’s collection of dark but often humorous short stories features a pantheon of disturbed and disturbing characters, human and otherwise. From an adolescent vampire-wannabe suffering the pains of first love to an elderly woman losing patience with her mischievous dead husband, many of the stories are modern takes on classic monster stories with a twist that reveals the dark heart of human nature.

 

Once Divided by UNH alumna Susan Currie ’88

Once Divided: Words and Images

Susan Currie ’88, Shanti Arts Publishing, June 2016

Photographer and yoga instructor Currie blends poetic verse and imagery in a meditative handbook designed to “invoke stillness and a clearing for self-expression.”

 

 

 

Shift by UNH alumna Marylen Grigas ’64

Shift

Marylen Grigas ’64, Nature’s Face Publications, Oct. 2016

From sea squirts to planets, graffiti to the human body, Grigas’ poems cast the stuff of daily life against deeper philosophical questions about love, fate and mortality.

 

 

Originally published in UNH Magazine Winter 2017 Issue