University of Rochester

Rochester Review
March–April 2013
Vol. 75, No. 4

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Books

The Selected Letters of Anthony Hecht

By Jonathan Post ’76 (PhD)

Johns Hopkins University Press, 2013

Post, Distinguished Professor of English at the University of California at Los Angeles, draws a selection from the roughly 4,000 letters written by the Pulitzer Prize–winning poet and longtime Rochester English professor. The collection spans the time from Hecht’s childhood until his death at age 81 in 2004.

Elliott Carter’s ‘What’s Next?’: Communication, Cooperation, and Separation

By Guy Capuzzo ’00E (PhD)

University of Rochester Press, 2012

Capuzzo, associate professor of music theory at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, offers a detailed exploration of the 1997 one-act opera by composer Carter.

High Performance Integrated Circuit Design

By Emre Salman ’09 (PhD) and Eby G. Friedman

McGraw-Hill, 2012

Salman, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at Stony Brook University, and Friedman, Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Rochester, provide an overview of the most recent techniques for designing high-performance integrated circuits in nanoscale technologies.

Susan B. Anthony and the Struggle for Equal Rights

Edited by Christine Ridarsky and Mary Huth ’81 (MA)

University of Rochester Press, 2012

Ridarsky, Rochester’s city historian, and Huth, the retired assistant director of Rush Rhees Library’s Department of Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation, present a collection of essays by prominent scholars in women’s history on the reform movements that Anthony embraced and helped to lead, including women’s rights, racial equality, and temperance.

In the Blink of an Eye: The Deadly Story of Epidemic Meningitis

By Andrew Artenstein ’81

Springer, 2013

Artenstein, an infectious disease and biodefense specialist and chair of the Department of Medicine at Baystate Health, surveys the 200-year history of epidemic meningitis. The book begins with the earliest descriptions of the illness and ends with the development of a vaccine for meningococcal meningitis and ongoing efforts to prevent outbreaks.

Shh! It's a Secret: A Novel about Aliens, Hollywood, and the Bartender's Guide

By Daniel Kimmel ’77

Fantastic Books, 2013

In his first science fiction novel, movie critic Kimmel tells the tale of friendship between an alien and a Hollywood movie executive as they pursue a top-secret film project.

Critical Insights: Eugene O’Neill

Edited by Steven Bloom ’73

EBSCO/Salem Press, 2013

Bloom edits a collection of up-to-date scholarly essays on the playwright Eugene O’Neill designed for undergraduates. Bloom is a professor of English, dean of undergraduate education, and associate vice president for academic affairs at Lasell College in Newton, Mass.

Del Archivo de la Memoria: Reminiscencias y anécdotas II

By Armando Filomeno ’71M (Res)

Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, 2012

In his native Spanish, neurologist Filomeno offers his second volume of Archives of Memory—“interesting, amusing, odd, or regrettable short stories,” based on his experiences in both the United States and Peru.

Lost Source

By John Martin ’69

iUniverse, 2012

Through the story of a strike against the outsourcing of American jobs, Martin’s novel explores the decline of manufacturing in the United States and the challenges posed by manufacturing strength in China.

Sensor and Data Fusion: A Tool for Information Assessment and Decision Making (Second Edition)

By Lawrence Klein ’66 (MS)

SPIE Press, 2012

Klein, an electrical engineer and principal of Klein & Associates in Santa Ana, Calif., makes the case for the benefits of sensor fusion with an analysis of infrared, microwave, and millimeter-wave sensors. The expanded second edition includes new applications as well as an additional chapter on data fusion in multiple-radar tracking systems.

Too Good to Be True

By Benjamin Anastas ’91

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012

Novelist and essayist Anastas presents his third book, a memoir detailing the collapse of his marriage and promising literary career, and his quest to hold on to his relationship with his son and “find [his] way back from something close to ruin.”

Abrahamic Religions: On the Uses and Abuses of History

By Aaron Hughes

Oxford University Press, 2012

Hughes, professor of religion at Rochester, explores the creation and dissemination of the term “Abrahamic religions,” and the problems it poses. Although Abraham, as the common root of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, is often perceived as an ecumenical symbol, Hughes argues that ahistorical versions of Abraham are often used to stoke division and exclusivity.

