Opalka Endowed Director, NYS Writers Institute - University at Albany. Times Union columnist. Author of bios of Mayor Erastus Corning 2nd & Teddy Roosevelt.
What I’ve been waiting for, Joni Mitchell’s magical performance of “Clouds” at
#grammys
after near-fatal aneurysm in which she had to re-learn how to speak and sing. A remarkable performance sample of resilience, creativity & the human spirit. Left me in tears.
Never expected to make the
@nytimes
this way. My wife
@marygrondahl
said: "I think that's you."
I'd glanced at the photo & thought: "What a doofus." We scrutinized it more closely and, alas, that doofus was me. LMAO.
@nyswi
@CaseySeiler
@goodwintu
The comeback is underway. Thank you my love. Mary is the best partner-wife-caregiver-supporter. So many family & friends to thank. Extremely fortunate & grateful. Tremendous care and dedicated health care professionals
@SPHPNewa
@PaulGrondahl
looking great after climbing back from a horrific bout of bacterial pneumonia. So much gratitude to the amazing nurses, doctors and staff at St. Peters Hospital for their amazing care. 🎉🌟💝
Two thumbs way up for
@BelfastMovie
A love letter from Kenneth Branagh to the human spirit and the resilient Irish city where he grew up. Hits a sweet spot between “Angela’s Ashes” & “In the Name of the Father.” Beautifully acted across the board. Worthy of Oscar buzz.
Dear Friends: I have been overwhelmed by your outpouring of kind words and well wishes. I feel grateful and fortunate. Your expressions of care and support lifted me up as I make my comeback en route to a full recovery. I am a lucky guy. Thank you.
Sunset over the Hudson River Sunday evening at Van Wies Point, Glenmont, NY. Now I understand what inspired Frederic Church, Thomas Cole & the other Hudson River School painters.
@AlbanyInstitute
Happy 93rd birthday to novelist William Kennedy, who put Albany on the literary map, founder of
@nyswi
@ualbany
and my mentor. He is writing, working on Ironweed the play amd going strong. Here’s to Albany’s bard & the original bootlegger.
@RevDrBarber
fired up a capacity crowd
@UAlbany
@nyswi
for MLK speech calling out “policy racism” like voter suppression & poverty wages— appealing for moral unity, social justice & poor people to rise up and be heard
@UniteThePoor
Happy 94th birthday to Bill Kennedy. Writer, mentor, founder
@nyswi
@ualbany
We shared laughs as he answered calls from old friends & literary pals. He’s working on a novel & editing a collection of plays & screenplays. Going strong!
@ualbanyalumni
@HavidanUAlbany
@CaseySeiler
Let us now praise Dove & Hudson (Old Books) of Albany, still the gold standard. Thanks Dan Wedge & Joseph Nathan for keeping the flame burning. As John Updike said: “Bookstores are lonely forts, spilling light onto the sidewalk. They civilize their neighborhoods.”
@nyswi
What a delight to welcome
@paulinaporizkov
to
@nyswi
@ualbany
She was funny, warm, authentic and disarmingly candid. Her luminous beauty is obvious, but it is heart and brains that really shine. What a marvelous spirit. Thanks, Paulina. You made a lot of new fans in Albany.
Join me in wishing Happy Birthday today to Bill Kennedy: great American novelist, our
@nyswi
founder & guiding spirit, my mentor and friend to all aspiring authors. Bill is still working hard at his craft as he turns 92. Hip hip hooray.
@ualbany
We are on Cloud 9 here
@nyswi
today. Awed and grateful for 2 major gifts to the Writers Institute from 2
@ualbanyalumni
$500K from Gregory Maguire & $100K from
@mguggenheim
Thank you Gregory & Marc. Read the exciting news here:
I never took a journalism class but my two mentors, Bill Kennedy & Harry Rosenfeld, taught me more about how to be a reporter, a writer and a man than any book or class. I am honored to call them my friends.
@nyswi
@ualbany
@timesunion
I had a wonderful visit yesterday with my mentor & friend, Harry Rosenfeld,
@timesunion
editor-at-large, legendary newspaperman, author of two memoirs: “From Kristallnacht to Watergate” & “Battling Editor.” Harry is nearly 92 & facing serious health issues. Say a prayer.
Happy 65th wedding anniversary to Bill & Dana Kennedy. Wonderful party with family & friends last night to celebrate the milestone. Remarkable couple & a never-ending love story. Terrific photo by their son Brendan. Cheers.
@nyswi
@marygrondahl
@ualbanyalumni
We were set to go for the Albany Film Festival, right down to the tote bags. We know you share our disappointment about the postponement. We’ll present it bigger & stronger in spring 2021. We’ll even save you a tote bag. Thanks to all.
@nyswi
@ualbany
This is Bill Kennedy’s trusty old L.C. Smith & Corona typewriter. It had been his mother’s and he typed his early novels on it, including “Ironweed.” It is on the move for a new
@nyswi
exhibit at
@AlbanyAirport
. Stay tuned for details.
@ualbanyalumni
@HavidanUAlbany
@ualbany
RIP to a man I admired, Mayor Corning's one & only tailor and long a staple of State Street. A vital piece of Albany's fabric is gone. I regret we never got to share a bottle of good red as we promised. Angelo Amore, famed Albany tailor, dies at 91
On parking lot duty at today’s
@ualbany
commencement I met a father who drove his yellow cab from NYC to see his son walk across stage. We’ve been dubbed “the Harvard of upward mobility” and these are stories of Great Dane pride.
