Authors and Artists

Summer 2023

Books

Randye Jones, McFarland, June 2023

This work catalogs commercially produced recordings of Negro spirituals composed for solo concert vocalists. More than 5,000 tracks are listed. The featured recordings enhance the study of concert spiritual performance in studio, concert, worship service, and competition settings. This guide extends beyond simply providing historical context and encourages the use of the recordings themselves. Jones manages media collections for the Grinnell College Libraries.

Grant Faulkner ’87, University of New Mexico Press, February 2023

With elegant prose, deep readings of other writers, and scaffolded writing exercises, The Art of Brevity takes the reader on an exploration of compact storytelling, guiding readers to heighten their awareness of not only what appears on the page but also what doesn’t. Faulkner is the executive director of National Novel Writing Month, co-founder of the literary journal 100 Word Story, and co-founder of the Flash Fiction Collective.

Ken Krimstein ’80, Bloomsbury Publishing, November 2021

New Yorker cartoonist Krimstein’s new graphic nonfiction book is based on never-before-published autobiographies of six Eastern European Jewish teens on the brink of World Ware II. When I Grow Up shows their beautifully illustrated, heart-wrenching stories, full of humor, yearning, ambition, and all the angst of the teenage years. When I Grow Up was selected as a Best Book of the Year by both NPR and the Washington Post.

Claire Forrest ’13, Scholastic Press, May 2023

Where You See Yourself combines an unforgettable coming-of-age tale and much-needed disability representation in this story about a girl who is determined to follow her dreams. Where You See Yourself is based on Forrest’s lived experience as a wheelchair user who has cerebral palsy. As an undergraduate at Grinnell, she was a consultant for the offices of Disability Services and Admission, working to address concerns of incoming college students with disabilities and their families.

Spring 2023

Books

Meryl Cook Feldman ’88, Harmony Press, March 2022

When a rabbi warns that her ex has been brainwashed into a cult, Feldman is pulled into the mystical world of religious Judaism in a way her atheist self would never have expected. She finds herself in Israel on a rescue mission to bring him home. Feldman must come face to face with her heritage and her own beliefs about God and the universe while struggling with her hope of building a life together with the man who she has always believed to be her soulmate.

Andrew Nelson ’00 and Rob Curran, Vanderbilt University Press, 2022

Based on five years of collaborative research between anthropologist Nelson and journalist Curran, Journey chronicles the plight of African and South Asian migrants moving through Latin America toward the United States. Journeyprovides an engrossing, sometimes surreal, narrative-driven critique of how state-level immigration policy fails extracontinental migrants. Nelson is associate professor of anthropology at the University of North Texas.

Mark Miller ’76, Agate, January 2023

A resource for all nearing retirement age who are feeling anxious about their preparedness, especially in an economy rattled by both a pandemic and alarming levels of inflation. Retirement Reboot walks readers through core decisions to improve their retirement outcomes. Miller is a leading expert on retirement and aging. Alongside regular contributions toThe New York Times “Retiring” column, he also writes monthly national columns on retirement for ReutersMorningstar, and Wealth Management.

Peter Lavelle ’02, Columbia University Press, March 2020

During a critical juncture in Chinese history, an unprecedented conjunction of natural disasters, domestic rebellions, and  foreign incursions created profound turmoil. The imperial government responded by introducing policies to bolster its power. In the process, officials launched campaigns for development of the empire’s lands, waters, and minerals. Lavelle offers a unique approach to understanding the dynamic relationship among social crises, colonialism, and the natural world. Lavelle is associate professor of history at the University of Connecticut.

David Mura ’74, University of Minnesota Press, January 2023

The police murders of two Black men, Philando Castile and George Floyd, frame this searing exploration of the historical and fictional narratives that white America tells itself to justify and maintain white supremacy. Mura unmasks how white stories about race attempt to erase the brutality of the past and underpin systemic racism in the present. Mura’s previous works include Turning Japanese: Memoirs of a Sansei and Where the Body Meets Memory: An Odyssey of Race, Sexuality, and Identity.

Edited June 27, 2023 to correct a staff editing error. The article incorrectly stated that George Floyd was fatally shot by police. George Floyd died after being handcuffed and pinned to the ground by Minneapolis police officers. We apologize for the error.

Fall 2022

Books

Anne Jenkins Laskey ’68 and Gail Needleman, editors, BookBaby, August 2022

This anthology offers not only scholarship on the history and impact of Kodály, but also human stories of courage and resilience. Ideological suppression in Kodály’s home country was no match for the power of music and the irrepressible commitment of Zoltán Kodály himself as well as music teachers and scholars from around the world. More than half a century after his work began to receive global recognition, Kodály’s influence still can be found in schools.

Anne Jenkins Laskey is a former director of the Kodály Center at Holy Names University. Her previous positions include 12 years as music specialist at the Convent of the Sacred Heart in San Francisco and five years as assistant conductor of the San Francisco Boys Chorus.