So in the spirit of summertime and all its laid back, Californian inspired qualities, I managed to use the grill a couple of times and not blow anything up. To my surprise, the culmination of dodging salmonella and e. coli resulted in dinner. Thanks to Kate’s (Marketing Manger, FUP) husband’s catch of fresh tuna and Fred’s (Director, FUP) home-grown zucchini, I was able to prepare a quintessential summer meal, but more importantly, a meal that represents summer in New York. The tuna was caught in the Canyons off of Montauk, N.Y. and the zucchini was grown in Copake, N.Y. (Disclaimer: I couldn’t help myself. I set the timer for four minutes a side EXACTLY on the fish.)

So, while I lament the loss of summertime (you may join in with me, as so many students returning to school already have), I also look forward to autumn when I can return to the simple ease of baking. 2 cups of flour, ½ cup of sugar, ¼ tsp of nutmeg. There are rules about making pies. 50 minutes in the oven, non-negotiable. Look for a golden brown crust. It’s comforting.

As September draws near, I’m glad I live in New York where I can feel the change of seasons. The subtle chill in the 7 a.m. air. The light sharpening across the Long Island Sound.

In a few weeks it will be time to pick apples. McIntosh are my favorite, but Golden Delicious are best for baking. My favorite place is Fishkill Farms. I wind up the Taconic and take a left a Miller Hill Road close to where my cousins grew up. Anticipation builds for apple pie or fresh apple crisp. Inevitably I get carried away and apples overflow, bouncing along the trunk of my car.

I think it’s fitting that we recently announced our Empire State Editions imprint. Autumn is when I feel most like a New Yorker. Perhaps it’s my own interpretation of the phrase “Big Apple” or the way my heels strike the pavement of Manhattan on chilly evenings as I meet up with friends for drinks or plan an afternoon at The Met. I know I am interested in All Around the Town by Paul Bunyan, (forthcoming this November) because I take New York for granted. I’ve only seen the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and the Empire State Building from afar.

For more New York inspired activities, I recommend Going Coastal New York City by Barbara LaRocco and Slices of the Big Apple by James Freund.

Katie Sweeney

The Fabian Almazan Trio (pianist and composer Fabian Almazan, bassist Linda Oh, and drummer Justin Brown) will will also be performing later in the evening (8:30pm).

Janet Kaplan is the author of The Groundnote, winner of the New York/New England competition from Alice James Books; The Glazier’s Country was the recipient of the 2002-2003 Poets Out Loud Prize from Fordham University Press; and Dreamlife of a Philanthropist, winner of the Ernest Sandeen Prize in Poetry and forthcoming in January from the University of Notre Dame Press. She is the recipient of numerous fellowships in poetry, including a poetry fellowship from the New York Foundation for the Arts. A fourth collection of poetry, Ephemeris Time, is in progress, as is a novel, tentatively titled “The Desire of the Line.”  She is Poet in Residence at Fordham University.

Read more

 Noted humanitarian and activist Dr. Kevin Cahill’s latest, Even in Chaos: Education in Times of Emergency, is a collection of essays written by world leaders and aid workers focusing on the vast importance of education and schools following destruction, natural disasters, war, and other catastrophes. (Now available in both paperback and hardcover)

 The Dark Side of Literacy: Literature and Learning Not to Read  is literary scholar Benjamin Bennett’s argument against the classical culture of reading. Since reading has long been thought to aid readers in understanding experiences they have not personally had, Bennett questions this association, calling attention to the fact that such an assumption can, in fact, be politically and morally dangerous. It’s an interesting, and not oft explored, side of the literacy issue.

   Around the Book: Systems and Literacy is publishing in November, 2010. In it, Henry Sussman examines the past, present, and future of the book as a medium of information in an age of rapidly changing media. Through complex analysis of the nature of the book, Sussman concludes that the book is still a vital part of our culture–read it to learn all of the ways in which books still impact the way we live today.

 The Pleasures of Memory: Learning to Read with Charles Dickens , publishing in February 2011, is Sarah Winter’s examination of just how Charles Dickens came to lodge himself into the global collective reading culture. She elucidates his methods, spotlighting his publishing process of serialization, his establishment of his authority as an author, and the ways in which his serialized fiction made use of memory and other senses, thus establishing his work as the very foundation of what think of as “reading” and “fiction” today.

The site also includes a blog , updated frequently by the author himself. The blog contains ruminations on everything from cookbooks to the publishing process of Fifth Avenue Famous.

Check the site for updates and information!

But this only scratches the surface of what Loyola and his followers believed in. Fordham offers several titles to help you delve deeper into understanding the Jesuits and their teachings:

Black Robes & Buckskin: A Selection from the Jesuit Relations , forthcoming in November, focuses on The Jesuit Relations, written by Jesuits in the New World about their beliefs, and the work of converting native peoples. Since the original runs an astounding 73 volumes, Catherine Randall has thoughtfully selected the most informative and relevant pieces for Black Robes & Buckskin. It’s a must-read for all interested in understanding the foundations of this important religious movement.

In January, we have Jesuit and Feminist Education: Intersections in Teaching and Learning in the Twenty-First Century, a book which examines the overlap of Ignatian educational thought and feminist educational theory by presenting a lively dialogue about the shared goals between the two philosophies.

