Esmeralda Santiago to visit University at Albany for a "Creative Life" talk Thursday, November 8

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Esmeralda Santiago (photo credit Robert Curtis)

ALBANY, NY (10/24/2018) (readMedia)-- For Immediate Release

EVENT LISTING:

Esmeralda Santiago, a founding mother of Nuyorican literature, will visit the University at Albany for a conversation with WAMC's Joe Donahue as part of The Creative Life: Conversation Series.

Free and open to the public, the event will be held 7 p.m. Thursday, November 8, 2018 at the University at Albany Campus Center Ballroom on the Uptown Campus. For more information, call the UAlbany Performing Arts Center box office at (518) 442-3997 or tickets@albany.edu.

MEDIA RELEASE:

Albany, New York (October 24, 2018) -- Esmeralda Santiago, a founding mother of Nuyorican literature, will visit the University at Albany for a conversation with WAMC's Joe Donahue as part of The Creative Life: Conversation Series.

Free and open to the public, the event will take place 7 p.m. Thursday, November 8, 2018 at the University at Albany Campus Center Ballroom on the Uptown Campus. Earlier that same day, Santiago will hold a Craft Talk at 4:15 p.m. in the Standish Room, Science Library, also on the Uptown Campus.

The Creative Life series is a major arts initiative of the New York State Writers Institute, UAlbany Performing Arts Center and University Art Museum in conjunction with regional public radio station WAMC Northeast Public Radio produced with major support from the University at Albany Foundation.

The eldest in a family of 11 children, Santiago came to the States from Puerto Rico at the age of 13. After eight years of part-time study in community colleges, she transferred to Harvard where she graduated magna cum laude.

Santiago's bestselling 1993 memoir, When I Was Puerto Rican, was named one of the "Best Memoirs of a Generation" by Oprah's Book Club, and in 2018, was chosen one of five finalists for the "One Book, One New York" community-wide reading project. Her second memoir, Almost a Woman (1999), received the American Library Association's Alex Award, and was adapted for Masterpiece Theatre on PBS.

Her epic 2011 novel, Conquistadora, set in 19th century Puerto Rico, was hailed as a "triumph" in The Washington Post. Oprah's O. magazine called it, "A splendid expedition into colonial history complete with enrapturing suspense to the very end."

The Creative Life series, a major arts initiative of the New York State Writers Institute, UAlbany Performing Arts Center and University Art Museum in conjunction with regional public radio station WAMC, brings leading figures from writing, music, dance, choreography, visual arts, architecture, theatre, and filmmaking to the University for conversation with Donahue about their creative inspiration, craft, and careers.

Previous guests in The Creative Life Series have included fiction writer Joyce Carol Oates, Broadway musical legend Patti LuPone, tap dancer-choreographer Savion Glover, jazz violinist Regina Carter, painter David Salle, author Lois Lowry, choreographer Garth Fagan, performance artist Bibbe Hansen, and sculptor and public installation artist Jean Shin.

For more information, call the UAlbany Performing Arts Center box office at (518) 442-3997 or tickets@albany.edu.

Major support for The Creative Life is provided by The University at Albany Foundation with additional support from the UAlbany Alumni Association, College of Arts and Sciences, Office of the Provost, and University Auxiliary Services.

About the University at Albany: A comprehensive public research university, the University at Albany offers more than 120 undergraduate majors and minors and 125 master's, doctoral, and graduate certificate programs. UAlbany is a leader among all New York State colleges and universities in such diverse fields as atmospheric and environmental sciences, business, engineering and applied sciences, informatics, public administration social welfare, and sociology taught by an extensive roster of faculty experts. It also offers expanded academic and research opportunities for students through an affiliation with Albany Law School. With a curriculum enhanced by 600 study-abroad opportunities, UAlbany launches great careers.

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