Award-Winning Poet to Kick Off SUNY Canton Fall Living Writers Series

CANTON, NY (09/18/2015)(readMedia)-- A Central New York native who has received the prestigious Isabella Gardner Poetry Award will be the first speaker for the fall semester installment of SUNY Canton's popular Living Writers Series.

Christopher Kennedy will speak at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 23, in the Richard W. Miller Campus Center's Kingston Theater. The event is free and open to the public.

Kennedy will read from his latest poetry collection, "Ennui Prophet," which explores topics ranging from personal relationships with family and friends to examinations of the political climate in the first decade of the millennium.

Kennedy is also the author of "Encouragement for a Man Falling to His Death," which earned him the Isabella Gardner Poetry Award; "Trouble with the Machine;" and "Nietzsche's Horse." He has received a fellowship from the New York Foundation for the Arts and a grant from the Constance Saltonstall Foundation for the Arts.

His work has appeared in journals and magazines, such as Ploughshares, New York Tyrant, Ninth Letter, The Threepenny Review, Slope, Mississippi Review and McSweeney's. He is an associate professor of English at Syracuse University where he is also the director of the Master of Fine Arts Program in Creative Writing.

SUNY Canton Assistant Professor of English Phil K. LaMarche created the Living Writers Series in 2012 to coincide with his Living Writers Course. Students enrolled in the class read the books by the authors scheduled to visit the college.

"The Living Writers Series has proven to be a valuable asset to SUNY Canton and the broader North Country region," LaMarche said. "We have brought some of the most creative artists in the literary community to our campus through this program."

Kennedy's visit is the first of a three-part series this fall. Rahul Mehta, author of the short story "Quarantine," will appear at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 21, and poet Jennifer Foerster, author of "Leaving Tulsa," will appear at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 19.

For more information about the series and guest speakers, visit www.canton.edu/writers.

About SUNY Canton

SUNY Canton is Northern New York's premier college for career-driven bachelor's degrees, associate degrees and certificate programs. The college delivers quality hands-on programs in engineering technology, health, management and public service. Faculty members are noted for their professional real-world experience in addition to outstanding academic credentials. SUNY Canton OnLine offers hundreds of flexible and convenient courses as well as ten exclusively online bachelor's degrees. The college's 14 athletic teams compete as members of the NCAA Division III.

-www.canton.edu-