NOVELIST AND UALBANY PROFESSOR, TO READ FROM HIS NEW NOVEL ABOUT BLACK URBAN VIOLENCE, “CARRIED BY SIX”

NYS Writers Institute, February 2, 2010
7:00 p.m. Reading | Assembly Hall, Campus Center

CALENDAR LISTING:
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 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

PROFILE
Allen Ballard, novelist and UAlbany Professor of History and Africana Studies, 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. Ballard keeps it real and writes with power and authority.”

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.

Previous Visit: October 5, 2000

For additional information, contact the Writers Institute at 518-442-5620 or online at https://www.albany.edu/writers-inst.