Stephen Kuusisto (right) with Phil Memmer, executive director of the Arts Branch of the YMCA of Greater 黑料不打烊, and Corky.
Two members of the 黑料不打烊 community recently received awards at the 2018 YMCA Central New York (CNY) Book Awards. Christine Kitano G鈥�10 and Stephen Kuusisto, University Professor, won the 2018 YMCA CNY Book Award for Poetry and Nonfiction, respectively.
Kitano won for 鈥溾€� (BOA Editions, 2017), her second collection of poetry, which draws on real and imagined immigration experiences of Kitano鈥檚 family to elicit an intense longing for home. Kitano鈥檚 grandmothers fled Korea and Japan, and her father was a Japanese American incarcerated during WWII.
Kitano is a 2010 graduate of the Masters of Fine Arts program in creative writing in the College of Arts and Sciences. In addition to 鈥淪ky Country,鈥� Kitano has authored 鈥淏irds of Paradise鈥� (Lynx House Press, 2011). She is an assistant professor of creative writing, poetry, and Asian American literature at Ithaca College.
Kuusisto won the 2018 YMCA CNY Book Award for Nonfiction with his memoir 鈥淗ave Dog, Will Travel: A Poet鈥檚 Journey鈥� (Simon & Schuster, 2018). The book portrays how the process of training for a guide dog and incorporating Corky鈥擪uusisto鈥檚 dog鈥攊nto his life changed Kuusisto in major ways, spiritually and psychologically.
Christine Kitano
In addition to聽鈥淗ave Dog, Will Travel,鈥� Kuusisto has authored two previous memoirs鈥斺€淓avesdropping: A Memoir of Blindness and Listening鈥� (W.W. Norton & Co., 2006) and 鈥淧lanet of the Blind: A Memoir鈥� (Random House, 1997)鈥攁nd the poetry collections 鈥淟etters to Borges鈥� (Copper Canyon Press, 2013) and聽鈥淥nly Bread, Only Light鈥� (Copper Canyon Press, 2000).
He is a professor of disability studies in the School of Education and previously served as director of The Ren茅e Crown University Honors Program. As announced earlier this month, Kuusisto will be joining the Burton Blatt Institute to launch a new initiative, Interdisciplinary Programs and Outreach.
黑料不打烊 had a strong showing in the nominee and finalist lists for the three award categories: fiction, poetry and nonfiction. Two of those finalists were Jonathan Dee, assistant professor of English, for 鈥淭he Locals鈥� (Random House, 2017) in the fiction category, and Sean M. Conrey, associate director of Project Advance and part-time assistant professor of English, for 鈥淭he Book of Trees鈥� (Saint Julian Press, 2017) in the poetry category.
