NYS Writers Institute Fall Schedule

One of the great advantages of living in Albany (or in the larger Capital District region of New York State) is access to the Writers Institute programming at the University at Albany. Now, I am an alum of the (formerly known as) SUNY Albany (BA English, 1969), but this is not some mis-guided loyalty to “my school,” but an appreciation to the years (since 1984) of free programming the WI has made available to anyone who could get here (& I’m only about 17 minutes away). Nothing like this existed when I was a student here (when there were no poetry readings & no bagels). Credit is due to author William Kennedy who used funds from his MacArthur grant to get this rolling, & to the staff & administrators over the years since that keep it going.

The program flyer for this semester lists readings, craft talks, films, conversations, even a book festival, up through November 30, with more to come in the Spring semester. The Director is Paul Grondahl whose roots both in Albany, & the larger community, are very deep; it shows in his commitment to support the larger (i.e., non-academic) literary community of the Region.

Randall Horton, September 14

On September 14 poet & formerly incarcerated person Randall Horton participated in a craft talk with poet & professor Sarah Giragosian, & later a reading & Q&A. PEN America described Horton as “the only person in the United States with seven felony convictions and academic tenure.” When he was a Ph.D candidate in English at UAlbany he read in July 2009 at Poets in the Park (his interviewer Sarah Giragosian has also read at many local venues, including The Third Thursday Poetry Night at the Social Justice Center, & Poets in the Park).

Randall’s books include the 2020 {#289-128} Poems, Hook: A Memoir (Augury Books, 2015), The Lingua Franca of Ninth Street (Main Street Rag, 2009), & The Definition of Place (Main Street Rag, (2006). In response to Sarah’s question about how he found his way to writing, Randall explained that initially when he was in jail he got into a writing program to help reduce his time. One of his teachers asked him to “promise me you won’t stop writing.” Then he discovered the poetry of E. Ethelbert Miller & began a correspondence with him, but when he discovered the work of poet Patricia Smith it “changed everything.”

In his role as Editor-in-Chief for Willow Books, founded in 200, he works to bring the work of emerging writers to our attention. As he said at one point, writing makes him feel good about himself. Check out his website & his books. While you’re at it, check the work of Sarah Giragosian as well. 

New York State Author & Poet Award Ceremony, September 24

I’ve attended most of these award ceremonies since 1986, presenting the best of what New York State has to offer. This year the NYS Author is Ayad Akhtar, the NYS Poet Willie Perdomo. 

There was also an additional award this year, the Bruce Piasecki & Andrea Masters Award on Business and Society Writing, celebrating “young writers embarking on their careers who aim to ignite positive social change fueled by their writing." The award went to Daniel Sherrell. His book Warmth: Coming of Age at the End of Our World (Penguin Random House, 2021), was described as “… a memoir, a love letter, and an eclectic work of criticism…” In the brief excerpt he read he quoted Dan Berrigan quoting Dorothy Day — what’s not to love about it?

The Edith Wharton Citation of Merit for Fiction Writers (aka, the NYS Author) was presented to Ayad Akhtar “whose work explores the immigrant experience, Muslim American identity and the world of high finance” & who read from his novel Homeland Elegies (Little, Brown and Company, 2020). The write up in the program said that “Barack Obama named it one of his favorite books of 2020.”

The Walt Whitman Citation of Merit for Poets (aka, the NYS Poet) was presented to Willie Perdomo “who examines and celebrates the Nuyorican and Afro-Latino experience, primarily in his home neighborhood of Spanish Harlem.” He read from his book of poems The Crazy Bunch (Penguin Books, 2019). He talked about being a poet so that he could read at construction sites, barber shops, community centers, that “sometimes a poet will stand up when you can’t.”

If you are not on the Writers Institute email/real mail lists, visit their website & sign up.