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Readers & Writers

This year Readers & Writers, NCPR's conversation on contemporary literature, invites into the studio visiting authors taking part in the St. Lawrence University Writers Series, and invites listeners to call in to join the conversation.

Special thanks to Paul Graham for coordinating this series and making the authors available for appearances on Readers & Writers on the Air.

Ellen RoccoThe program is hosted by NCPR station manager Ellen Rocco, Ellen's regular co-host, Chris Robinson of Clarkson University, is on sabbatical this year, though he may check in via phone from time to time. Members of the St. Lawrence University English Department faculty are stepping up to join Ellen on the program.

Co-host Chris Robinson has published a new book on the noted philosopher Wittgenstein. More information.

The program is supported by the donations of NCPR listeners and with the generous support of the New York State Council on the Arts Literature Program and
by the
The Corning Foundation.

Corning gift
Canton Plant Manager Joseph W. Neubert presented North Country Public Radio Underwriting Director Sandy Demarest with a $6,000 check representing Corning Incorporated Foundation’s ongoing support of NCPR's local and national news coverage and its contemporary literature series Readers & Writers on the Air. Corning Foundation has been a stalwart supporter of NCPR's mission since 1982.
 

Readers & Writers
on the Air

Readers & Writers with hosts Ellen Roco and Chris Robinson airs on an irregular schedule.

Subscribe to the Readers & Writers podcast

Recent program audio | R&W bookstores

Upcoming Programs

Joanie MackowskiJoanie Mackowski: Wed., March 21, 7 pm

Mackowski’s 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 and Sarah Barber host.

The author will give a reading Thu., March 22 at 8 pm in the Sykes Common Room on the campus of St. Lawrence University, Canton NY.

Kristin KimballKristin Kimball: Wed., April 4, 7 pm

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.

The author will give a reading Thu., April 5 at 8 pm in the Sykes Common Room on the campus of St. Lawrence University, Canton NY.

Mark SloukaMark Slouka: Wed., April 25, 7 pm

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 8 pm in the Sykes Common Room on the campus of St. Lawrence University, Canton NY.

 Recent Readers & Writers programs
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Readers & Writers: Jaimy Gordon
(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.

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Readers & Writers: Winter Reading Call-in
(12/01/11) Our annual holiday and winter reading list call-in. Hosted by Ellen Rocco and John Ernst. The show solicits listeners suggestions for great books--new and classic--for gift-giving or deep winter reading.

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Readers & Writers: Kevin Young
(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.

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Readers & Writers: Ellen Akins
(10/05/11) Our guest is Ellen Akins, author of the short story collection World Like a Knife, and the novels Home Movie, Little Woman, Public Life and Hometown Brew. Ellen Rocco and Peter Bailey co-host.

Ellen Akins will give a public reading Thursday, October 6, at 8 pm at the Sykes Common Room at St. Lawrence University in Canton, as part of the University's annual writers series.

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Readers & Writers: Andre Dubus III
Andre Dubus III
Andre Dubus III
(09/06/11) Our guest is Andre Dubus III, author of The Cage Keeper and Other Stories, and the novels Bluesman, House of Sand and Fog and The Garden of Last Days. Ellen Rocco and Pedro Ponce host. The author will give a public reading Thursday, September 15, 8 pm at the Sykes Common Room at St. Lawrence University in Canton.

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Readers & Writers: Summer Reading Call-in
(07/05/11) In our annual Summer Reading Call-in staff, guests and listeners share the best beach reads and whatever else is on the summer reading bookshelf. Hosts Ellen Rocco and Chris Robinson are joined by book maven John Ernst and avid reader Sarah Harris.

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Readers & Writers: Curt Stager, author of "Deep Future"
(06/07/11) Our guest is Dr. Curt Stager of the Paul Smith's College faculty, co-host of NCPR's Natural Selections, and author of Deep Future: The Next 100,000 Years of Life on Earth. Drawing upon the latest works of a handful of climate visionaries, the book explores the possibilities for next hundred millennia of life on Earth. Ellen Rocco and Chris Robinson host.

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Readers & Writers: Peter Selgin, fiction-writer and essayist
(04/27/11) Our guest, Peter Selgin, is the 2010-11 SLU Viebranz Visiting Professor of Creative Writing. His 2007 collection, Drowning Lessons, won the Flannery O'Connor Award for Fiction. Longer fiction includes the novel Life Goes to the Movies. Ellen Rocco and Chris Robinson host.

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Readers & Writers: Brock Clarke
(04/06/11) Our guest is Brock Clarke, whose most recent novels are this year's Exley, and from 2007, the highly-acclaimed An Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England. Ellen Rocco and Chris Robinson host. Clarke appears as part of the St. Lawrence University Writers Series and will give a reading Thursday at 8 pm in the Sykes Common Room on the university campus in Canton.

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Readers & Writers: Patricia Smith
(03/09/11) Our guest is poet Patrica Smith. Her poetry collection, Blood Dazzler, was a finalist for the 2008 National Book Award; Teahouse of the Almighty was a National Poetry Series selection and winner of the first-ever Hurst-Wright Award in Poetry. Smith has been a featured performer on HBO's Def Poetry Jam and she has performed three one-woman plays.

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Literature Features:

Recent Books Recent regional books received at NCPR
Recommended by listeners and staff The 2010-01 Winter Reading List
Authors
Courtesy of the author
February 4, 2012 | NPR · The comedian and digital director of The Onion talks about his new book How To Be Black. Also, Stew takes us inside his latest album Making It and Ken Tucker reviews a new album by Leonard Cohen.
 
February 3, 2012 | NPR · David Finch was 30-years-old when he discovered that he was on the autism spectrum. In Journal of Best Practices, he describes how he learned to manage the disorder — and become a better husband and father in the process.
 
February 3, 2012 | NPR · Some believe America is in decline. But author Robert Kagan disagrees. He talks to Steve Inskeep about his new book The World America Made." President Obama recently discussed an article Kagan wrote for The New Republic called "The Myth of American Decline."
 
Courtesy of the author
February 1, 2012 | NPR · From the comedian and digital director of The Onion, a satirical self-help book for anyone who has a black friend, wants to be the next black president or speak for the black community.
 
iStockphoto.com
January 30, 2012 | NPR · Introvert Susan Cain is here to make the case for people who like to work in peace and quiet. Today's workplaces are designed for extroverts, she says, and put too much emphasis on group work. Cain's new book is called Quiet: the Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking.
 

Finding Readers & Writers books

The books to be discussed are available at public libraries throughout northern New York and western Vermont or may be purchased at discount prices at the following participating bookstores. Please identify yourself as a listener to North Country Public Radio's literature series when you request the discount:

The St. Lawrence University Bookstore, Canton, NY
Borders, Plattsburgh
The Bookstore Plus, Lake Placid, NY
The Peace & Justice Store, Burlington, VT
The Potsdam Food Co-op,
Potsdam, NY
The University Bookstore,
Potsdam, NY
Fact & Fiction Bookshop,
Saranac Lake, NY
The College Store at SUNY Potsdam, Potsdam, NY
Old Forge Hardware, Old Forge, NY
Hero's Welcome, North Hero, VT