Sephardic Studies chair Devin Naar speaks at Holocaust commemoration event

, UW professor of history and Jewish studies and chair of the Jackson School鈥檚 Sephardic Studies Program, delivered a keynote address for Sephardic Heritage International DC’s third annual , held virtually on Jan. 28.

The event, sponsored by U.S. , a Democrat from Maryland, had the theme of “Refugees of the Holocaust.” The featured speaker was , CEO of the pharmaceutical corporation Pfizer, who told of his Sephardic Jewish family’s Holocaust survival; his parents were among the few Jews to survive the Nazi onslaught on Thessaloniki, Greece.

Naar spoke of Claire Barkey Flash, author of the 2016 memoir “A Hug From Afar: One Family’s Dramatic Journey Through Three Continents to Escape the Holocaust.” The Barkey family emigrated from the Mediterranean island of Rhodes to Tangier, and finally to the United States. Naar, who is the Isaac Alhadeff Professor in Sephardic Studies, wrote a foreword for the book.

is a nonprofit that celebrates Sephardic culture and raises awareness of the histories of underrepresented Jewish communities. Watch a of the event.

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Melia Watras releases new album, ‘Firefly Songs’

Violist, composer and music professor put out a new album in January. “,” with14 of Watras’ compositions played with the ensemble Frequency and other guests, was released by Seattle-based Planet M Records.

Album notes say the compositions “are a reflection on stories, artistic influences and people that are interconnected points of light from her own personal folklore.” Watras composed the music, for various instruments and voices, from 2015 to 2018.

Members of Frequency are Watras, viola and voice; Michael Jinsoo Lim, violin and voice; and S忙unn Thorsteinsdottir, cello. Also on the album are the voices of Catherine Connors and Vina Vu Vald茅s, as well as excerpts of recorded viola lessons given by Atar Arad. Watras is the Adelaide D. Currie Cole Endowed Professor, viola.

Watch a video of the album.

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Ted Poor’s ‘You Already Know’ noted among best local albums of 2020

An album by , assistant professor in the UW School of Music, was named on The Seattle Times list of the . Poor’s “” was released in March.

The Times asked 15 music critics to submit their top 10 for 2020 and then combined the results. “You Already Know” tied for No. 19 on the list. Though COVID prevented an in-person album release, the Times wrote, “this beautifully austere duo set with Seattle-reared sax man Andrew D’Angelo 鈥� hardly went unnoticed.”

A teacher discusses respectful world travel, a historian explores Silicon Valley鈥檚 evolution, a professor and violist plays the music of Robert Schumann and a late English faculty member’s meditation on Seattle returns 鈥�

Here鈥檚 a quick look at some gift-worthy books and music created by UW faculty in the last year 鈥� and a reminder of some recent favorites.

O’Mara’s ‘Code’: History professor Margaret O’Mara provides a sweeping history of California’s computer industry titans in her book 鈥�,鈥� published by Penguin Press. Publishers Weekly wrote: “O’Mara’s extraordinarily comprehensive history is a must-read for anyone interested in how a one-horse town birthed a revolution that has shifted the course of modern civilization.” The New York Times called it an “accessible yet sophisticated chronicle.” 聽 for a 2020 Pacific Northwest Book Award.

Seattle stories: 天美影视传媒 Press is republishing UW English professor 鈥榮 well-loved 1976 reflections on his city, its history and its possible futures, 鈥�.鈥� Pacific Northwest Quarterly called the book 鈥渁n exhilarating critique of Seattle鈥檚 birth, growth, sickness, health, promise and fulfillment. Any serious student of Seattle or of recent urban history will now read Roger Sale, and with good reason.鈥� Sale, who taught at the UW for decades, died in 2017. The new edition has an introduction by Seattle writer Knute Berger.

