Ink & Tracks
Recent publications from Conn alumni and faculty
A Whaler at Twilight
By Alexander Brash ’81 and Robert W. Armstrong
Nestled at the bottom of an old leather trunk for well over a century lay a forgotten manuscript—a long-lost true account of an American whaler who embarked on a harrowing adventure in the South Pacific during the mid-19th century in search of absolution and redemption. Armstrong’s gripping personal account is bookended by thoroughly researched contextual background compiled by Brash, a noted professional conservationist. The result is a fascinating dive into both human morality and American history.
Artists, Writers, and Diplomats’ Wives: Impressions of Women Travelers in Imperial Russia
By Evelyn M. Cherpak ’63
Sixteen intrepid women—some artists, some reporters, some diplomats and one U.S. spy—
traveled and lived in Russia from the end of the 18th century to the Russian Revolution and wrote books and letters with their impressions of this vast empire. Through the eyes of these women travelers, the people of Russia and the political, social and cultural life of the empire come alive.
Wilderness, Morality, and Value
By Joshua S. Duclos ’04
What if wilderness is bad for wildlife? This question motivates this philosophical investigation on the concept and value of wilderness. By integrating scholarship from bioethics on the norms of engineering human nature with debates in environmental ethics concerning the prospect of engineering non-human nature, Duclos sets the stage for wilderness ethics—or wilderness faith—in the Anthropocene.
Clown Shoes
By Robert Markowitz ’79
Will Ross has a successful career as a lawyer, but his heart lies in the arts. When his acquittal of a child abuser leads to the death of a child, Will decides to abandon law and become an entertainer for children. Leaning into his new passion, he dons clown shoes, picks up his old guitar and takes on a special guitar student. Only when that boy’s life is threatened does Will take up law again, fighting not only to protect the child, but to clear his guilt and free himself to love.
The Darlings
By Hannah McKinnon ’94
On a secluded stretch of Cape Cod, a wedding is being planned at a beloved beach house—only for a long-kept secret to emerge that hurtles both the wedding and the family off course. One old secret, kept with the best of intentions, threatens to not only divide the family, but also shatter each member’s sense of who they really are. Can the ties that bind survive, when the history you’ve always been told turns out to be untrue?
LIBRA … Or Hanging in the Balance
By Jill Newman ’65
A woman who works in the beauty field stumbles on an astounding secret: Anyone who wrongs her gets a terrible punishment in return. As a diehard Libra who believes in truth, justice and everyone getting theirs, she can’t thank her lucky stars enough—that is, until she finds out that the person who has crossed her is someone she loves more than anyone else in the world, and that person is about to pay. How will she right this terrible wrong?
The Choreography of Everyday Life
By Annie-B Parson ’80
In this sparkling, innovative, fully illustrated work, world-renowned choreographer Annie-B Parson translates the components of dance—time, proximity, space, motion and tone—into text. As we follow Parson through her days—at home, reading and on her walks down the street—and in and out of conversations on everything from Homer’s Odyssey to feminist art to social protest, she helps us see how everyday movement creates the wider world.
¡Vino! The History and Identity of Spanish Wine
By Karl J. Trybus ’02
Infestations of oidium fungus and phylloxera aphids devastated French and Italian vineyards in the 19th century, but they didn’t extend to the Iberian Peninsula at first, giving Spanish vintners the opportunity to increase their international sales. Once French and Italian wineries rebounded, however, Spanish wine producers had to up their game.