Community Calendar

Conversation and Q&A with Joshua Bennett, “one of the most impressive voices in poetry today” (Dissent).

Bennett is the author of a major new work, We (The People of The United States) (2026), a book-length poem about America, past, present and future. His book addresses an astonishing range of subjects, including The Beach Boys, Gwendolyn Brooks, the invention of the typewriter, Zora Neale Hurston, Sun Ra, life on Mars, Robert Frost, experimental physics, and The Jackson 5.

Booklist called it, “An essential addition to the American poetic canon.”

4:30 p.m. Tuesday, September 29
University at Albany
Multi-Purpose Room
1400 Washington Avenue, Albany NY 12222
Free and open to the public
https://www.nyswritersinstitute.org/joshuabennett

Bennett’s previous books of poetry, criticism and narrative nonfiction include Being Property Once Myself (2020), Owed (2020), The Study of Human Life (2022), and Spoken Word: A Cultural History (2023). He serves as professor of literature and Distinguished Chair of the Humanities at MIT.

Cosponsored by the University at Albany's Great Dane Dialogue series in honor of America's 250th Celebration

Savage Wonder Art Center presents THE TRIAL by Franz Kafka, adapted from the German and directed by Christopher Paul Meyer, four Saturdays in September. Five actors play twenty-five parts. Doors at 6 p.m. for dinner, cocktails and live music; performance at 7 p.m. Fifty dollars, all-inclusive. September 5, 12, 19 and 26 at 141 Main Street, Beacon

In this talk, Prof. Maeve Kane of SUNYA will discuss how white, Black, and Indigenous women in the Albany area played important roles as spies, diplomats, merchants, and community leaders during the pivotal years before, during, and after the American Revolution. The event is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served. The venue is not ADA accessible.

Join community members, authors, actors, musicians, poets, educators, and advocates for an inspiring evening celebrating the freedom to read and the power of ideas. As book challenges and bans continue to rise across the country, join us on October 6 from 6-7:30pm at the Albany Public Library where local performers will read powerful passages from books that have been banned or challenged, illustrating themes of free speech, intellectual freedom, privacy, and the importance of resisting censorship. This event is presented by the New York Civil Liberties Union and Albany Public Library, among other partners.

THURS Oct. 8, 6:30pm-7:30pm
Poetry Reading by Susan Comninos, Janet Bowdan, and Shira Dentz, contributors to The Color Wheel: Poems (Terrapin Books, 2026), Funded in part by NYSCA.

Poetry Reading by Susan Comninos, Janet Bowdan, and Shira Dentz, contributors to the new poetry anthology "The Color Wheel” (Terrapin Books, 2026). Join three local authors in an interactive experience of engaging with poetry that speaks to both art and all the hues of human and natural experience. The audience will be invited to participate by collectively viewing images and offering their own brief impressions.
Copies of “The Color Wheel” will be available for sale, along with each author’s respective books. Susan Comninos is author of “Out of Nowhere: Poems” (Stephen F. Austin Univ. Press/Texas A&M, 2022). Janet Bowdan is author of “Making Progress” (Finishing Line Press, 2018). Shira Dentz is author, most recently, of “Sisyphusina” (Astrophil Press, 2025).

Embark on a tranquil midweek journey through LongHouse Reserve's 16-acre sculpture garden and nature sanctuary. In these weekly walks, expert docent Irwin Levy leads an intimate, hour-plus long tour that delves into the harmonious blend of art, design, and nature created and curated by founder Jack Lenor Larsen.

The Red Goose: Poetry Reading & Book Release with Allen Guy Wilcox
Thursday, October 8 from 7-9 p.m. at The Other Side, 2011 Genesee St., Utica
The Other Side presents Alan Wilcox, reading from his publication, The Red Goose.
This event is open and free to the public. Books available for sale. For more information contact Kim Domenico at 314-735-4825 or kodomenico@verizon.net

ransome received his MFA from Lesley University. In his practice he combines acrylic paint with an array of found, created, and purchased papers. His work embraces the spontaneity in jazz and the resourcefulness of rural Gee's Bend quilters, utilizing materials at hand to collage and paint to blend a unique yet personal creation.

ransome’s work has been the subject of solo exhibitions at Opalka Gallery, Albany, NY; Gibbes Museum of Art, Charleston, SC; and Geary, Millerton, NY. Group shows include the 2023 Center for Maine Contemporary Art Biennial, Rockland, ME; An Unpredictable Time & Place, MASS MoCA, North Adams, MA; 47th Presentation of Art on Paper, Weatherspoon Museum, Greensboro, NC; as well as exhibitions at the Visual Art Center of New Jersey, Summit, NJ; Band of Vices, Los Angeles, CA, The Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art (SECCA), Winston-Salem, NC; The Dorsky Museum, New Paltz, NY; and the Katonah Museum, Katonah, NY.

ransome received his MFA from Lesley University. In his practice he combines acrylic paint with an array of found, created, and purchased papers. His work embraces the spontaneity in jazz and the resourcefulness of rural Gee's Bend quilters, utilizing materials at hand to collage and paint to blend a unique yet personal creation.

ransome’s work has been the subject of solo exhibitions at Opalka Gallery, Albany, NY; Gibbes Museum of Art, Charleston, SC; and Geary, Millerton, NY. Group shows include the 2023 Center for Maine Contemporary Art Biennial, Rockland, ME; An Unpredictable Time & Place, MASS MoCA, North Adams, MA; 47th Presentation of Art on Paper, Weatherspoon Museum, Greensboro, NC; as well as exhibitions at the Visual Art Center of New Jersey, Summit, NJ; Band of Vices, Los Angeles, CA, The Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art (SECCA), Winston-Salem, NC; The Dorsky Museum, New Paltz, NY; and the Katonah Museum, Katonah, NY.

Savage Wonder Art Center presents THE TRIAL by Franz Kafka, adapted from the German and directed by Christopher Paul Meyer, four Saturdays in September. Five actors play twenty-five parts. Doors at 6 p.m. for dinner, cocktails and live music; performance at 7 p.m. Fifty dollars, all-inclusive. September 5, 12, 19 and 26 at 141 Main Street, Beacon