Allen Ballard, novelist and UAlbany Professor of History and Africana Studies, author of the "Washington Post" Notable Book, "Where I'm Bound" (2000), will read from his new novel, "Carried by Six," a tale of urban violence in a black neighborhood, on Tuesday, February 2, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. [NOTE EARLY START TIME] in the Assembly Hall, Campus Center, on the University at Albany's uptown campus. The event, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by the New York State Writers Institute, UAlbany's Departments of Africana Studies and History, the EOP Program, and the Affirmative Action Office.
Ballard earned national attention with the publication of "Where I'm Bound" (2000), a "Washington Post" Notable Book, and one of the first novels to address the Civil War from the perspective of Black soldiers.
His new novel is "Carried by Six" (2009), an urban thriller about drugs and violence in a black Philadelphia neighborhood. Obie Bullock, an anti-violence activist, incurs the wrath of a drug dealer who succeeds in managing his business affairs from the safety of a prison cell. Obie's actions bring mortal danger not only to his wife and two teenaged children, but also to the civic-minded, church-going folks who make up his anti-violence group.
Author Darlene Clark-Hine said, "Ballard writes with passion and conviction of the power of ordinary men and women to do extraordinary things when family, friends, and community decide enough is enough. It is a book that entertains, ennobles, and inspires." John Herritage, retired Staff Inspector of the New York State Police, said, "'Carried By Six' is a very well-told story that celebrates the courage of those valiant folks in the inner city who, contrary to the 'no snitchin' code, are determined to fight for neighborhoods where their children can grow up safe and secure from gunfire and random violence.
Inspired by the true story of a black cavalry unit in Mississippi, Ballard's previous novel, "Where I'm Bound" (2000), tells the adventures of an escaped slave, Joe Duckett, who becomes a hero of the Northern forces. Major Civil War historian James McPherson said, "The important story of black soldiers in the Union army has finally found a writer of historical fiction equal to the occasion." Historian Joseph Persico said, "Allen Ballard has helped fill a void in America's military history. Through his novelistic gift, we see the underappreciated role of the black soldier in the Union victory spring to life."
The former Dean of Faculty at City College in New York City, and a Ph.D. graduate of Harvard University's School of Government, Ballard teaches history and African-American studies at UAlbany. He has published two nonfiction books, "The Education of Black Folk" (1973) and "One More Day's Journey" (1984).
The event is cosponsored by UAlbany's Departments of Africana Studies and History, the EOP Program, and the Affirmative Action Office, and the NYS Writers Institute.
For additional information, contact the Writers Institute at 518-442-5620 or online at http://www.albany.edu/writers-inst.
Francine Prose, Novelist, National Book Award Finalist, to Discuss Her Latest Book, "Anne Frank: The Book, The Life, The Afterlife," February 4, 2010
Francine Prose, novelist and nonfiction writer, author of the new work, "Anne Frank: The Book, The Life, The Afterlife" (2009), will speak on Thursday, February 4, 2010 at 8:00 p.m. in the Assembly Hall, Campus Center, on the University at Albany's uptown campus. Earlier that same day at 4:15 p.m. the author will present an informal seminar in the same location. The events are sponsored by the New York State Writers Institute and UAlbany's Center for Jewish Studies and are free and open to the public.
"Anne Frank: The Book, The Life, The Afterlife" (2009), is a work of literary history and criticism that celebrates the under-appreciated artistry of the well-known diarist. Prose shows how the teenaged author crafted her famous diary with the intention of creating an enduring work of art. Prose also explores the complicated life of the book after Frank's death at the hands of the Nazis, from its initial rejection by several publishers to its canonization as the central text of Holocaust literature for young readers, and its subsequent transformation into plays, movies, and musical and dance performances.
Writing in the "New York Times Book Review," Joshua Hammer called Prose's book, "A deeply felt reappraisal of the work and its global impact....," and said, "[Prose] makes a persuasive argument for Anne Frank's literary genius." Janet Maslin, writing in the "New York Times," called it, "An impressively far-reaching critical work, an elegant study both edifying and entertaining...full of keen observations and fascinating disputes."