Mindful travel: How can travelers respectfully explore cultures with lower incomes, different cultural patterns and far fewer luxuries? Anu Taranath, lecturer in English and the Comparative History of Ideas program, explores such questions in “,” published by Between the Lines. Taranath has led student trip to India, Mexico and other locations. “Mindful travel in an unequal world,” she says, is about “paying attention, and noticing positionality in relation to each other. It鈥檚 about understanding that we are all living in a much longer history that has put us in different positions of advantage and disadvantage, and equipped us with very few tools to talk about it.鈥�

Salish Sea fishes: , curator emeritus of fishes at the Burke Museum and a professor emeritus of aquatic and fishery sciences, teamed with James Orr of the Alaska Fisheries Center for “,” the first-ever documenting of all the known species of fishes that live in the Salish Sea. Published by UW Press, this three-volume set represents the culmination of 40 years of work and features striking illustrations by and details about 260 species of fish, complete with the ecology and life history of each species.

Watras plays Schumann: , professor of viola, offers new music and a masterwork by composer in “Schumann Resonances,” a CD released on Seattle’s Planet M Records. Schumann’s is the centerpiece and artistic jumping-off point for the CD, which is inspired by fairy tales and folklore, and features UW faculty colleagues and . The music and culture blog An Earful wrote: “Besides having a burnished tone and monster technique, violist Watras has a gift for contextualizing the music of the past 鈥� with ‘Schumann Resonances,’ Watras continues to prove herself a curator, performer and composer of unique abilities.”

Solo cello, Icelandic composers: Assistant professor of music and cellist has a new release on the Sono Luminus label titled “,” which features music for solo cello by several Icelandic composers and a return to an earlier composition, “Solitaire.” In liner notes, writes: “This project is a compilation of pieces by composers that not only share my mother-tongue and culture, in language and music, but also bring their unique perspective and expression in their compositions 鈥� I couldn’t have asked for more generous artists to come into my life and allow me to explore my voice through their music.”

Fanfiction examined: Fan fiction has exploded in popularity in recent years. In their book, 鈥�,鈥� and examine fanfiction writers and repositories and the novel ways young people support and learn from each other through participation in online fanfiction communities. Davis is an associate professor in the UW ; Aragon is a professor in the . Published by MIT Press.

Here are a few other notable 2019 titles from UW Press.

Seawomen, Icelandic waters: “ by Margaret Willson, affiliate professor of anthropology and a faculty member in the Canadian Studies Center has been released in a paperback edition. The book, first published in 2016, was a finalist for a Washington State Book Award.

Asian American voices: A new, third edition of “,” published in 1974 and co-edited by , UW professor of English. The New York Times Book Review : 鈥淭he stories are 鈥� strewn with new insights buried in the flesh of the narrative; they illuminate areas of darkness in the hidden experiences of a people who had been little more than exotic figments of someone else鈥檚 imagination.鈥�

Haag remembered: A paperback edition of 鈥�,鈥� which explores the career of the founder of the UW Department of Landscape Architecture, best known in Seattle for his . Written by UW architecture professor , who said Haag鈥檚 legacy is found in the places he designed, which 鈥渋nspire students to think beyond what they know 鈥� they ignite civic engagement and public service, for Rich鈥檚 most important work was in the public realm.”

Staff discounts: UW Press is offering a 40% discount on all titles during the holidays. Staff and faculty get a 10% discount year-round when ordering through their website using the code WUWE.

• Joanne De Pue, School of Music communications director, assisted with this story.

UW Notebook is a section of the UW News site dedicated to telling stories of the good work done by faculty and staff at the 天美影视传媒. Read all posts here.

A novelist’s thoughts on storytelling, a geologist’s soil restoration strategy, an environmentalist’s memoir, a celebration of Latino music influences, a poet’s meditations on her changing city 鈥�

Yes, and a best-selling author’s latest work, a podcast reborn as a book, a collaboration of world-class violists and even tales of brave Icelandic seawomen 鈥� at this festive time of year, 天美影视传媒 faculty creations can make great gifts for the Dawg on your shopping list.

Here鈥檚 a quick look at some gift-worthy books and music created by UW talents in the last year or so 鈥� and a reminder of some perennial favorites.

Charles Johnson, “.” Johnson, National Book Award-winning author of “” and longtime professor of English, discusses his art in a book stemming from a year of interviews. “There is winning sanity here,” the New York Times wrote: “Johnson wants his students to be ‘raconteurs always ready to tell an engaging tale,’ not self-preoccupied neurotics.” Published by .

