Forbidden Love, Civil War, Horrible Death and Other Things Irish…. Frank Delaney Comes to Albany

Frank Delaney, veteran Irish radio and television broadcaster, is the author of the “New York Times” bestseller, “Ireland: A Novel”(2005), a fictionalized retelling of the myths and historical traditions of his native land. “Publishers Weekly” said, “A sprawling, riveting read, a book of stories melding into a novel wrapped up in an Irish history text…. The stories utterly captivate ...in this rich and satisfying book.” The “Washington Post” reviewer said, “History, legend, memory and myth come seamlessly together in Frank Delaney’s wonderfully engaging new novel….”

Set in the 1920s, Delaney’s newest novel is “Shannon” (February 10, 2009), the story of a troubled American priest who returns to the Ireland of his ancestors to heal his wounded spirit, only to be caught up in a bloody civil war. “Kirkus Reviews” called it, “A rousing tale of forbidden love, civil war, horrible death and other things Irish…. a fine adventure in storytelling. A well-crafted, satisfying work of historical fiction, as are all of Delaney’s novels; respectful of the facts while not cowed by them, and full of life.”

Frank Delaney will speak at the New York State Museum, Wednesday, February 11, 2009 at 5:30 p.m. in the Carole Huxley Auditorium. Cosponsored by the Friends of the New York State Library.

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Notable Reviews for Evaristo's Novel of "Whyte Slavery"

Blonde Roots, Bernardine Evaristo's couter-historical novel about the slave trade in reverse is receiving superlatives in the American and British press.

Publisher's Weekly called it an "astonishing, uncomfortable and beautiful alternative history." The London Times called it, "astonishing... brilliant."

Former Cosmo editor Helen Gurley Brown addresses the novel's playful treatment of "body issues" in the London Telegraph: She's tall, slim, blonde and blue-eyed. So of course the heroine of Bernadine Evaristo's new novel has body issues. She could have her nose flattened, her skin darkened and get some kinky black hair woven on to her ugly blonde roots. But she's trying to respect her body the way it is: "Europane".

Writing in the Washington Post, Ron Charles said, "My only complaint about Bernardine Evaristo's alternate history of racial slavery is that it's 150 years late. Imagine the outrage this clever novel would have provoked alongside Harriet Beecher Stowe's incendiary story or Frederick Douglass's memoir! But now, amid the warm glow of 21st-century liberalism, with our brilliant black president, what could we possibly learn from a new satire of slavery?... Plenty."

Evaristo will visit the Writers Institute on Thursday, February 5, 2009.

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"Blonde Roots" Becomes a Canadian Bestseller

Blonde Roots, Bernardine Evaristo's new counter-historical novel about Black Africans enslaving White Europeans has just arrived on the MacLean's Top Ten Hardcover Fiction list.

Evaristo will visit the Writers Institute on Thursday, February 5.

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Sue Miller to Visit Monday, February 2, 2009

Sue Miller will speak about her new novel, The Senator’s Wife (2008), about the private troubles of a political marriage between a hero of progressive causes and his shy, retiring wife.

"...Miller plays her hand in a masterly fashion. Shock, deceit, desire and despair come together at once in a way that feels simply like fate.... I saw in Miller what her fans have always seen: a clever storyteller with a penchant for the unexpected and a talent for depicting the bizarre borderline acts, the unfortunate boundary crossings and the regrettable instances of excessive self-indulgence that can destroy a world in a blink." --Judith Warner, New York Times

View the press release.

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"Ugh! Who would want to be caught reading that kind of trash?"

Sue Miller discusses the stigma of "women's literature" in a delightful 2002 profile in the UK Independent:

"Jonathan Franzen's discomfort at being taken up by Oprah and women readers opened up some intelligent American journalism about the schisms between male/female; high art/low art – 'womens' books' as opposed to serious books written by men," she says. "There's this whole notion, dominant in the 19th century, that writing novels was a pretty low art form, created for the daughters of shopkeepers to read."

Miller, who has been teaching an undergraduate class in creative writing at Amherst College, breaks into a hilarious grimace. "Ugh! Who would want to be caught reading that kind of trash?

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A "Federal Writers Project" for the New Great Depression

State by State, edited by Matt Weiland and Sean Wilsey is a timely tribute to FDR's Federal Writers Project, a program that gave a variety of employment opportunities to writers during the last Great Depression. 50 writers present chapters on each of the 50 states.

Jayne Anne Phillips is the necessary author of the West Virginia chapter. Other authors who have been guests at the Institute include Susan Choi writing about Indiana, Rick Moody on Connecticut, Louise Erdrich on North Dakota, Ha Jin on Georgia, William Vollmann on California, Susan Orlean on Ohio, Dave Eggers on Illinois, and Tony Horwitz on Virginia.

Last but not least, the book features an Afterword on Washington, D.C. by Edward P. Jones.

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New Writers Institute Video Postings on You Tube

The NYS Writers Institute has posted a run of short video clips of recent visitors.

http://www.youtube.com/user/NYSWritersInstitute

The materials are unvarnished, without setup. The idea is that you, the viewer, can eavesdrop on a conversation, or stumble upon an author presenting work.

The mix is eclectic, by design. A few poets, an historian, a filmmaker, short story writers, musicians, novelists. Anne Enright, Garrison Keillor, Li-Young Lee, Mary Gordon, Andre Dubus III, Frank McCourt, Major Jackson, etc, etc. A fun clip of One Ring Zero covering a Paul Auster piece. Frank Bidart talking about his first book. Garrison Keillor remembering the encyclopedia. Daniel Cassidy on Irish slang. Marie Howe on the Star Market.

There are too many of clips of authors simply reading their work on the web. We think it's more interesting to talk with them.

There are 18 clips up now, but they will rotate, and there will be more to come. Just a sample of one of the richest audio-video archives of contemporary literature.

Stay tuned.

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