Books and Literature

(05/22/12) The Saranac Review is a literary journal published at SUNY Plattsburgh. Since 2004, the journal has slowly built a name for itself in the literary community. And this spring it received a big honor: two poems featured in the journal were nominated for the prestigious Pushcart Prize. Sarah Harris has our story. more

(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.

(05/08/12) When Vermont writer Allen Shawn was eight years old, his parents placed his twin sister Mary into an institution for disabled children. In his new memoir Shawn explores how that loss has shaped his life. Betsy Kepes has this review of Twin. more

(05/04/12) Discussion of women in the workplace was reinvigorated several weeks ago when Democrat Hilary Rosen chastised presidential candidate Mitt Romney's wife, Ann Romney, for--quote--"not working a day in her life." That set off another round of "mommy wars": sharp discussion of whether women are better off working to provide for their families or staying home with their children. And it raises an important question - why, 40 years after the women's movement, it's still so difficult for women to balance their families and their jobs.

Madeleine Kunin was Vermont's first female governor in 1985. She's now 78 years old and has published a new book - "The New Feminist Agenda: Defining the next revolution for women, work, and family." The book issues a clarion call for women, men, businesses, and government to make sure that workplace and family rights for women top their agendas.

Sarah Harris spoke with Kunin about her book.

Correction: Madeleine's age was initially reported as 79. She is in fact 78 years old. more

(04/25/12) 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.

(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.

(04/19/12) Nora Flaherty's full conversation with Charles Fishman, author of The Big Thirst: The Secret Life and Turbulent Future of Water.

(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."

(04/10/12) For more than 50 years, Ruth Colvin and her husband have traveled to more than 60 countries and provided literacy training in Africa, Asia and South America. In 1962, Colvin founded Literacy Volunteers of America. She's also written many books on basic literacy and English as a second language. Colvin was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 1993 and awarded a Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2006.

Tonight at 7 pm in Griffiths 123 at St. Lawrence University, she'll share stories her new book, Off the Beaten Path: Stories of People Around the World.

Now 95-years-old, Colvin has filled her Syracuse home with art and souvenirs from around the world, but she told Todd Moe that working with people and sharing their stories are favorite aspects of her career.