January

Robert Coover, pioneer of experimental and electronic fiction, is celebrated for work that reinvents and reimagines the art of storytelling. The New York Times has called him “a one-man Big Bang of exploding creative force.” He is the author of more than 25 books including the novels The Origin of the Brunists (1966), which received the William Faulkner Award for best first novel; The Public Burning (1977), nominated for a National Book Award; and the story collection A Night at the Movies (1987), winner of the Rea Award. His new novel, Huck Out West (2017), picks up where Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn leaves off – on the eve of the Civil War. In a starred review Booklist described the book as “a near-masterpiece…a surprisingly tender, touching paean to the power of storytelling and the pains of growing up.” Read more

Cosponsored by UAlbany’s English Department to inaugurate its new Creative Writing minor

Photo by Alex Brenner

The Creative Life Series Created and produced by the NYS Writers Institute, University Art Museum, and UAlbany Performing Arts Center in collaboration with WAMC Radio, this new series features leading figures from a variety of artistic disciplines in conversation about their creative inspiration, their craft, and their careers. Read more Major funding provided by The University at Albany Foundation with additional support from UAlbany’s Office of the Provost, College of Arts & Sciences, University Auxiliary Services, and Vice President for Research February 11 (Saturday):  Regina Carter, jazz violinist Conversation — 4:30 p.m., Recital Hall, Performing Arts Center Regina Carter is a violinist of unbridled artistry and imagination who has brought her exquisite improvisational skills to a broad diversity of styles ranging from classical and soul to African and traditional music of the South. Recipient of a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship for “pioneering new possibilities for the violin and for jazz,” she is widely considered to be the foremost jazz violinist of her generation. She will discuss her career and musical inspirations with WAMC’s “Roundtable” host Joe Donahue. Read more Regina Carter will perform “Simply Ella,” marking the 100th birthday of Ella Fitzgerald, at The Egg on February 11 at 8 p.m. For information contact The Egg Box Office at 518-473-1845. Photo by Robert Wright March 23 (Thursday): David Salle, internationally renowned painter Conversation — 7:00 p.m., Recital Hall, Performing Arts Center David Salle, a defining figure of postmodern visual art, is a painter whose work is in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Guggenheim Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Tate Museum, and the National Galarie of Berlin, among many others. WAMC’s “Roundtable” host Joe Donahue will lead a conversation with Salle on his new book, How to See: Looking, Talking, and Thinking About Art (2016), which illuminates the work of many of the most influential artists of the twentieth century. The Philadelphia Enquirer said “Salle…talks about artists and their work in witty, jargon-free, and eminently accessible prose,” and author Salmon Rushdie described the book as “a brilliant series of reflections on how artists think when they make their work.” Read more Reception immediately following in UAlbany’s  Performing Arts Center, Futterer Lounge. The University Art Museum will be open until 7 p.m. on the evening of March 23rd

Photo by Jayne Wexler

Directed by Peter Miller (United States, 2006, 80 minutes, color)

This documentary, winner of the American Historical Association’s best film award, tells the story of two Italian politically radical immigrants charged with the 1920 robbery of a Massachusetts shoe factory and the murder of two of its employees. As it recounts their trials, public protests, and appeals on their behalf the film offers insights into present-day issues of civil liberties and immigrant rights. Ken Burns called it “A wonderful film, as timeless as the struggle for human justice, as relevant as today’s headlines.”

Peter Miller is an award-winning documentary filmmaker whose films include the theatrically-released A.K.A. DOC POMUS, JEWS AND BASEBALL, and SACCO AND VANZETTI. He has directed numerous documentaries for PBS and has been a producer for documentaries by Ken Burns and Lynn Novak including THE WAR and JAZZ, and the Peabody Award-winning FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT.

Amy Linton has edited numerous award-winning films including Julie Dash’s DAUGHTERS OF THE DUST, a Sundance winner that was selected for the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry. She has worked on dozens of documentaries, feature films, and music videos in her 25-year career.

Sponsored in conjunction with UAlbany’s School of Criminal Justice’s Justice & Multiculturalism in the 21st Century: Crime, Justice, and Public Memory Film Series

Photo by Liz Butler

March 23 (Thursday): David Salle, internationally renowned painter
(see The Creative Life Series listing)

March 28 (Tuesday):  Eugene Mirabelli, novelist, and Jo Page, memoir writer and journalist
Reading — 4:15 p.m., University Hall Room 110, Collins Circle, Uptown Campus

Eugene Mirabelli, Professor Emeritus of English at UAlbany, received the prestigious Independent Publisher Book Award (IPPY) Gold Medal for his 2012 novel, Renato the Painter: An Account of His Youth & His 70th Year in His Own Words, the story of an artist who lives life with gusto and practices his art in defiance of critical and public neglect. Author and NPR reviewer Andrei Codrescu described the book as “…a fresco of Sicilian-American-New England life….” Mirabelli’s new book is the sequel, Renato After Alba: His Rage Against Life, Love & Loss in His Own Words (2016), an account of Renato’s experience of widowerhood at the age of 83. Publishers Weekly said, “The reader feels such affection for Renato… you can forgive him anything.” Read more

Photo by Cindy Schulz

Jo Page, essayist, newspaper columnist, and ordained Lutheran minister, is the author of the new memoir, Preaching in My Yes Dress: Confessions of a Reluctant Pastor (2016), a candid, moving, and humorous account of her spiritual journey. Bestselling novelist Margot Livesey said the book is “all the things you hope a good memoir will be: profound, witty, deeply serious, wonderfully original, and utterly absorbing.” For 20 years the author of the "Reckonings" column for Metroland, Albany’s former newsweekly, Page now writes a column for the Albany Times Union. Read more

Photo by Marion Ettlinger

HOW TO GET FREE TICKETS FOR THE EVENT WITH JUSTICE SOTOMAYOR
Please note that you can register in the ticket system now, but members of the general public cannot request a Sotomayor ticket until 12AM early morning on March 17. Also please note that you can only request one ticket per email address.