Lair of the Jade

By Dalia Woodliff ’62

BookBaby, 2013

Woodliff presents a mystery set in Rochester and inspired by J. R. R. Tolkein’s ring quest. The e–book, first in a trilogy, concerns a death in the Rush Rhees library tower.

15-Minute Freezer Recipes

By Kelly McNelis ’09 (PhD)

New Leaf Wellness, 2012

McNelis, a Pittsburgh-based wellness coach, includes favorite freezer recipes, along with nutritional information and tips for freezing, in an e-cookbook that’s downloadable for computers, tablets, and smartphones (www.NewLeafWellness.biz).

The Virtues of Poetry

By James Longenbach

Graywolf Press, 2013

Longenbach, a poet and the Joseph Henry Gilmore Professor of English at Rochester, offers a collection of 12 essays exploring the virtues of poetry—virtue as understood, Longenbach writes, in the earliest use of the word as “a magical or transcendental power, a power that might be embodied by any particular substance or act.” Essays include analyses of Yeats, Pound, Shakespeare, Lowell, Dickinson, Ashbery, and others.

Transgressive Transcripts: Gender and Sexuality in Contemporary Chinese Canadian Women’s Writing

By Bennett Yu-Hsiang Fu ’96 (MA)

Rodopi Press, 2012

Fu, assistant professor in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures at the National Taiwan University, explores the construction of female subjectivity in contemporary Chinese-Canadian literature through the analysis of works by Sky Lee, Larissa Lai, Lydia Kwa, and Evelyn Lau.

Recordings

Hudson City Suite

By Scott Healy ’82E

Hudson City Records, 2012

Los Angeles jazz keyboardist Healy performs nine original tracks, performed by an 11-piece ensemble that includes trumpeter Tim Hagans.

Some People’s Lives

By Moira Danis ’80E

Moira Danis, 2012

Teacher and singer Danis performs works from established songwriters such as Stephen Sondheim, Cy Coleman, Tommy Wolf, and Jimmy Webb, as well as newer artists such as Sara Bareilles, Susan Werner, and Chely Wright.

Derek Bermel: Canzonas Americanas

By Alarm Will Sound

Cantaloupe Music, 2012

The 20-member ensemble presents a selection of works by Derek Bermel chosen to showcase the stylistic variety within the composer’s oeuvre. Founded at Eastman in 2001, the group includes Miles Brown ’00E, ’12E (DMA), Caleb Burhans ’03E, Gavin Chuck ’04E (PhD), Michael Clayville ’00E, Stefan Freund ’02E (DMA), Bill Kalinkos ’03E, Matt Marks ’02E, Payton MacDonald ’01E (DMA), John Orfe ’99, ’99E, Courtney Orlando ’03E (DMA), Alan Pierson ’06E (DMA), Jason Price ’05E (DMA), John Pickford Richards ’02E, ’04E (MM), and Elisabeth Stimpert ’99E (MM), ’01E (MM). Nigel Maister, artistic director of Rochester’s International Theatre Program, is staging director.

Call Me a Dreamer

By Chesley Kahmann ’52

Orbiting Clef Productions, 2012

Vocalist and pianist Kahmann performs a new selection of songs with her singing group the Interludes and her son, trumpeter Ames Parsons. The recording is the eighth volume in her Kahmann Touch series.

Exposition

By Nick Finzer ’09E

Outside in Music, 2013

Jazz trombonist and composer Finzer performs 10 original compositions on his debut CD. Bassist David Baron ’10E also performs on the recording.

Live at Eastman

By John Covach

John Covach, 2012

Covach offers a recording of a concert he performed in July 2012, entirely on acoustic instruments, in the Eastman School’s Hatch Recital Hall. Performing works by Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Yes, and medleys of songs by the Beatles and Steve Howe—with no amplification—Covach showcases the hall’s acoustics. Covach is a professor of music theory at Eastman, professor of music and chair of the music department in the College, and director of the University’s Institute for Popular Music.


Books & Recordings is a compilation of recent work by University alumni, faculty, and staff. For inclusion in an upcoming issue, send the work’s title, publisher information, author, and author’s class year, along with a brief description, to Books & Recordings, Rochester Review, 22 Wallis Hall, P. O. Box 270044, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627-0044; or by e-mail to rochrev@rochester.edu.