'Fabulosa' poet to visit SUNY Adirondack

QUEENSBURY, New York (Sept. 24, 2025) — SUNY Adirondack is proud to welcome acclaimed poet Karen Rigby as part of the college’s Writers Project series at 12:40 p.m. Monday, Sept. 29, in the Visual Arts Gallery, Dearlove Hall.

This event is part of the college's celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, and will center on a discussion of Rigby's latest book, "Fabulosa."

Rigby's work has been widely published and celebrated for its elegance and depth, traces her passion for poetry back to her early love of reading. 

“Like many writers, I started as a reader,” she said. “Books opened up entire worlds to me, and writing became a way to explore my own thoughts and experiences — not directly, but through the roundabout paths of art, language and imagination.”

Her poems, which draw inspiration from visual art, unexpected phrases or even a movie, are crafted to invite readers in without feeling overly personal or confessional. “That indirection is important,” Rigby said. “It lets me share something true without making the reader uncomfortable. Poetry has a subtlety, a way of circling the heart of an experience.”

Rigby said her path as a writer hasn’t been conventional. Her first book was followed by a dozen-year pause while she raised a family, but she embraces the slower pace. “Poetry is a lifelong apprenticeship,” she reflected. “You don’t have to worry about having everything polished right away. The reward is in the act of writing itself — the process, not the finish line.”

Rigby finds joy in sharing her work with others. “I’m always amazed by the questions people ask after a reading — they show such thought and enthusiasm. At community colleges especially, you see such a wide range of perspectives, from recent graduates to adults returning to school. That mix of voices reminds me how much optimism there is in turning to writing at any age.”

SUNY Adirondack’s Writers Project brings nationally known and emerging authors — including poets, novelists, songwriters and editors — to campus each semester. Rigby’s appearance is free and open to the public. She will speak via Zoom, which will be screened in the Visual Arts Gallery, and can be accessed at https://us06web.zoom.us/j/7977212478?pwd=ZXU5WlpJRXZ1YmZoNFNJak1yYVpSUT09.