@HavidanUAlbany
@MikeChristakis
@CarolKimUAlbany
Congratulations to
@CaseySeiler
newly appointed editor
@timesunion
hugging his predecessor
@rexwsmith
who becomes editor-at-large on Feb. 1 as editor emeritus Harry Rosenfeld and publisher George Hearst shake after today’s newsroom announcement.
@Hearst
BREAKING:
@MaMarchand
reports this question on tonight’s
@Jeopardy
: Author William Kennedy made his hometown, this state capital, the setting for his trilogy of novels Including the Pulitzer Prize-winning Ironweed. Nobody got “What is Albany?” So sad.
@nyswi
Rakim & me. He gave love, respect and encouragement to hundreds of fans of all ages today. A beautiful, empowering event for Albany. Community engagement at its best.
@nyswi
@ualbany
@HavidanUAlbany
@ualbanyalumni
Super-excited fans of
@paolini
drove from NH, RI & beyond to meet the author & get stacks of his books signed. They lined up 2 hrs before doors opened & stood in 2-hr plus signing line. Amazing event
@nyswi
@bookhousealbany
@penguinrandom
What a joy to spend the afternoon with Harry Rosenfeld,
@timesunion
editor-at-large & newsroom legend. My pal
@RobBrill
edited “Battling Editor,” vol. 2 of Harry’s memoirs. I worked with Harry on vol. 1, “From Kristallnacht to Watergate.” A national treasure for journalism.
With
@MarkRuffalo
and
@nyswi
founder Bill Kennedy after a staged reading of
#Ironweed
. Ruffalo’’s portrayal of Francis Phelqn was brilliant, mesmerizing & wholly original.
@AtlanticTheater
Jessica Hecht crushed it. Terrific direction by Jodie Markell. Bravo.
A very proud moment for my mentor and our Founding Father
@nyswi
with the Presidential Distinguished Service Award for the Irish Abroad presented by Ireland’s President Michael D. Higgins in Dublin Thursday
@MichaelDHiggins
@ualbany
@timesunion
Congratulations to our friend
@colsonwhitehead
& current
@nyswi
NYS Author on receiving the Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction after back-to-back Pulitzers. You’re going to need a bigger bookcase.
@ualbany
@HavidanUAlbany
Ed Dague will be missed. I thought of him as our local Walter Crionkite & admired his professionalism. I was privileged to profile him in 2010. He gave me an unvarnished view of his excruciatingly painful degenerative arthritic condition. RIP Ed.
RIP Ed Dague, 'a voice of authority and the consistently top-rated (and highest-paid) local TV anchor. His career spanned four decades and included stints at channels 10, 6 and 13..'
@PaulGrondahl
profiled him when he published his memoir
Stunning
@nyt
front page & inside pages today, 5 pages of COVID-19 victims’ names in 10-pt. type w/1,000 short bios or 1 pct. of 100,000 deaths. “An Incalculable Loss” “They were not simply names on a list. They were us.” A wrenching typographical display.
The Gray Lady printed a perhaps unprecedented profanity on its front page today from President Trump: “I’m fucked.” Desperate Times call for desperate measures
@nytimes
@maggieNYT
@peterbakernyt
I appreciate the honesty and heads-up of this young driver. Having taught my two kids to drive a stick shift, I can relate to this jerky-jerky, gear-grinding, head-snapping reality. PS: We all survived and so did my car.
I stopped to chat with this couple while walking the dog today in my
#guilderland
neighborhood. They lifted my hopes for Nov. 3. They are my new everyday heroes.
Happy Easter from The Egg. Or, in the immortal words of Isaac Bashevis Singer to William Kennedy: “Could be an egg...could be a blintz.”
@nyswi
@TheEggPAC
Last night, after the end of his Broadway show, Bruce Springsteen gave us a bonus song, “This Hard Land.” It was a transformative, transcendent and redemptive performance. Pure magic. Nobody connects with an audience like The Boss.
Historic smack down by
@timesunion
editorial board of Sen. Jim Tedisco. For first time in the paper’s history, it rescinded its endorsement of Tedisco’s candidacy because he lied about his position on abortion. Bravo. Truth matters.
@JayJoch
@rexwsmith
This group of girls jumped off their bikes, raced up to this open classroom window and chatted excitedly with their beloved former teacher at Pine Bush Elementary School. Teachers touch lives. They deserve our gratitude, now more than ever.
@GuilderlandCSD
I loved seeing this full-page ad in this morning’s
@timesunion
I thank the editorial staff in the trenches putting out the first draft of history under challenging circumstances. I am proud to still play a small part with the people & paper I love.
Back by popular demand, another Paul & Paul selfie. PG & PT. The wind chill was sub-zero Saturday but
@PaulTonko
showed up. The hardest-working member of Congress bar none.
@Rotary
@ESAMofNY
PT got the memo on black fleece winter jacket.
Here’s what 92 looks like. Amazing. Happy Birthday Toast to Bill Kennedy as Albany’s greatest author embraces his 93rd year. A very special
@hearstwine
Can courtesy of George Hearst. Here’s to you Bill. May you enjoy many more.
@timesunion
@nyswi
@ualbany
I loved the generosity of
#Rakim
listening to the raps of his young fans
@ualbany
students and offering constructive criticism & encouragement on their hip-hop style. Word.
@nyswi