Articles

A selection of my clips is available below, including news, short features, personal essay, reviews, and narrative journalism. Most articles are linked to the publication's website or available in HTML format; a few are only downloadable in PDF (Adobe) or JPEG format at present. Unlinked articles are currently available only by email.

I provide solidly researched and fact-checked articles with relevant quotes from a variety of sources. I have a strong science background and can understand and translate technical papers for the average reader. I specialize in science, medicine, travel, and profile writing.

Reprint permission is available for many of the articles below. Please contact me if you are interested in reprints for your publication.

Science and the Environment
• Book Review: Winged Wonders: A Celebration of Birds in Human History, by Peter Watkins and Jonathan Stockland, in Bookslut, October 2007 (online)
• Book Review: I've Heard the Vultures Singing: Field Notes on Poetry, Illness, and Nature, by Lucia Perillo, in Bookslut, August 2007 (online)
• Book Review: The Sun Kings: The Unexpected Tragedy of Richard Carrington and the Story of How Modern Astronomy Began, by Stuart Clark, in Bookslut, August 2007 (online)
• How the West Was Studied: State of the Rockies 2007, Colorado College Alumni Bulletin, July 2007 (print and online, p. 8 of PDF file)
• Turner Named Champion of the Rockies, Colorado College Alumni Bulletin, July 2007 (print and online, p. 8 of PDF file)
• All in the Family, in Hands On, July 2007 (print and online) [first paragraph is editorial introduction]
• Escape the City: Nature Awaits, in Colorado Springs News & Views, June 2007 (print)
• Behind the Dioramas at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, in Gifted Travel, April 2007 (online)
• Dominica: The Caribbean "Nature Island," in Geotimes, December 2006 (online)
• At the Ecotone, in Friends of the Florissant Fossil Beds Newsletter, Fall 2006 (print)
• Mammals, Minerals, and Microorganisms: What's new in research at Florissant Fossil Beds NM (PDF file, NPS Public Domain), in Impressions (summer park guide and newspaper), Summer 2006, Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, National Park Service (print)

Health and Medicine
• Not Just for Jocks: Students Turn to Alternative Exercise for Fun and Fitness, in Student Health 101, November 2007 (online)
• Book Review: Vaccine: The Controversial Story of Medicine's Greatest Lifesaver, by Arthur Allen, in Bookslut, April 2007 (online)
• Back Pain? Bungee Cords to the Rescue!, Student Health 101, February 2007 (online)
• Beat the Winter Blues, Student Health 101, February 2007 (online)
• Interns Experience the Cutting Edge of Medicine, in Colorado College Alumni Bulletin, July 2006 (print and online)
• Singh Supports "Disruptive Innovations": An Adaptive Continuum of Cancer Care, in Colorado College Alumni Bulletin, July 2006 (print and online)

Travel and Outdoors
• (upcoming) Backpacking in South Iceland, in Transitions Abroad, March/April 2008 (print)
• Book Review: The Palace of the Snow Queen: Winter Travels in Lapland, by Barbara Sjoholm, in Bookslut, October 2007 (online)
• Book Review: I've Heard the Vultures Singing: Field Notes on Poetry, Illness, and Nature, by Lucia Perillo, in Bookslut, August 2007 (online)
• All in the Family, in Hands On, July 2007 (print and online) [first paragraph is editorial introduction]
• Escape the City: Nature Awaits, in Colorado Springs News & Views, June 2007 (print)
• Book Review: The Scavenger's Guide to Haute Cuisine, by Steven Rinella, in Bookslut, May 2007 (online)
• Playing Soccer in Püke (p. 14 of PDF file), in Colorado College Alumni Bulletin, April 2007 (print and online)
• Behind the Dioramas at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, in Gifted Travel, April 2007 (online)
• Spending Spring Break Helping Others, February 2007, Student Health 101 (subscribers only)
  Short article about community service-oriented alternative springs breaks, including the results of a January 2007 survey by College Health Services, LLC, about what students do for spring break. Clip available upon request.
• Dominica: The Caribbean "Nature Island," in Geotimes, December 2006 (online)

