January/February 2009

On Screen

Not a Straight Line

A landscape architect helps revive the ancient spiritual tradition of the labyrinth. WILLIAM GRACE FROST '74

Working Until the End

An alumna devotes herself to preserving her husband's photographic legacy. RUTH BAINS HARTMANN '43

Last Hoorah

With the weather about to go from winter to spring in 1940, these women combined the best of both seasons...

Beyond the Profane

Web Exclusive: Marilynne Robinson '66 answers questions about learning to write from John Hawkes, and her second novel, Home, which was a finalist for the 2007 National Book Award.

Game Day

The Estes Way

Last fall, when Phil Estes led the football team to its second Ivy championship in four seasons, he became arguably Brown’s best football coach ever.

Healing His People

A farewell to Joseph N. Gayles Jr. ’63 PhD

Obituaries

Obituaries from the January/February 2009 issue.

Editing the Editor

A Belated Thanks

Culture War Redux

Inappropriate?

The Blame Game

Road Not Taken

Stranger At Home

Funny Papers

Were comic books originally a Jewish art form?

Be Mine

We asked for them, and you sent them: your stories of how you fell in love at Brown.

A Pembroke Romance

When veterans returned to campus to resume their education after World War II, Pembroke women welcomed them back as their patriotic duty. For at least one couple, the welcome has lasted six decades.

The Lucky Man

Rob DeBlois ’82 AM knows how easy he’s had it. As principal of an innovative middle school for kids at high risk of dropping out, he’s devoted his life to children facing handicaps most Americans can only imagine.

How We Are in the World

Is there such a thing as a Brown aesthetic? Is it possible to find a common thread in the work of most of the writers and artists the University has produced?

Her Big Life

Laura Linney lets her hair down.

One Alum, One Vote

A look at Bears who won in November.

Readings

Authors Rick Moody '83 and Robert Coover read as part of a Literary Arts Program writing event.

Look and Learn

A wildlife magazine by and for young people.

Since Last Time

Promised Land

Has Barack Obama brought patriotism back to campus?

Law and Order

What would you do if the police weren’t able to stop crime in your neighborhood? ELIEZER GREER ’04

Man Treats Dog

When being just a vet isn’t enough. MARK STAMOULIS '84

Fresh Ink

Gut-Level Pleasure

Poet Kevin Young’96 MFA offers a sensory map of his family’s past and present.

Roadhouse Warrior

Chef Duskie Estes ’90 is a whirling dervish in the kitchen.

Don’t Just Stand There

Artist Scott Snibbe ’91,’95 ScM uses digital technology to make viewers a part of his art.

Tough Talk for Tough Times

Matt Miller ’83 debunks the “dead ideas” crippling the U.S. economy.

The Prodigal Returns. Again.

Novelist Marilynne Robinson ’66 revisits the question of guilt and grace in fictional Gilead, Iowa.

In The Open

Are we cleaner than other nations? Or just better at hiding our garbage?