Prose also presents close readings of three original manuscripts of the diary in order to illuminate the editing process that produced the final version.
Prose is the author of fifteen novels, including "Goldengrove" (2008), "A Changed Man" (2005), winner of the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, and "Blue Angel" (2000), a finalist for the National Book Award, "Primitive People" (1992), "Bigfoot Dreams" (1986), and "Hungry Hearts" (1983).
She has also written numerous works of literary criticism, including the nonfiction "New York Times" bestseller "Reading Like a Writer" (2006), and "The Lives of the Muses: Nine Women and the Artists They Inspired" (2002). Her recent books for children and young adults include "Bullyville" (2007), about the hazing culture of an elite private school, and the Yiddish-flavored modern folktale, "Leopold the Liar of Liepzig" (2005).
In 2007, Prose was elected President of the PEN American Center, the U.S. branch of the world's oldest international literary and human rights organization.
Prose's appearance is cosponsored by UAlbany's Center for Jewish Studies.
For additional information, contact the Writers Institute at 518-442-5620 or online at http://www.albany.edu/writers-inst.
Fred LeBrun, Journalist, and Latter-Day Hudson River Explorer to Speak February 11, 2010
Fred LeBrun, "Times Union" journalist, will speak about his exploration of the Hudson River on Thursday, February 11, 2010 at 8:00 p.m. in the Assembly Hall, Campus Center, on the University at Albany's uptown campus. The event, which is free and open to the public, is cosponsored by the New York State Writers Institute and the Women's Press Club of New York State. [Note: This event was originally scheduled to take place in Fall 2009, but had to be rescheduled.]
One of the defining voices of the Albany "Times Union" for more than forty years, LeBrun has served the newspaper as suburban beat reporter, city editor, arts editor, restaurant critic, and foremost columnist on state politics. LeBrun is also famous in the Capital Region for his "Hudson River Chronicles," recounting an 18-day adventure downriver from Mount Marcy to New York Harbor in September 1998- an event still commemorated by a richly documented website: www.timesunion.com/SPECIALREPORTS/hudsonriver/main.asp. On the trip, LeBrun was joined by "Times Union" features editor Michael Virtanen and photographer Paul Buckowski.
The website features a day-by-day account of the journey. Highlights include a visit on Day 1 to the purported source of the river at Lake Tear of the Clouds ("a bog filling in so rapidly that in a century or two it will be just another mass of spongy vegetation and no lake at all"); the ghost town of Adirondac on Day 2; being tossed from his canoe by rapids (and badly wrenching his knee) near Newcomb, NY on Day 4; the peril of dams on the upper river beginning with the Niagara Mohawk hydro dam at Queensbury on Day 10; the Thompson Island Pool, the river's worst PCB hotspot, on Day 11; passing through Champlain Canal locks in his canoe on Day 12; sailing on a replica 19th century sloop through the Catskills on Days 14-16; and the crew's arrival at "the waterly equivalent of 42nd Street" on Day 18.
The website also features an introduction by Paul Grondahl, a photo gallery, and profiles of various river personalities by Michael Virtanen, including river boat captains, sports enthusiasts, environmentalists, community activists, and lifelong residents. LeBrun participated in a partial reprise of the trip this past September, paddling a 150-mile stretch of "true river" from Mount Marcy to the replica of Henry Hudson's ship, the Half Moon, docked at the City of Albany's Erastus Corning Preserve, where he received a one-cannon salute. The second trip was also chronicled in a series of articles in the "Times Union."
In the new series of articles, LeBrun makes special note of the changes that have occurred in the 11 years since his first excursion. These include the rapid collapse of the paper products industry and the establishment of vast new nature preserves; the partial restoration of the "ghost town" of Adirondac; burgeoning eagle populations; the explosion of tourism devoted to whitewater rafting; the creation of several new town parks next to hydro facilities; improved portages at dams for canoeists; the rising popularity of kayaking; and the dredging of PCB contaminated sediment by General Electric under the supervision of the EPA.
The event, which is free and open to the public, is cosponsored by the Women's Press Club of New York State.
For additional information, contact the Writers Institute at 518-442-5620 or online at http://www.albany.edu/writers-inst.
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