Education and Student Concerns
• Not Just for Jocks: Students Turn to Alternative Exercise for Fun and Fitness, in Student Health 101, November 2007 (online)
• Gender Neutral Housing on the Rise, in Student Health 101, October 2007 (online) [temporarily offline]
• All in the Family, in Hands On, July 2007 (print and online) [first paragraph is editorial introduction]
• Back Pain? Bungee Cords to the Rescue!, Student Health 101, February 2007 (online)
• Beat the Winter Blues, Student Health 101, February 2007 (online)
• Spending Spring Break Helping Others, February 2007, Student Health 101 (online)
• Interns Experience the Cutting Edge of Medicine, in Colorado College Alumni Bulletin, July 2006 (print and online)

Reviews
• Book: Winged Wonders: A Celebration of Birds in Human History, by Peter Watkins and Jonathan Stockland, in Bookslut, October 2007 (online)
• Book: The Palace of the Snow Queen: Winter Travels in Lapland, by Barbara Sjoholm, in Bookslut, October 2007 (online)
• Book: Becoming Shakespeare: The Unlikely Afterlife that Turned a Provincial Playwright into the Bard, by Jack Lynch, in Bookslut, August 2007 (online)
• Book: I've Heard the Vultures Singing: Field Notes on Poetry, Illness, and Nature, by Lucia Perillo, in Bookslut, August 2007 (online)
• Book: The Sun Kings: The Unexpected Tragedy of Richard Carrington and the Story of How Modern Astronomy Began, by Stuart Clark, in Bookslut, August 2007 (online)
• Book: Museum: Behind the Scenes at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, by Danny Danziger, in Bookslut, June 2007 (online)
• Book: The Scavenger's Guide to Haute Cuisine, by Steven Rinella, in Bookslut, May 2007 (online)
• Book: Vaccine: The Controversial Story of Medicine's Greatest Lifesaver, by Arthur Allen, in Bookslut, April 2007 (online)
• Software: Scrivener (Mac OS X), in Notes in the Margin, March 2007 (online)

Profiles and Interviews
• All in the Family, in Hands On, July 2007 (print and online) [first paragraph is editorial introduction]
• Jesus Was a Punk: Talking life and faith with Pastor E.J. Branch of The Refuse, in The Cipher, April 2006 (print)
• Marty Finds Ordinary Grace, in Colorado College Alumni Bulletin, March 2006 (print and online)

Miscellaneous
• Laying a Cornerstone for the Arts (p. 6 of PDF file), in Colorado College Alumni Bulletin, April 2007 (print and online)
• Not Your Average Biker Gang: C-Springs cyclists insist on their right to the road, in The Cipher, March 2006 (print)

Other Projects

I also write web content, exhibit labels, and other interpretive and educational materials. Below you can see a sample of some of my work; additional samples available upon request.

Web Content
• The Friends of the Florissant Fossil Beds, Inc. (March 2007-present)
  Content (primarily science, nature, and travel), photography, web design, and maintenance of nonprofit website. Run off WordPress open-source blogging software.
• Alaska Summer Jobs, JobMonkey (April 2007)
  Research, interviews, and content about how to find and choose a non-fisheries summer job in Alaska. Covers hospitality and tourism industry, outdoor guiding, and seasonal scientist and ranger jobs.
• College Financial Aid, JobMonkey (November 2007-present)
  Short articles about college and graduate school financial aid.

Interpretive and Educational Writing
• (upcoming) Luis W. Alvarez
  (upcoming) Barbara Walters, Great Lives from History: The 20th Century (Salem Press)
  Biographies of nuclear physicist Luis W. Alvarez and journalist Barbara Walters. Will appear in upcoming educational reference book.
• (upcoming) Organic food movement
  AmeriCorps
  Sustainable design, The Nineties (Salem Press)
  Encyclopedia entries for upcoming educational reference book.
• Focusing on the Florissant Fossil Beds: A Workshop View of the Park (September 2006-June 2007)
  Photography exhibit selection and text for Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, U.S. National Park Service.
• T.D.A. Cockerell Centennial site bulletin and field trip guide (June 2006)
  Informative site bulletin about historical scientist and short field trip guide for the June 9-10 centennial of the Cockerell expeditions to Florissant, 1906-1908. Also for Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, U.S. National Park Service.

All content © Melissa A. Barton unless otherwise noted. This site will look best in a CSS2-compatible browser such as Firefox, but content should be accessible in any browser (technical information).