Marisol Berr铆os-Miranda, Shannon Dudley and Michelle Habell-Pall谩n, ““ An extraordinary exhibit at the Smithsonian and Seattle’s Experience Music Project (now Museum of Pop Culture) comes to life as a book, detailing Latino influence on American popular music from salsa to punk, Chicano rock to the Miami sound. Berrios-Miranda is an affiliate associate professor of ethnomusicology, Dudley an associate professor of music and Habell-Pall谩n an associate professor in the Department of Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies. It’s a dual-language volume 鈥� English on the right side, Spanish on the left. And as a bonus the authors have created an American Sabor on iTunes and Spotify; the book flags specific songs with a playlist icon. Published by 天美影视传媒 Press.

David R. Montgomery, “.” Montgomery, a professor of Earth and space sciences, won praise for his popular 2007 book “.” Several books later he returned in 2017 with this view of environmental restoration based on three ideas 鈥� “ditch the plow, cover up, grow diversity.” said Montgomery’s well-expressed views “will convince readers that soil health should not remain an under-the-radar issue and that we all benefit from embracing a new philosophy of farming.” Published by .

Margaret Willson, Willson is an affiliate associate professor of anthropology and the Canadian Studies Arctic Program. In her years working as a deckhand she came across historic accounts of a woman sea captain known for reading the weather, hauling in large catches and never losing a crew member in 60 years of fishing. “And yet people in Iceland told me there had been few seawomen in their past, and few in their present,” she said. “I found this strange in a country of such purported gender equality. This curiosity led to the research and all that came from it.” Published by .

Estella Leopold, “.” Leopold is professor emeritus of biology and the youngest daughter of , who wrote the 1949 classic of early environmentalism, “.” She returns to scenes of her Wisconsin childhood in this follow-up, describing her life on the land where her father practiced his revolutionary conservation philosophy. Published by .

David Shields, “.” Shields is a professor of English and the best-selling author of many books, starting with his 1984 novel “.” In 2017 he brought out this collection of essays that the New York Times called “a triumphantly humane book” and him “our elusive, humorous ironist, something like a 21^st century Socrates.” The paper’s praise continued: “He is a master stylist 鈥� and has been for a long time, on the evidence of these pieces from throughout his career. . . All good writers make us feel less alone. But Shields makes us feel better.” Published by .

Joseph Janes, “.” The year 2017 saw Janes’ popular podcast “” become a book under a slightly different title. Janes is an associate professor in the Information School who writes here about the origin and often evolving meaning of historical documents, both famous and less known. Some of his favorite “documents” are Sen. Joseph McCarthy’s fictional list of communists, the Fannie Farmer Cookbook and the backstory to what’s called the Rosie the Riveter poster. Published by .

Frances McCue, Well-known Seattle poet, teacher and self-described “arts instigator,” McCue is a senior lecturer in English. She was a co-founder of Hugo House, a place for writers, and served as its director for 10 years. Those experiences fuel this book of poems about the changing nature of the city. “This is Seattle. A place to love whatever’s left,” she writes. Published by .

Scott L. Montgomery, “.” Scientific research that doesn鈥檛 get communicated effectively to the public may as well not have happened at all, says geoscientist Montgomery in this second volume of a popular 2001 book. A prolific writer, Montgomery is a lecturer in the Jackson School of International Studies. “Communicating is the doing of science,” he adds. “Publication and public speaking are how scientific work gains a presence, a shared reality in the world.鈥澛� Published by .

Odai Johnson, “.” The true cultural tipping point in the run-up to the American Revolution, writes Johnson, a professor in the School of Drama, might not have been the Boston Tea Party or even the First Continental Congress. Rather, he suggests, it was Congress’ 1774 decision to close the British American theaters 鈥� a small act but “a hard shot across the bow of British culture.” Published by .

Here are some recordings from 2017 involving faculty in the UW School of Music:

Melia Watras, “.” Music professor Watras offers a collaboration from of world-class violists performing and sharing their own compositions with each other. Her own playing has been described in the press as “staggeringly virtuosic.” Richard Karpen, School of Music director, is among several guests. The title comes from the number of strings on the instruments used: two violas, one violin, and the 14-string viola d’amore. .

