The Ithacan

A tale of 200 years

By Lucy Walker, Staff Writer • March 30, 2012

There are bricks instead of cobblestones, Asian cuisine rather than porridge and sustainable dormitories in the place of decaying tenements. Ithaca may be a few centuries and an ocean away from Charles Dickens’ London, but that won’t stop Ithaca College’s English Department from celebrating his life and work this spring.

Musician connects with roots

By Jillian Kaplan, Staff Writer • March 28, 2012

Vibrating with the hums of mandolin, fiddle and guitar, blues artist Andy Cohen awakens a nostalgic longing as he plays. Cohen invokes the spirit of folk and Dixieland jazz by appropriating melodies of artists like Muddy Waters, Etta Baker and Reverend Gary Davis. Fascinated by older instruments, he sees a sensibility in this genre that…

Author recycles reality

By Nicole Arocho, Staff Writer • March 27, 2012

Rae Armantrout thinks of her poetry as a recycling process — she reuses the material the world provides to try to understand the big questions she’s had since she was young.

Country musician incorporates folk tunes into latest album

By Marissa Framarini, Staff Writer • March 21, 2012

Using the musical styles he developed while growing up in Texas, Robert Ellis has gained international recognition for his old-time country sound.

Author explores unexplored

By Marissa Smith, Chief Proofreader • March 7, 2012

The new book “Da Vinci’s Ghost” is the first work to look exclusively at the origins of Leonardo da Vinci’s famous drawing, “Vitruvian Man.” The book’s author, Toby Lester, examines the evolution of the drawing and the ideas that the figure represents, such as that man is a microcosm of the world and that the…

Hip-hop schooling

By Bernadette Javier, Staff Writer • February 28, 2012

Ithaca College is not generally considered a vibrant hip-hop music scene. But last night, as part of the college’s recognition of Black History Month, the campus welcomed Wes Jackson, founder of the Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival who has spent 15 years as a hip-hop entrepreneur, to discuss the history of the genre through his own personal…

Band rides eclectic performance

By Evan Johnson, Staff Writer • January 31, 2012

Blind Pilot began as a five person folk-rock outfit in Oregon, but since starting their career, their critically acclaimed folk sound has led them on tours throughout the Northwest on bicycles and to the top of iTunes charts. The band has performed on CBS’ “The Late Show with David Letterman.” On Feb. 11, their converted…

Lead vocalist finds inspiration

By Marissa Framarini, Staff Writer • January 26, 2012

In an age where many concert tours are cancelled due to poor ticket sales, indie-dance band Rubblebucket has used the live performance setting to its advantage. Since the release of its debut album in 2008, the band has been touring frequently and earned the Boston Music Award for “Best Live Act” in 2009. Tonight, they…

Professor publishes poetry book

By Jillian Kaplan, Staff Writer • December 14, 2011

Memories, metaphors and ghost-brides swirl within the ink of “Almost Everything Takes Forever,” a compilation of poetry written by Kirsten Wasson, assistant professor of English. Wasson, who teaches multicultural American Literature at Ithaca College, is a widely published poet. She also writes nonfiction that has appeared in Ascent Magazine and The Ithaca Times. Resembling the…

Class launches online magazine

By Stacey Lawrence, Staff Writer • December 9, 2011

The work of Ithaca College faculty members does not stop when they step outside the classroom, and a new online student magazine hopes to document professors’ most exciting endeavors. Tandem, an online magazine formed by students in a new writing course, highlights some faculty projects.

Author serves gin with 101 twists

By Evan Johnson, Staff Writer • November 29, 2011

Michael Turback, an established author with years of experience in the restaurant business, recently published “All the Gin Joints: New Spins on Gin from America’s Best Bars,” a book about one of the nation’s most timeless liqueurs and how bars and restaurants around the country are moving beyond the typical gin and tonic.

Author examines teen issues

By Megan Goldschmidt, Staff Writer • November 18, 2011

New York times best-selling author Ellen Hopkins recently published “Perfect,” a fictional novel about issues facing modern teenagers such as drugs, eating disorders and body image.