Friends on the Way: Jesuits Encounter Contemporary Judaism, new in paperback in September, is a collection of essays illustrating the long-standing mission of the Jesuits to bridge the gap between Catholicism and Judaism.

Last, but certainly not least, is Thoughts of St. Ignatius Loyola for Every Day of the Year. This volume shares 365 of the iconic theologian’s maxims for integrating God into daily life. The book gives daily spiritual guidance and inspiration and is truly a gift.

“We’re  very  excited  by this new partnership,” noted Fredric W. Nachbaur,
the  Director  of  Fordham  University  Press. “Oxford’s reputation, market
reach,  and  demonstrated  ability  to  sell  into  all channels will allow
Fordham  to  increase  its  sales  and  market  share  of  our  outstanding
scholarship.   I  see  this  as  an  incredible  opportunity  for  enhanced
recognition and visibility, both for FUP and our authors.”

Fordham  University  Press, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2007,
publishes  primarily in the humanities and social sciences with an emphasis
on  the  fields  of  anthropology,  classics, communications, history, law,
philosophy,  political  science,  religion,  and  sociology,  ,  as well as
literature  and  the  fine arts. Additionally, the Press publishes books of
interest  to  the general public and books focusing on the metropolitan New
York  region. FUP recently announced a new imprint — Empire State Editions
– in an effort to expand and better brand the program..

“We  are  thrilled to have a university press of Fordham’s caliber become a
part  of  our  family of distributed presses,” says Colleen Scollans, VP of
Global  Marketing  at Oxford University Press. “Fordham’s commitment to the
dissemination  of  scholarship  is a perfect fit with Oxford’s own mission,
and  the  synergies  between our editorial programs are obvious. We’re also
pleased  to  represent  a  press  with  such  a  strong regional publishing
program.  Fordham’s  new  Empire State Editions imprint complements our own
list in this area very well.”

Books released prior to January 1, 2011, will ship from New York University
Press,  Fordham  University Press’s current distributor. Backlist sales and
returns  will continue through New York University Press until December 31,
2010.  All  Spring  2011  titles  will  ship from Oxford University Press’s
warehouse  in  Cary,  North  Carolina. Booksellers may contact their Oxford
University Press sales representative at:

Oxford University Press, Inc.
2001 Evans Road
Cary, NC 27513
800-445-9714
custserv.us@oup.com

“European,  African,  and Middle Eastern distribution will continue through
Eurospan  and Asian and Pacific distribution through East West Export Books
(EWEB) c/o University of Hawaii Press,” added Nachbaur.

For more information, contact:

Kate O’Brien-Nicholson
Marketing Manager | Fordham University Press
2546 Belmont Avenue | University Box L | Bronx, NY 10458
718-817-4782 | 718-817-4785 fax | bkaobrien@fordham.edu

And it’s true–Basile’s book chronicles feuds between music directors and Cardinals, post-Vatican II changes to liturgical music programs, and vast shifts in music style. The stories behind the music are just as dramatic as the famous organ housed inside the cathedral.

Says Maureen McKew in her review, “Whether your interest is music, New York history or you simply love an inside story, you will really enjoy this book…I enjoyed [it] so much that I read it from cover to cover in one night.”

Things That No Longer Delight Me by Leslie C. Chang

Leslie  C. Chang, author of Things That No Longer Delight (Fordham/POL prize winner) and Julie Sheehan, author of Thaw (Fordham/POL prize winner) and winner of  the Barnard Women Poets Prize for her second book, Orient Point ( W.W. Norton) will be reading along with poets  Mark Bibbins (Copper Canyon Press) and Terese Svoboda (University of Arkansas Press), in the Poets House Showcase Reading Series on Tuesday, July 13th, at 7 pm.

If the weather permits, the reading will be held outside in Teardrop Park South.

Admission free

Poets House Showcase Readings are held in conjunction with the 18th Annual Poets House Showcase, a display of all the poetry books published in the last year.

The Dance of No Hard feelings

Thaw

Weapons Grade

Orient point

The proposed Grand Concourse Historic District in the Bronx passed a hurdle, too, completing its mandatory public hearing on Tuesday, bringing it one step closer to actual designation. Other finalized landmarks include two Bronx structures: the seven-story Haffen building in Melrose, and the Noonan Plaza Apartments on 168th Street, considered one of the best Art Deco rental complexes in the Bronx.

Traveling the Concourse today offers a lesson in architecture, history, and sociology as you see the faces and places that call it home. It is truly New York, but more important, authentically the Bronx. You can’t experience the Bronx until you travel the Grand Boulevard and Concourse, and Fordham University Press’s book, Intersections: The Grand Concourse at 100 Years gives you this opportunity.

To read more about the Grand Concourse, see the June 22, 2010 article,“As Concourse Regains Luster, City Notices”, fromThe New York Times.

“You are there at Lincoln’s New York City Funeral”

by Richard Sloan

contributor to

The Lincoln Assassination: Crime and Punishment, Myth and Memory, A Lincoln Forum Book Edited by Harold Holzer, Craig L. Symonds, and Frank J. WIlliams.

Monday, June 14, 2010
6-8 p.m.
Fordham University
113 West 60th Street
Lowenstein Building, 12th Floor Lounge
NYC