Sand Lake Center for the Arts Authors Series, January 12

“It was a dark & stormy night…” is perhaps not the best way to start a story, but this description of the night it was indeed accurate, but inside the Sand Lake Center for the Arts (SLCA) it was warm & cozy. This was the inaugural Authors Series of readings, writers talk, & book signings here at the SCCA in Averill Park, NY. Tonight’s kick-off of the series featured author Paul Grondahl who was interviewed by Chet Opalka. Paul is the Director of the New York State Writers Institute, was a long-time reporter for the Albany Times Union, & still contributes regular columns to the TU, & biographer of Mayor Erastus Corning, of Theodore Roosevelt, among other books. Chet Oplaka is a local businessman, community leader & philanthropist, founder of the Opalka Gallery at the Russell Sage College Campus in Albany, & known for wearing a button that says “Collaborate, Collaborate.”

Paul began by talking about his arrival at the University at Albany in 1981 as an English major, immediately meeting William Kennedy (who was here tonight in the front row, as he is at most the the Writers Institute events). Paul said that he never took a journalism course, but felt that his job as a reporter at the TU gave him a privilege & a sacred trust to be invited into the homes of community people for them to share their stories of their tragedies, their struggles.

The ensuing conversation included his work on the Corning biography, & how he learned so much about the history of Albany by reading through the newspaper’s files of clippings on the Mayor & on the Democratic Party boss Dan O’Connell. Among the mentors & elders that Paul mentioned were, of course, Writers Institute founder William Kennedy, legendary newspaper editor Harry Rosenfeld, & journalists Andy Rooney & Walter Conkrite. 

Back on October 21, at the Opalka Gallery in Albany, there was a celebration of 20 years of the Gallery honoring Chet & his wife Karen & for their ongoing support of the collaborative arts community. The program included pop-up performances by Albany Pro Musica, the REP, the Black Theatre Troupe, Albany Symphony Orchestra, the Ellen Sinopoli Dance Company, & the NYS Writers Institute, who had commissioned me to write & perform a poem on the theme of “Collaboration” for the event.

The SLCA Authors Series, which has a schedule of literary events in many genres, continues through November 9. For a full list of the events, including theater & musical productions visit their website at https://slca-ctp.org