The poems were affected by a turbulent year filled with protests, prosecutions, and personal strife that gave the atmosphere a somber mood, as well as glimmers of hope, with interludes from the hosts R.M. Engelhardt and James H. Duncan.
Jeff Doherty from NY Writer’s Compendium went to the last Troy Poetry Mission open mic of 2018 with featured poet Nancy Dunlop.
Raisman had trained her entire life for the Olympics. Raisman was the team captain of the U.S. Women’s Olympic Gymnastics team in 2012 and 2016, and a six-time medalist. She was also one of the 156 women who testified against Olympic Doctor Larry Nassar in the largest case of sexual abuse in sports history.
Jeff Doherty sits down with James H Duncan – poet, writer, editor, and co-host of the Troy Poetry Mission open mic series.
Karlie Flood interviews a central figure in Albany’s poetry scene, Mary Panza, the VP of Albany Poets and an editor of “Up the River”.
I love to write. I’ve always been a writer, since I’ve been old enough to hold a pen. I do creative writing, fiction, and dabble in spy fiction, travel writing, romance, historical fiction. Mostly I write short stories, and I’ve published a couple collections of short stories. I’ve self-published A Serious Evening in Vienna, The Love Letter with a Bullet Hole,and The Traveler’s Sketchbook. The last one dips into another creative outlet that I have which is drawing.
I want to start by thanking the NYS Writers Institute for making this event possible. What an incredible semester they’ve put together so far. Thanks to Paul Grondahl and his incredible team. They give a gift to— anyone who finds inspiration in the essential acts of reading and writing. So, thank you to the Institute for bringing Nana back to campus. It’s just an incredible pleasure to have him back here. As most of you know, Nana is a UAlbany alum. He was an English major here; he wrote his honors thesis here.
Martin Nakell is both a scholar and a creative writer. He currently teaches at Chapman University in CA and has received his Doctorate of Arts from the University at Albany in 1980. He also, attended Columbia where he served as Assistant Editor on Unmuzzled Ox.
Schwarzschild is the Director of Creative Writing and an Associate Professor in the English Department at the University at Albany. He’s also a Fellow at the New York State Writers Institute. He specializes in Fiction Writing and Contemporary Literature. He received his Ph.D. in American Literature from Washington University in St. Louis and his MA in Creative Writing from Boston University. He was also a Wallace Stegner Fellow in Stanford University’s Creative Writing Program.
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.
Laurin DeChae is a poet that has been published in Rigorous, Rust + Moth, Really System, and Lines + Stars. She is a Graduate Teaching Assistant in the English Department at the University at Albany in New York.
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.
The Hudson Valley Writers Guild supports the efforts of writers in all genres by sponsoring readings, workshops, and contests and providing a number of valuable resources for the entire literary community.
