Launched by the Academy of American Poets in April 1996, Thirty Years ago, National Poetry Month is a special occasion that celebrates poets’ integral role in our culture and that poetry matters. Over the years, it has become the largest literary celebration in the world.These celebrations are taking place in our communities, and we talk with two Poet Laureates in our listening area about the public and personal responsibilities of the Laureate position, which include engaging the public with readings, workshops, and other poetry activities. Jay Rogoff is the Saratoga Springs Poet Laureate and Mike Jurkovic is the Ulster County Poet Laureate.

At the Tang Museum at Skidmore College, ‘Kathy Butterly: Assume Yes’ surveys more than thirty years of work by one of the most inventive artists working in ceramics today. Butterly is known for small-scale sculptures that are technically daring, expressive, and often witty. At the Schick Art Gallery in Skidmore’s art building, ‘Earthbound’ brings together work by eleven contemporary ceramic artists. Their work ranges in techniques and aesthetic approaches from figurative to abstract, and from functional to fantastical.And opening Saturday at The Hyde Collection is ‘Toshiko Takaezu: Voices of Abstraction.’ Takaezu was known for her ceramic forms and expressive glazes, and the exhibition places her work in dialogue with painters including Sam Gilliam, Adolph Gottlieb, and Lee Krasner.

The Roundtable Panel: a daily open discussion of issues in the news and beyond. Today's panelists are Senior Fellow for Health Policy at The Empire Center for Public Policy Bill Hammond, Recent former Mayor of the City of Albany Kathy Sheehan, and Associate Professor in the department of sociology at Vassar College Catherine Tan.

The new book ‘The Diversity Principle: The Story of the Transformative Idea’ David Oppenheimer gives a 200-year history of diversity in education, science, and commerce. The debate of diversity upends our current government, education policies, and corporate world, the idea of diversity has never been more important. Oppenheimer also shows how over a 200-year period diversity evolved and how it was adopted in science and commerce.

Genevieve Wheeler Brown is a decorative arts specialist and author of the new book ‘Beyond Blue and White: The Hidden History of Delftware and the Women Behind the Iconic Ceramic.’ She will be in discussion with a New Netherland Institute Director Dr. Deborah Hamer coming up on 4/12 at 2 pm at the Albany Institute of History and Art. They will discuss the women in the Netherlands who made the beautiful ceramics, the woman who brought it to New Netherland and New York, and the 19th Century Collectors who collected and championed it. In addition, selections of blue and white delft objects from the Albany Institute’s collection will be on display as well.

The Roundtable Panel: a daily open discussion of issues in the news and beyond. Today's panelists are Lecturer of Cognitive Sciences at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and former Fulbright US Scholar to Egypt Jackie Berry, Former New York 19th Congressman and NY Assemblyman John Faso, and Dean of the College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity at the University at Albany Robert Griffin.

Benjamin Wood has written four very different novels that explore the creative process and relationships between parents and children. His fifth novel, Seascraper, is a vividly imagined, layered, and economical mediation on these themes, and it is full of surprises. From a very atmospheric description of a vanishing way of life, to great suspense, to the hint ultimately of optimism in its final characters. The novel was longlisted for the 2025 Booker prize.

This week's Book Picks comes from Suzanna Hermans who join us from Oblong Books in Millerton and Rhinebeck, NY.

The Roundtable Panel: a daily open discussion of issues in the news and beyond. Today's panelists are Joseph Palamountain Jr. Chair in Government at Skidmore College Beau Breslin, Former Vice President for Editorial Development at the New York Press Association Judy Patrick, and Wall Street Investment Banker Mark Wittman.

Jennifer Keishin Armstrong writes about pop-culture in books like ‘Sienfeldia’ and ‘When Women Invented Television.’ She currently curates and writes the ‘Peabody Finds’ newsletter, featuring recommendations and media history, from the prestigious Peabody Awards in broadcasting. She is the co-founder of the ‘Ministry of Pop Culture’ Substack. Her new book, out tomorrow from Dutton, is ‘Parks and Rec: The Underdog TV Show that Lit’rally Inspired a Vision for a Better America.’