Event Reviews

Sharkey’s original conception for the prize didn’t start as a memorial to DiBiase. “When I conceived the idea of having a contest, first of all, the main driving force was that I wanted to give something back to the local writing community,” Sharkey said. The ground rules for the prize were different from other poetry contests. There are no specified line limits or page limits.

He presented his memoir, Ghosts of War: The True Stories of a 19-Year-Old GI, and his newest book, 10 Klicks South of Whiskey, a historical fiction centered on the endeavor of a pickpocket turned GI fighting ISIS, and the horror of his superior’s fatal mistake. 

This event kicked off a weekend of film screenings, lectures, and student shorts, all under the banner of the 200th anniversary of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein published, no less, on Halloween.

I wasn’t quite sure what this meant or what the workshop would be like, but I did not expect to find a hidden literary community full of light, talent, and passion in the South End of Albany.

Engelhardt has been a part of the Capital Region’s poetry scene for years and has gone to many well-known establishments to read, as well as listen-in.

As a side note, Narcisse described the easy to see difference between Marvel and DC. Marvel often had a larger, interwoven universe that allowed for many of their characters to cross paths regularly. While DC had standalone heroes, who sometimes united for some specific adventure.

Matthew Klane, faculty advisor for The Rev, Sage College’s literary magazine, introduced Wendy Chin-Tanner, citing her many achievements as: a founding editor at Kin Poetry Journal, poetry editor at The Nervous Breakdown, and co-founder of A Wave Blue World, an independent publishing company for graphic novels. After a round of applause, she stood and crossed the maroon carpet, taking the spotlight. 

In light of the inconstant rain, there was a good turnout at “An Evening with Local Writers” held by Hudson Valley Community College. The event’s date was shared with National Coming Out Day, and Richard Hartshorn…

The topic of the weekly book review was A World Without Time: The Forgotten Legacy of Gödel and Einsteinby Palle Yourgrau, given by Jonathan Skinner, a retired statistician. I was not the only person in the audience thankful for his knowledge of twentieth century science, as he went on to explain the parameters of the book.

The Book House of Stuyvesant Plaza was relaxed in the Sunday afternoon haze of October 7, 2018 until William Kennedy, accompanied by Paul Grondahl and Suzanne Lance came on the scene.

“Our open mics have had a good crowd; a lot of people come once and come back. Sometimes, it’s a person’s first poetry show and they’re nervous until they get on stage,” said Thom Francis, the President of Albany Poets.

The emcee went to the next question; villains, and whether humanizing villains is important. Finder started off with the idea that making a villain human is more interesting; almost identifying with the villain makes the villain more than just a villain. Lippman noted that during the publishing of one of her works, “My Life as a Villainess,” she was going through a divorce.