Author interviews

(05/22/12) Long-time Canton resident Peter Van de Water is out with a new book, This is What I Thought at the Time. It's a collection of his essays originally published in the St. Lawrence Plaindealer: everything from farming to politics.

Todd Moe spoke with him about writing essays based on what he was reading, childhood memories on the farm and changes in society. Van de Water has spent most of his life in Canton, graduated from St. Lawrence University, retired in 1984 and says his essays were inspired by his father's newspaper columns in the Watertown Daily Times.

(04/24/12) Slouka is the SLU Viebranz Visiting Professor of Creative Writing whose work has been translated into 18 languages. His novels include God's Fool and the Visible World; and his non-fiction includes Essays from the Nick of Time: Reflections and Refutations and War of the Worlds: Cyberspace and the High-Tech Assault on Reality. Ellen Rocco and Paul Graham host.

The author will give a reading Thu., April 26 at 7:30 pm in the Sykes Common Room on the campus of St. Lawrence University, Canton NY.

(04/17/12) Our guest is Jane Urquhart, a Canadian novelist and poet, and the author of Sanctuary Line, a novel whose narrator studies monarch butterflies in a wildlife sanctuary on the north shore of Lake Erie. She is also author of the internationally-acclaimed novel, The Stone Carvers. Ellen Rocco and Betsy Kepes host.

(04/13/12) The centennial of the Titanic's sinking is marked with a new book by Canton author Chris Angus. The Last Titanic Story connects the sinking of the ship, 100 years ago this Sunday, with lost treasures, a World War II German U-boat and a diary.

Angus is best known for his nonfiction about the Adirondacks and the outdoors. But he says the disaster of the Titanic is rich in perspectives, history and human interest. He told Todd Moe the idea for the novel grew from his fascination with the Titanic: the ship, its passengers, the disaster and a "What-If."

(04/05/12) An artist with family roots in the Adirondacks has re-issued a book that pays tribute to her grandparents and the region. Leigh Chapman grew up on Long Island, but spent her childhood summers, and school vacations enjoying the outdoors near Nicholville. She recently returned to the North Country to teach art in Ogdensburg and Lisbon.

She told Todd Moe that riding horses, swimming and hikes through the woods were all part of her childhood that she re-created through stories and illustrations in her book.

She'll read from and sign copies of Over the River and Through the Woods on Saturday, April 14 at the Brewer Bookstore in Canton at 2 pm.

(04/04/12) Our guest, Kristen Kimball, is author of the memoir The Dirty Life: On Farming, Food and Love, and co-owner of Essex Farm, a full-diet, year-round, draft-horse-powered CSA (Community-Supported Agriculture) provider in the Champlain Valley. Ellen Rocco and Mary Hussman host.

Kimball will give a reading Thu., April 5 at 7:30 pm in the Sykes Common Room on the campus of St. Lawrence University, Canton NY.

(03/21/12) Our guest, Joanie Mackowski, teaches at Cornell University and is visiting Canton as part of the St. Lawrence University Writers Series. Her poetry collections include the award-winning View From a Temporary Window and The Zoo. Her third collection of poems, in progress, explores lyric poetry from an ecocritical vantage point. Ellen Rocco, Sarah Barber and Dale Hobson host.

The author will give a reading Thu., March 22 at 7:30 pm in the Sykes Common Room on the campus of St. Lawrence University, Canton NY.

(02/01/12) Our guest is Jaimy Gordon. Her fourth novel, Lord of Misrule, won the National Book Award for Fiction in 2011. Her other work includes the novels Shamp of the City-Solo, She Drove Without Stopping, and Bogeywoman. Pedro Ponce and Ellen Rocco host.

Thursday, February 2, Gordon will give a reading at 7:30 pm in Sykes Common Room on the St. Lawrence University campus in Canton NY, as part of the SLU Writers Series. This event is free and open to the public.

(01/18/12) A new book tells the history of SUNY Potsdam through photographs. Potsdam is the oldest campus in the state university system and the new Arcadia Publishing book includes more than 200 vintage images. The book traces the school's history from its founding in 1816; its teacher training traditions, the Crane School of Music, School of Arts and Sciences, athletics and other activities. Todd Moe talks with the two local authors, Jane Subramanian and Virginia Rose Cayey, about their memories as students at SUNY Potsdam and some of the joys and challenges of sifting through hundreds of historic photos and documents.

(11/30/11) Our guest, Kevin Young, is one a new generation of poets who find inspiration in the bittersweet history of Black America. Among his many books of poetry: Ardency: A Chronicle of the Amistad Rebels, Dear Darkness and For the Confederate Dead. Dale Hobson and Jackie Sauter host, along with guest Sarah Barber.

Kevin Young appears as part of the St. Lawrence University Writers Series. He will give a reading on the St. Lawrence University campus in Canton, NY, Thursday, December 1 at 8 pm in the Sykes Common Room.