“Publication” Class Notes

Ian Jenkins (Col ’97, Med ’01) has published his first book, Three Dads and a Baby: Adventures in Modern Parenting, a memoir about becoming the first polyamorous family recognized as the legal parents of a child anywhere in the world. Learn about the legal, personal and health struggles the family overcame on their journey to being proud parents of two amazing children. The story has been covered in the Huffington Post, CNN, DailyMail, numerous blogs and podcasts, and international media from Latin America to Spain, Austria, and Australia.  

John B. Gordon III (Col ’95, Educ ’00 CM) published his first book, The Teacher’s Lounge: The Real Role of Educators in Your Schools. The semi-autobiographical book describes the impact of educational decisions from our past, and how local and national pop culture and political events changed the culture in education. This is not your typical book about education that overwhelms the reader with research, while not thinking about the practical application in schools. Instead, readers will be provided with insight into how education has changed based on everyday experiences, the increased levels of accountability, and the influence of social media and technology in schools and student lives. The Teacher’s Lounge further looks at the role each stakeholder plays in education, and how those roles work together and unfortunately, sometimes are in opposition of each other. From the growing diversity in schools in the 1970’s, to the effect of Reagonomics in the 1980’s, the educational system became the platform for politics. The influx of reality television and music in the 1990’s, and the effect of technology and social media in the 2000’s, gave all audiences a broad view of what it is like to be a student in school today. The Teacher’s Lounge is guaranteed to make you laugh, reflect, and begin the debate on what is needed for the future of education.

Gerry Kruger (Educ ’83 CM) released her third book, On Kruger Pond: Charlie’s Legacy, about an unforgettable goose who formed a special bond with Kruger while overcoming setbacks and challenges. This book offers readers updates about three generations of his descendants. Her second book, Two of Us: A Father-Daughter Memoir, traces the ways in which her father’s compassion for others and dedication to service shaped her own life and beliefs.

Ashley Bristow Bartley (Col ’06) published her first two children’s books in a social emotional learning picture book series with Boys Town Press: Diamond Rattle Loves to Tattle  and Opal Octopus Is Overwhelmed. Bartley was featured in The Winner’s Circle by The Institute for Writers. Her other publications include articles featured in The Joyful Life Magazine, Kindred Mom, Bright Futures Counseling, and Boys Town Press. 

Hayden Saunier (Col ’79 CM) published her fifth collection of poetry, A Cartography of Home. Her other poetry books include How to Wear This Body, Say Luck, Tips for Domestic Travel, and a chapbook, “Field Trip to the Underworld.” Her work has been awarded the Pablo Neruda Prize, Rattle Poetry Prize, Gell Poetry Award, published in numerous journals, (including Beloit Poetry Journal, Tar River Poetry, and VQR), featured on Poetry Daily and read by Garrison Keillor on The Writer’s Almanac. 

Yolanda Burrell Taylor (Col ’76) has published her seventh book of poetry; she writes as Y.B. Taylor. As an African American woman, her poetry provides insights, truths, history etc. of growing up and experiencing life in segregated and integrated America—the highs, the lows, the disparity the bias. She provides footnotes/endnotes to assist those who are unfamiliar with African American experiences, African American history and commonly used idioms in African American communities. Every poem is preceded by an epigraph, which provides insight into the focus of the poem. Taylor’s books of poetry are available through Amazon, her website, and the gift shop at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. 

Victor Deupi (Arch ’86 CM) has published two new books. Cuban Modernism: Mid-Century Architecture 1940-1970, written with Jean-Francois Lejeune focuses on the modernist generation of Cuban architects active from 1940–70 and extols the national and international importance of their architecture and urban works. The second book, Stables: High Design for Horse and Home, produced with the publisher Oscar Riera Ojeda, and distributed by Rizzoli, showcases beautifully designed stables by contemporary architects and designers around the world.

Jack Sutor Jr. (Col ’69) has published a novel and a collection of short stories. Lovers in a Small Cafe is the second part of a novel about the hardships of living decently in a broken world surrounded by troubled people. Like Part I, The Ice Meadows, Lovers is published under the pen name Edmund Burwell. The short story collection, Thanksgiving, is published under his own name. All are available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. He can be reached at mattsdad284@gmail.com.

