Writers Forum

 

Founded in 1967 as an ancillary to the Department of English, the Writers Forum is widely recognized as one of the outstanding reading series in the country. A unique audiovisual project, the Writers Forum Videotape Library was started in 1968 and currently contains more than 300 interviews, readings, and discussions of craft with major contemporary authors. The collection has been called “a national treasure,” and has received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Witter Bynner Foundation. For more information please see: The Writers Forum.

Collections in this community

Recent Submissions

  • Robert Bly: 12/1/1971 

    Bly, Robert (1971-12-01)
    Poet Robert Bly reads from a selection of his poems against the Vietnam War, including “Counting Small Bodies”, followed by an interview and discussion about his poetry and his feelings about the war. There are also some ...

  • Robert Bly: 3/11/1970 

    Bly, Robert (1970-03-11)

  • E. M. Broner: 07-13-1981 

    Broner, Esther M.; Rubin, Stan Sanvel; Robertson, Mary Elsie (1981-07-13)
    E. M. Broner was a Jewish-American feminist writer, best known for her books Weave of Women, Her Mothers, Journal-Nocturnal and Seven Stories, and Summer is a Foreign Land. She begins the interview by reading a passage ...

  • Kevin Clark: 10-09-2002 

    Clark, Kevin; Rubin, Stan Sanvel (2002-10-09)
    Kevin Clark is a poet and professor at California Polytechnic State University whose work has appeared in publications such as The Antioch Review and The Georgia Review. He begins the interview by reading his poem “Parallel ...

  • Adrienne Rich: 11-13-1973 

    Rich, Adrienne (1973-11-13)
    The poet Adrienne Rich discusses her work in an interview conducted November 13, 1973 on the Brockport campus.

  • Stanley Plumly: 06-30-1982 

    Plumly, Stanley (1982-06-30)
    In an interview conducted June 30, 1982, the poet Stanley Plumly discusses his work.

  • Mary Oliver: 07-14-1981 

    Oliver, Mary (1981-07-14)
    The poet Mary Oliver discusses her work in an interview recorded July 14, 1981.

  • Brian Turner: 03-11-2015 

    Turner, Brian (2015-03-11)

  • A. Manette Ansay: 11-01-1995 

    Ansay, A. Manette; Rubin, Stan Sanvel (1995-11-01)
    A. Manette Ansay is an author known for works such as her short story collection Read This and Tell Me What it Says and her popular novel Vinegar Hill. She starts off the interview by reading a short excerpt from Vinegar ...

  • Calvin Forbes: 09-25-2003 

    Forbes, Calvin (2003-09-25)
    Calvin Forbes reads his poems "Kindness" and "Mama's Boy." He discusses the influences of John Donne, metaphysical poetry, public libraries, and music, especially jazz, on his work. The interview ends with a discussion of ...

  • Kevin Young: 11-30-2016 

    Young, Kevin (2016-11-30)
    Poet and editor Kevin Young discusses his work in an interview conducted November 30, 2016.

  • Sarah Freligh: 09-14-2016 

    Freligh, Sarah (2016-09-14)
    In an interview conducted September 14, 2016, poet and teacher Sarah Freligh discusses her work.

  • Elena Passarello: 10-03-2018 

    Passarello, Elena (2018-10-03)
    Essayist Elena Passarello discusses and reads from her work in an interview conducted October 3, 2018.

  • Charles Baxter: 03-05-1987 

    Baxter, Charles (1987-03-05)
    Charles Baxter discusses his work in an interview conducted March 5, 1987.

  • Anne Panning: 11-28-2018 

    Panning, Anne (2018-11-28)
    Memoirist and novelist Anne Panning discusses her work in an interview recorded November 28, 2018.

  • Weike Wang: 10-17-2018 

    Wang, Weike (2018-10-17)
    Novelist Weike Wang discusses her work in an interview recorded October 17, 2018.

  • Edward Albee: 02-04-1981 

    Albee, Edward; Rubin, Stan Sanvel; Lazarre, Adam; Anderson, Mark (1981-02-04)
    Edward Albee was an American playwright, best known for plays such as Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, A Delicate Balance, and Seascape. The interview begins with a discussion about creative art and its usefulness in sending ...

  • Edward P. Jones: 11-01-2017 

    Jones, Edward P. (2017-11-01)
    In an interview conducted November 1, 2017, Pulitzer-winning novelist and short story writer Edward P. Jones discusses and reads from his work. Topics discussed include the writing of fiction and the teaching of fiction writing.

  • Kory Stamper: 11-29-2017 

    Stamper, Kory (2017-11-29)
    Merriam-Webster lexicographer Kory Stamper discusses the creation and editing of dictionaries. Stamper reads aloud from her book Word By Word and notes the flaws, virtues, and quirks of a few sample dictionaries.

  • Stephanie Powell Watts: 09-19-2018 

    Powell Watts, Stephanie (2018-09-19)
    In an interview conducted September 19, 2018, novelist and short story writer Stephanie Powell Watts discusses her work.

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