100,000 Poets for Change promotes written word and social justice

QUEENSBURY, New York (Sept. 26, 2023) — SUNY Adirondack is excited to celebrate the annual 100 Thousand Poets for Change, a global grass-roots movement promoting poetry and social justice. 

The on-campus events start with a Student Poetry Slam/Open Mic at 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 28, in the Multipurpose Room of the Residence Hall. All students are invited to read from their works.

The free event is part of the Writers Project and includes refreshments. 

The celebration continues at 4 p.m. Friday, Sept. 29, with Poetry of Peace and Change, published poets sharing their works, in the Visual Arts Gallery in Dearlove Hall. Featured poets include Lále Davidson, Pamela Friers, Lee A. Gooden, David Graham, Susan Jefts, Kathleen McCoy, Lucyna Prostko and Nancy White.

“This global movement showcases the power of poetry as a catalyst for positive change in the world for people and the planet,” said Krista Rivera, assistant professor of English at SUNY Adirondack. “Poetry is an art form that reminds us of our hearts, our shared humanity, and I feel honored to have both SUNY Adirondack students and professional local poets contributing to this cause.”

The public is invited to these free events.

The Writers Project series continues with the following events:

• Monday, Oct. 2: Art historian Amy Kahng will speak at 12:40 p.m. in the Visual Arts Gallery.
• Monday, Oct. 9: Abenaki author, storyteller and Saratoga Springs poet laureateJoseph Bruchac celebrates Indigenous People’s Month with a reading at 12:40 p.m. in the Visual Arts Gallery. 
• Monday, Oct. 23: Stuart Bartow, beloved retired SUNY Adirondack professor of English, will offer a combined reading and workshop at 12:40 p.m. in the Visual Arts Gallery.
• Monday, Oct. 30: LGBTQ fiction writer Lannie Stabile will speak at 12:40 p.m. via Zoom. Guests are invited to watch it live-streamed in the Visual Arts Gallery. Her books are available in the college bookstore.
• Monday, Nov. 27: Award-winning poet Barbara Ungar will speak at 12:40 p.m. in the Visual Arts Gallery. Books will be available at the event.
• Monday, Dec. 4: Editor Walter McLaughlin of Wood Thrush Books will speak at 12:40 p.m. in the Visual Arts Gallery. Books will be available. 

All events are free and open to the public. Each is also offered via Zoom, at https://us06web.zoom.us/j/5365910760?pwd=dzBVNEhNSi9rM2w5KzQ0V0ZzOWVudz09,with 
Meeting ID: 536 591 0760 and Passcode: 12345.

About the poets

Lâle Davidson’s collection of short stories, “Strange Appetites,” won the Adirondack Center for Writing’s People’s Choice Award for 2016. She has since published three novels. Her stories have appeared in The North American Review, Eclectica and Gone Lawn, among others. She was a finalist for the Franz Kafka Award issued by Doctor T.J. Eckleburgh Review, as well as the Black Lawrence Chapbook Contest of 2015 and The Talking Writing Award for humorous writing advice. Her story “The Opal Maker” was named top 50 of 2015 very short fiction publications by Wigleaf. She is a distinguished professor at SUNY Adirondack, where she has taught writing for 27 years. In 2018, she received the Chancellor’s Award for Scholarship and Creative Activities. 

Pamela Friers is a retired English educator, reiki master and teacher, and published writer.

Lee A. Gooden is a comics writer, freelance journalist and reviewer of books, film, music, art and theater. He is an actor, director and award-winning playwright and poet.

David Graham is a poet and retired writing and literature teacher. His poems have been published in such journals as Prairie Schooner, The Cortland Review and Sycamore Review, and featured on Poetry Daily and The Writers Almanac. For 28 years, Graham hosted the Visiting Writers Series at Ripon College. He served on The Poets’ Prize Committee and Wisconsin Poet Laureate Commission, and was resident poet and a faculty member at The Frost Place in Franconia, New Hampshire. He is contributing editor for Verse-Virtual, for which he writes a monthly column, “Poetic License,” on poetry and poets.

Susan Jefts is a poet and editor from the Adirondacks and Vermont, whose poems have been published in numerous journals, locally and nationally. She runs workshops using poetry to deepen experiences in nature and of what we find sacred. Jefts’ poetry and essays focus on sense of place. Her poetry collection, “Breathing Lessons,” was released this summer. Her poetry and essays can be found in various literary journals including Blue Line, Parnassus, Bluestone, Big City Lit, The Literary Gazette, Bluestone Review, ByLine, Zig Zag Magazine, Fired Up, The Healing Muse, All About Mentoring and in the award-winning anthology, "A Slant of Light, Birchsong II," the "Best of Burlington Writers Anthology 2017," "Quiet Diamonds" and "Birchsong," in addition to various online publications.

Kathleen McCoy is a poet, professor, mother, wife and lover of the word. Her most recent book, “Ringing the Changes,” was finalist for Book Excellence Award (Ontario), as was her debut full-length collection, “Green and Burning.” She is author of a chapbook, “More Water Than Words,” an anthology, “Ekphrasis: Art into Words,” and her debut chapbook, “Night-Blooming Cereus.” McCoy is a distinguished professor of English at SUNY Adirondack.

Lucyna Prostko was awarded The New York Times Fellowship while earning a master’s degree from New York University. Her poetry has appeared in The Bitter Oleander, Fugue, Washington Square, Painted Bride Quarterly, Ellipsis, Quiddity, Five Points and other literary magazines. Her collection, “Infinite Beginnings,” won the Bright Hill Press Poetry Book Competition. She teaches at Queensbury High School.

Nancy White’s first book, “Sun, Moon, Salt,” won the Washington Prize for poetry. Other published collections of poems include “Detour” and “Ask Again Later.” Her poems appear in many journals, including Antioch Review, Black Warrior Review, Cincinnati Review, Diner, FIELD, The Journal, Massachusetts Review, Nimrod, Ploughshares, Poet Lore, Rattle, Seneca Review, Sojourners and Washington Square. She has served as president and co-editor-in-chief at The Word Works in Washington, D.C., since 2010. She is a distinguished professor of English at SUNY Adirondack.