Apr 24, 2013 — Writer TC Boyle will be at SUNY Potsdam Thursday evening for a reading as part of Potsdam's Lougheed Festival of the Arts. He'll also be introducing student writers on Friday night.

After growing up in Westchester County, Boyle graduated from SUNY Potsdam in 1968.  Go to full article

Dec 06, 2012 — "Readers and Writers" co-host Chris Robinson talks with Phil LaMarche about his book, American Youth. LaMarche is a professor of English at SUNY-Canton and directs the Living Writers Series.

His debut novel has won wide acclaim. It's the tale of a teenager in southern New England who is confronted by a terrible moral dilemma following a firearms accident in his home. This tragedy earns him the admiration of a gang of boys at his school. It's been called a classic portrait of a young man struggling with the idea of identity and responsibility.  Go to full article

Lake Placid, NY, Sep 06, 2012 — NCPR is media sponsor for Adirondacks: A Place to Dream, a three-day event in Lake Placid this weekend. Arts and cultural organizations from throughout the region will gather to explore the power of place that, for more than 150 years, has drawn some of the world's greatest artists, photographers, musicians, filmmakers and writers to the mountains. The multi-media weekend will include some of the most important voices in the Adirondack arts and culture community.

Todd Moe talks with Gary Smith, one of the co-organizers of the event, who says the free series of lectures and conversations will cover music, art, storytelling, writing, films and photography.  Go to full article

Apr 25, 2012 — April is National Poetry Month.

Last week the Adirondack Center for Writing brought three poets from New York City and Chicago to the Saranac Lake Campus of North Country Community College for an evening of performance poetry. Performance poetry isn't a poetry slam, necessarily, and it's not a poetry reading, either. There's nothing like the energy in a room when a performance poet is up there--in famous performance poetry venues like the Nuyorican Poet's Cafe and the Bowery Poetry club, it's common practice for the audience to react during the performance, calling out, or clapping. But even here in the North Country, where the audience tends to stay in their seats, the atmosphere was electric. These three poets were on.  Go to full article

Lake Placid, NY, Sep 16, 2011 — Three Saratoga area women won their third award this year from the Adirondack Center for Writing for a book of poetry. They'll share their thoughts and words tonight (7:00pm) at the Lake Placid Center for the Arts.

Elaine Handley, Marilyn McCabe and Mary Sanders Shartle began working together at the Saratoga Springs Public Library coffee shop in the late 90's, and realized that even in sharing common themes their three voices were very different yet compatible.

In a phone conversation with Todd Moe, they each shared a poem from their latest chapbook, Tear of the Clouds. Elaine Handley says the idea of writing poems about life in the North Country was a logical next step for all three poets.  Go to full article

Lake Placid, NY, Jul 27, 2011 — Margaret Roach, former editorial director of Martha Stewart Living turned blogger, has done what some urbanites only dream about - traded a busy career for life in the country. Roach left New York City and the magazine design world a few years ago for a quieter life filled with two lifelong passions: gardening and writing. She'll give a talk at St. Eustace Church in Lake Placid on Saturday (2-4 pm), titled "Nonstop Plants: a Garden for 365 Days." The event is a fundraiser for the Lake Placid Community Beautification. You'll find tickets at The Bookstore Plus. She also sign copies of her latest book, And I Shall Have Some Peace There.

For more than twenty years Margaret Roach has been working on the gardens at her place in Columbia County, near the Berkshires. She spoke with Todd Moe about gardening and finding solitude.  Go to full article

Paul Smiths, NY, Jun 02, 2011 — This week, we've been looking at outdoor education in the North Country, from the revival of the visitor interpretation centers in Newcomb and Paul Smiths to the effort to get more kids into the woods.

Last year, Brian Mann attended a conference looking at how nature writing shapes our culture and influences the national debate over environmental issues. He found that some of the country's top nature writers wonder whether their work can still make a difference. (Brian Mann's story first aired in August 2010.)  Go to full article

Nov 17, 2010 — It's not easy managing a small organic farm in the Adirondack Mountains. It's even more complicated managing that farm while also writing a book about the experience.

Kristen Kimball, author of The Dirty Life, has managed that double feat and her new book is drawing national attention.

Kimball farms in the town of Essex with her husband Mark. This week, she spoke about how farming redefined her life with Melissa Block, host of NPR's All Things Considered.  Go to full article

Paul Smiths, NY, Nov 08, 2010 — There was a time not so long ago when nature writers shaped the national debate.

Books and articles by authors like Rachel Carson and Bob Marshall helped build popular support for conservation, environmental laws, and creation of the national parks.

But in the age of oil spills and climate change, some of the country's top nature writers wonder whether their work can still make a difference.

Brian Mann attended a conference of writers earlier this month and has our story.  Go to full article

Paul Smiths, NY, Sep 14, 2010 — Writers have been busy adding their thoughts, words and plot spins to an on-line writing project this season. The Adirondack Center for Writing's Nathalie Costa Thill talks with Todd Moe about the community writing project, "Adirondack Summer Shorts: And then what Happened?" It's a collaborative short story open to contributions from everyone. Since June, we've followed the adventures of Carl and Charlene on their summer trip to the Adirondacks. Writers pick up the story where a previous writer left off. Nathalie Costa Thill says the community writing project is a big success.  Go to full article