Angela Sams '11

Fall 2011

Cross-cultural pen pals

One morning this spring a group of WSU students from Jeff Petersen’s Communication Studies 321 class fills half of a small lecture hall at Spokane’s Riverpoint campus. They have traveled here from Pullman to meet their pen pals, 5th through 8th graders from the Nespelem Elementary School on the Colville Reservation in north-central Washington. Though they have been communicating with the grade-schoolers by letters throughout the semester, they are meeting for the first time to visit, “play” with science, and talk about going to college.

The Center for Civic Engagement at WSU started the pen pal project last fall. As a part of its mission, … » More …

Fall 2011

A Chinaman’s Chance

9781877655715_cov.indd

Alex Kuo
Wordcraft of Oregon, 2011

WSU English professor Alex Kuo’s newest collection of poetry, A Chinaman’s Chance: New and Selected Poems 1960-2010, will sadden, fascinate, and unexpectedly jar its readers into a fresh perspective of the sometimes terrifying world that we live in. This collection of Kuo’s poems provides a nice poetic balance, as readers are able to experience lyrical, narrative, and prose poetry all in the same book. Kuo’s writing conveys ideas about … » More …

Summer 2011

After a fashion

Fall fashion week in Pullman featured a stovepipe silhouette and shorter hemline. Black and rhinestones were in, as were gold shoes and feathered cloches.

These weren’t new designs. They were elegant Jazz Age outfits hand-picked by students in a “Costume and Museum Management” class and on display last November in the Terrell Library atrium.

Sophomore Amanda Harris is one of five students who culled through the University’s historic costume collection to decide on a theme and create the 20s in Vogue display. She is one of dozens each year who have the opportunity to dig through an extensive collection of clothing and accessories housed … » More …

Summer 2011

Murder at Foxbluff Lake

freels

Jesse E. Freels ’99

Gray Dog Press, 2010

Cougar fans of all ages will enjoy reading Jesse E. Freels’s first book, Murder at Foxbluff Lake, a Coug Hawkins mystery. The novel tells the story of Coug, the teenage son of a WSU football legend, who goes on a camping trip with two of his buddies only to find a body and wind up entangled in an illegal drug deal.

The book is set in north- central Washington in … » More …

Spring 2011

Black Leapt In

blackleapt-cover

Chris Forhan ’82
Barrow Street Books, 2009

In Chris Forhan’s latest collection of poems, Black Leapt In, the writer draws upon his childhood in Seattle, using striking natural images and startling honesty and insight. He balances straightforward description of the environment he grew up in with an older, wiser voice that recollects, sometimes sarcastically, that time in his life. Forhan dedicated Black Leapt In to his father, who died in 1973, and many of the … » More …

Spring 2011

Friends of the Old Mill

oldmill-cover

Cody Beebe and the Crooks
Friends of the Old Mill, 2010

This new roots-rock album has compelling lyrics, musical variety, and an overall upbeat feel. Cody Beebe and the Crooks (most of whom are WSU alumni) offer up twelve tracks with titles such as “Nine to Chain,” “Change of Pace,” and “Hurricane,” a pleasing assortment of rock/jazz/funk songs that contrast nicely in their use of instruments and varying tempos. Guitar is prevalent throughout, but … » More …

Winter 2010

Mommy, Are We French yet?

french-yet

Shawn Underwood ’79
Five-Star Misadventures, 2010

Don’t have enough money to travel to Europe? Sit down with this humorous memoir by Shawn Underwood and it’s easy to take an imaginary journey to France with Shawn and her family. Shawn and her husband Craig made the decision to live abroad in France for a year with their three children. Shawn’s sister, Shannon, her husband Rick, and their three children also joined the Underwoods in their … » More …