Albert Abonado –- an award-winning poet, essayist and SUNY Oswego faculty member -- is the next featured guest in the Living Writers Series on Monday, Nov. 10.
The event, at 3 p.m. in the Marano Campus Center auditorium (room 132) will include a poetry reading, followed by a Q&A and book signing. It is free and open to the campus and the wider community.
Abonado is the author of “Field Guide for Accidents” (Beacon Press, 2024), which was selected for the National Poetry Series. He also authored “JAW” for Sundress Publications in 2020.
He holds an master of fine arts from the Bennington Writing Seminars and has received prestigious poetry fellowships from both the New York Foundation for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.
“Al has a way of making poems pop,” said Living Writers Series organizer Sari Fordham. “He uses words we don’t expect to hear in a poem and through these surprises, he makes powerful points about being human. This event will be so much fun.”
Abonado’s poetry is deeply connected to this year’s Living Writers Series theme: Home.
“The word ‘home’ suggests comfort and security, but as the son of immigrant parents, the idea of a home is a complicated one,” Abonado shared. “How do we construct a home in a place that is sometimes hostile to our presence? How do we remain connected to our heritage while enduring the pressure to assimilate? My poems often attempt to unpack these questions, exploring the many layers that a home contains.”
Abonado’s work has appeared in numerous journals, including Boston Review, Colorado Review, The Laurel Review, The Margins, TriQuarterly, Waxwing, Zone 3 and others. In addition to teaching at SUNY Oswego, he serves as the managing editor of Bare Hill Review and previously directed Adult Programs at Writers & Books.
Those with Abonado’s books are encouraged to bring them to be signed.
Living Writers Series events are made possible by ARTSwego and the Student Arts Fee, with additional support from campus partners.
For more information on this event and the series, visit the SUNY Oswego events calendar.
— Submitted by the Living Writers Series