Robert A. Hilliard (Col ’74 CM) has published two novels, What Are The Odds? The Calculus of Coincidence and All In?…Beware the Cross Currents, as part of the Cutter/Wellington trilogy. The story centers around two rival families steeped in the rich tradition of thoroughbred racing—the Cutters of Leesburg, Virginia, and the Wellingtons of Lexington, Kentucky. Fellow UVA alums will gravitate toward TJ Cutter III, a 1974 graduate of Mr. Jefferson’s academical village. The third book in the series, Life’s Elusive Horizon, is slated for release in the first quarter of 2022. Mr. Hilliard’s first book was a memoir about bringing professional baseball back to NJ in the 1990s.

Anand Yang (Grad ’76) published a new book, Empire of Convicts. The book focuses on male and female Indians incarcerated in Southeast Asia for criminal and political offenses committed in colonial South Asia. A major contribution to histories of crime and punishment, prisons, law, labor, transportation, migration, colonialism, and the Indian Ocean World, the book narrates the experiences of Indian convicts, and shows how they exercised agency in difficult situations, fashioning their own worlds and even becoming “their own warders.” Yang brings long journeys across the ocean to life in a deeply researched and engrossing account that moves fluidly between local and global contexts.

Olga Akopiants (Educ ’22) will publish her first novel, Air Unplugged, a sci-fi book about survival against all of the odds, in April 2021. Her book is available for pre-orders until January 23.

Jim Irving (Col ’76 CM) published his first novel, Friends Like These, the first in a series of three books. The sequel, Friend of a Friend, set to be published next year. Friends Like These is available in print and eBook on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. 

Jeanne LaSala Taylor (Col ’97 CM) published her first children’s book, Just Bunny and the Great Fire Rescue, in February 2020. Based on a true story, this book is a thank you to firefighters everywhere and a portion of the proceeds go to the NYFF Burn Center Foundation. 

Robert Bové (Col ’74 CM) has published his third full-length book of poems, Pandemic Poetry Reader, available on Amazon as Kindle and paperback. He and his wife live in Brooklyn Heights, New York.

L. Flick Hatcher (Col ’77 CM) has published his first novella, The Last Word, an uplifting book about betrayal, forgiveness, healing, hope, resilience, and the power of the human spirit. The Last Word is available in print and ebook versions on Amazon and BookBaby.com  His second book, Telling Tales, will be released in spring 2021. Hatcher is a licensed psychotherapist in private practice in San Francisco, where he lives with his husband, Lou Marano.

John Howard (Col ’83 CM), professor emeritus of arts and humanities at King’s College London, has published his second documentary photobook with University of Valencia Press, Spain. Felling & Pining depicts life, death, faith and doubt in the poorest and most pious parts of the United States—the Deep South piney woods of Alabama and Mississippi.

Tom Evans (Col ’53, Law ’56 CM), former U.S. Congressman from Delaware, is the subject of a new book by Lois Hoffman, Barriers: The life and legacy of Tom Evans. With our nation divided between left and right, Barriers reflects on a time when politics worked in Washington. Evans represented Delaware in the 1970s and 80s and worked his way into the center of political power. He built coalitions of Democrats and Republicans, including President Reagan, to pass major environmental legislation despite opposition from big-money lobbyists. The Coastal Barrier Resources Act, touted by the New York Times as “the most important environmental legislation no one has ever heard of,” and the Alaska Lands Act are among his most significant achievements. He’s hopeful his neighbor, President-Elect Joe Biden, will also champion sound environmental policies. The book is available on Amazon.com. 

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Although he ran with the biggest names in Republican circles while in Congress, his influence extended before and far after his time there. Evans gave hundreds of speeches at political and non-political venues to share wisdom and inspire his audiences. At 89, he continues to give interviews and pen op-eds to chastise politicians who are on the wrong path or tap the consciousness of the American people.

Barriers is a window into his life’s work. It speaks to a common-sense approach to legislation and consensus building in interactions with others that got lost in the last decades since he served.

Tom’s legacy is a message for those serving in political office and a call to citizens — use your voices before we cease to have them. 

“Tom Evans worked tirelessly in Congress and afterwards as a lobbyist and advocate to protect wetlands essential to our coastline and wild lands in Alaska. Evans reminds us all of the proud conservationist tradition of the Republican Party who built our national park system and preserved large tracts of national forests and wilderness. Evans worked across the aisle to achieve great things in preserving America’s wild spaces and biodiversity, and his story is both important historically and an inspiration for our future.”

~ U.S. Senator, Chris Coons