Nationally Known Poet to Speak at SUNY Canton

CANTON, NY (11/10/2014)(readMedia)-- A writer known for his award-winning poetry collections will cap off the fall semester installment of SUNY Canton's Living Writers Series.

Patrick Lawler will speak at 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 19, in the Richard W. Miller Kingston Theater. The event is free and open to the public.

He has published three collections of poetry: "A Drowning Man is Never Tall Enough," "reading a burning book" and "Feeding the Fear of the Earth," which was the winner of the Many Mountains Moving poetry book competition in 2006. He has received a National Endowment of the Arts Fellowship, two grants from the New York State Foundation for the Arts and an award from the Constance Saltonstall Foundation for the Arts.

"Lawler's fiction always falls in that sweet spot between poetry and prose with an eye for the quirky details that make the most interesting characters and families come alive on the page," said SUNY Canton Assistant Professor of English Phil K. LaMarche. "His performances are inspiring and hilarious, and I encourage everyone to come out for a great night of storytelling."

His latest work, "The Meaning of If," is a short-story collection that was published earlier this year.

An associate professor at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Lawler is the former director of the ESF Writing Program where he teaches environmental writing and nature literature courses. He is also a writer in residence at LeMoyne College.

LaMarche created the Living Writers Series in 2012 to correspond with his Living Writers Course. Students enrolled in the class read the books by the authors scheduled to visit the college. The series will continue in the spring with author Ellen Litman Feb. 25. For more information, 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 eight exclusively online bachelor's degrees. The college's 14 athletic teams compete as provisional members of the NCAA Division III and the USCAA.

-www.canton.edu-