Cuong Vu 4-Tet, “.” A live collaboration between Vu, UW Jazz Studies chair, and renowned jazz guitarist Bill Frisell, who is an affiliate professor with the School of Music. Recorded in 2016 at Meany Theater, Vu and Frisell were joined by artists in residence Ted Poor on drums and Luke Bergman on bass. Released on .

Craig Sheppard, “.” Sheppard, longtime professor of music and a world-class pianist, plays sonatas and mazurkas by Frederic Chopin recorded live at Meany Theater in February 2017. The Seattle Times said of an earlier Chopin concert of Sheppard’s that his playing featured “exquisite details 鈥� it was playing that revealed layer after layer of music in each piece, as if one were faceting a gemstone. Released on .

Here are some other notable recent UW-authored books:

• Research on poverty and the American suburbs in “,” by Scott Allard, professor in the Evan School of Public Policy & Governance.
• Literature meets science to contemplate the geologic epoch of humans in “,” co-edited by Jesse Oak Taylor, associate professor of English.
• A popular science exploration of machine learning and the algorithms that help run our lives in “,” by Pedro Domingos, professor of computer science and engineering.
• A close look at four of America’s electoral adventures in “” by Margaret O’Mara, professor of history.
• A fully revised second edition of Earth and space sciences professor Darrel Cowan’s popular 1984 book, “.” This 378-page paperback is filled with details about Washington state geology.
• The story of a city’s transition from the Ottoman Empire to Greece in “” by Devin Naar, professor of history and Jewish studies.
• A city that “thinks like a planet” is one both resilient to and ready for the future that the changing Earth will bring, says Marina Alberti, professor in the College of Built Environments in “.
• Todd London, professor and director of the School of Drama, follows the professional theater experiences of 15 actors from the 1995 class of Harvard’s American Repertory Theater in “.”
• Dr. Stephen Helgerson, a UW School of Public Health alumnus and physician in preventive medicine for four decades, uses the novella form to tell of the influenza epidemic’s arrival in his state in “.”
• On the 500^th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, an exploration of faith that results in the common good in 鈥�,鈥� co-authored by Steve Pfaff, professor of sociology.
• Calm down from holiday 鈥� and tech-induced stresses 鈥� by thinking mindfully with “” by communication professor David Levy.

Finally, still-popular and pertinent books from a few years back include the second edition of “” by Jeffrey Ochsner, professor of architecture; “” by Randlett with Frances McCue; “” by Cliff Mass, professor of atmospheric sciences; and the ever-popular “” by Bill Holm, professor emeritus of art history. All of these were published by , which has many other great titles.

Dance Faculty Concert
January 20-24 | Meany Studio Theater
This popular annual concert showcases originally choreography 鈥� from ballet to contemporary dance, musical theater to tango 鈥� by UW鈥檚 nationally and internationally recognized faculty. Pieces will be performed by advanced dance students, faculty and guest artists.

Seattle Theatres Lost and Founded
7:30 p.m., January 25 | Meany Studio Theater
A free public reading of plays from The Bathhouse Theatre, one of the significant theaters in Seattle鈥檚 theatrical history. This event is the third in a five-part series, and part of the School of Drama鈥檚 75^th anniversary season.

Faculty Recital: Melia Watras
7:30 p.m., January 26 | Meany Theater
School of Music faculty member Melia Watras performs a solo recital of music influenced by mythology and folklore. New works by Watras and fellow UW School of Music faculty Richard Karpen and Cuong Vu will be performed alongside Robert Schumann鈥檚 鈥淢盲rchenbilder.鈥�

The 25^th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
January 27 鈥� February 7 | Jones Playhouse
UW鈥檚 Musical Theater program presents a warmhearted musical comedy chronicling the experiences of six adolescent outsiders vying for the spelling championship of a lifetime.

Steffani Jemison: Sol
Through February 27 | Jacob Lawrence Gallery
2016 Jake Legacy Artist-in-Residence Steffani Jemison presents 鈥淪ol,鈥� an exhibition featuring paintings on acetate, a vinyl text work and a slide projection, built on site together with UW student interns and Jake Gallery volunteers.