To obtain a ticket for the Sonia Sotomayor event, Tuesday, April 4, 2017 at the SEFCU Arena, members of the general public must visit the University Tickets webpage at: http://ualbany.universitytickets.com/user_pages/event_listings.asp.

• Non-University audience members must click “Login” in the purple banner at the top of the page and create a new account profile.
• Next, click the purple button that says General Public and follow instructions from there. You will need to scroll down to the bottom of the Event Information page to select your ticket.
• Please note that these instructions will apply to UAlbany alumni as well as the general public. There is a separate button for currently enrolled students, faculty and staff, which is labelled University at Albany Community.

Directed by Stanley Nelson (United States, 2015, 115 minutes, color and b/w)

This feature length documentary explores the remarkable history of the Black Panther Party, its formation and ultimate downfall, and its cultural and political significance to the broader American culture. Nikki Baughan of the Alliance of Women Film Journalists, called the film “Compelling and incisive,” and said, “The most shocking aspect…is how painfully relevant its message still is.” The film premiered at Sundance, aired on PBS, and received awards for Best Documentary from the Image Awards and the National Board of Review.

Photo by Sam Aleshinloye

Stanley Nelson is an Emmy Award-wining documentary filmmaker and recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship. He was awarded the National Humanities Medal by President Obama in 2014. Nelson’s other films include FREEDOM RIDERS, JONESTOWN: THE LIFE AND DEATH OF PEOPLE’S TEMPLE, and THE MURDER OF EMMETT TILL, among others.

Marcia Smith, president of Firelight Media, has written numerous films for PBS, including WOUNDED KNEE, JONESTOWN: THE LIFE AND DEATH OF PEOPLE'S TEMPLE, MARCUS GARVEY: LOOK FOR ME IN THE WHIRLWIND, and THE MURDER OF EMMETT TILL. She has garnered every major award in television.
Read more

Sponsored in conjunction with UAlbany’s School of Criminal Justice’s Justice & Multiculturalism in the 21st Century: Crime, Justice, and Public Memory Film Series

Photo by Rachel Eliza Griffiths

Photo by Author

Cosponsored by the Friends of the New York State Library

Photo by Amy Cramer

Cosponsored by Friends of the New York State Library

EVENT CANCELLED

April 21 (Friday):  Rosa Alice Branco, Portuguese poet, with translator Alexis Levitin
Reading — 4:15 p.m., Standish Room, Science Library

Rosa Alice Branco, notable Portuguese poet and Secretary of her country’s PEN organization, teaches the Psychology of Perception and Contemporary Culture at the Institute of Art and Design near the city of Porto. The author of numerous poetry collections in Portuguese, her work has appeared in translation in more than 40 literary journals around the world. Her collection Cattle of the Lord, translated in 2016 by Alexis Levitin and presented in both Portuguese and English, won the prestigious Espiral Maior de Poesia Award in 2009 for best book of poetry from Galicia, Portugal, Angola, or Brazil. Poet Kevin Prufer called the collection “wild and sneaky…filled with intelligence, wit, and theological anxiety… marvelous, moving, and obsessive….” Read more

Cosponsored by the Portuguese Program of UAlbany’s Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures

Photo by Danny Turner

May

The 21st Annual Burian Lecture Funded by the Jarka and Grayce Burian Endowment

May 1 (Monday):  Dael Orlandersmith, award-winning playwright
Seminar — 4:15 p.m., Recital Hall, Performing Arts Center
The Burian Lecture — 8:00 p.m., Recital Hall, Performing Arts Center

Dael Orlandersmith is an actress, poet, and award-winning playwright whose work explores racial tensions, family relationships, and the rough Harlem neighborhood in which she grew up. Her one-woman play Beauty’s Daughter (1995) received an Obie Award, and Yellowman (2002) won the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Her most recent plays include Forever (2014), and Until the Flood (2016), which was commissioned by the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis to address the recent unrest in Ferguson, Missouri. The New York Times has described Orlandersmith as “An exciting new voice…offering rebellious and lilting lyricism… at once full of anger and compassion.”
Read more

Cosponsored by the Jarka and Grayce Burian Endowment and UAlbany’s Theatre Program

Directed by Tom Hooper (UK/US/Belgium/Denmark/Germany, 2015, 119 minutes, color)
Starring Eddie Redmayne, Alicia Vikander

Based on David Ebershoff’s novel, the film follows the lives of husband and wife Danish artists Einar Wegener/Lili Elbe and Gerda Wegener as they struggle with Lili’s groundbreaking gender transformation from a man to a woman. The film received four Academy Award nominations, winning for Best Supporting Actress (Alicia Vikander). Rex Reed of the New York Observer called Eddie Redmayne’s portrayal of the transgender protagonist, “an act of heroism…. the performance of the year.”

Photo by Peter Ross

David Ebershoff is the author of the novel The Danish Girl (2000), which was an international bestseller, a New York Times Notable Book, and winner of the Lambda Award for Transgender Fiction. He is also the author of the story collection The Rose City (2001), and the novels Pasadena (2002), and The 19th Wife (2008), a #1 bestseller that was adapted for a television movie. Ebershoff is also one of the most acclaimed literary editors in American publishing having worked with notable authors Adam Johnson, Imbolo Mbue, Gary Shteyngart, Billy Collins, and many others. Read more