New York State
Writers Institute Fall 2014 Visiting Writers Events Schedule
We are pleased to announce an exciting schedule of visiting
writer appearances for Fall 2014.
All events are free and open to the public, and hosted at
UAlbany, unless otherwise noted.
Sept. 18:
Pulitzer-winning novelist and reigning NYS Author (2012-14) Alison Lurie talks about her new
nonfiction book, The Language of Houses (2014), about the expressive power of
everyday architecture, including homes, restaurants, schools, hospitals,
prisons and more.
Sept. 23: Edith Grossman, one of the most
celebrated translators in any language, known for her bestselling translations
of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Mario Vargas Llosa and Don Quixote, presents her new
collection of the works of Sister Juana, the embattled 17th century nun and “Mother
of Mexican Literature.”
Sept. 27: US Senator Kirsten Gillibrand presents her new
book on women’s empowerment, Off the Sidelines (2014). Admission charged (except
students with valid ID). Contact The Book House for tickets, which include book
purchase: 489-4761.
Oct. 1: John Lahr, Senior Drama Critic for the
New Yorker (1992-2012), Tony Award winning playwright, and son of Wizard of Oz
“Cowardly Lion” Bert Lahr, presents his acclaimed new biography of troubled
playwright Tennessee Williams.
Oct. 9: Pulitzer-winning
journalist David Finkel, author of
the bestseller The Good Soldiers (2009), about being embedded with US troops in
Iraq, presents his sequel to that book, Thank You For Your Service (2013),
about those same soldiers adjusting to post-war life at home.
Oct. 15: American Shakespeare Center’s Much Ado
About Nothing. Admission charged. Contact the PAC box office for
tickets: (518) 442-3997
Oct. 16: Two
first-time novelists and rising stars of Black historical fiction, Tiphanie Yanique (Land of Love and
Drowning) and Jacinda Townsend
(Saint Monkey) will share the stage.
Oct. 21: Major
American poets in conversation— Edward
Hirsch, MacArthur Fellow, President of the Guggenheim Foundation, and
author of the surprise bestseller How to Read a Poem and Fall in Love with
Poetry, presenting his magisterial reference volume, A Poet’s Glossary (2014); Kimiko Hahn, American Book Award
winner, presenting her new volume Brain Fever (2014); and Marie Howe, the reigning New York State Poet (2012-14).
Oct. 24, Nov. 1, 6 & 13:
Events connected with the life and work of Lemon Andersen, Tony award winning member of the Russell Simmons
Def Poetry Jam, child of heroin addicts, and three-time felon, who found
purpose and redemption in the art of poetry. We screen Lemon: The Movie on Oct.
24 and Nov. 1st. Lemon visits UAlbany on Nov. 6th. And a dramatization of
Lemon’s life story is presented on Nov. 13th.
Oct. 28: Actress and
playwright Najla Said, daughter of
Palestinian-American intellectual Edward Said, presents her memoir, Looking for
Palestine: Growing Up Confused in an
Arab-American Family (2013).
Nov. 7: Major
American composer of film music David
Shire, winner of 2 Grammy Awards for Saturday Night Fever, and the Oscar
for Norma Rae, discusses his score for Francis Ford Coppola’s The Conversation,
following a 40th Anniversary screening of that film.
Nov. 9: William Gibson, one of the most
influential living writers of science fiction, author of Neuromancer (1984),
which helped define the pop culture of the Computer Age, will present his new
far-future novel, The Periperhal (2014), about cybersecurity, drone warfare,
video gaming and lots of other things, at RPI’s EMPAC Concert Hall.
Nov. 11: Two young novelists share the stage—Angela Pneuman, former UAlbany grad
student and an exciting new voice in Southern American literature, presenting
her first novel, Lay It on My Heart, and Julie
Orringer, author of the bestselling Holocaust novel, The Invisible Bridge.
Nov. 18: Neuroscience writer and developmental psychologist Susan Pinker, author of the
international bestseller, The Sexual Paradox,
presents her new book, The Village Effect: How Face to Face Contact Can
Make Us Healthier, Happier and Smarter (2014).
Nov. 20: Eminent
historian of the American presidency and frequent PBS NewsHour commentator Richard Norton Smith presents his
definitive biography of Nelson Rockefeller, On His Own Terms (2014).
Dec. 2: Joseph O’Neill, author of the
bestselling novel Netherland, presents his new 2014 novel The Dog (long-listed
for the Man Booker Prize).
Dec. 5: Author Betty Medsger and filmmaker Johanna Hamilton present their
award-winning 2014 documentary 1971: The Film, based on Medsger’s book, The
Burglary (2014), about eight ordinary citizens who broke into FBI offices and
revealed the existence of COINTELPRO, an illegal program of spying on law-abiding
Americans (the burglars’ identities have been kept secret until now). Medsger
also broke the original story in the Washington Post in 1971.
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2017
Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration Keynote Speaker
