Episode 053: Peter Balakian

Peter Balakian was born in Teaneck, New Jersey and studied at Bucknell, NYU and Brown; he has taught English and Creative Writing at Colgate University since 1980.  His many books include June-tree: New and Selected Poems and the new collection Ziggurat; he is also the author of Black Dog Of Fate, a memoir about his childhood and Armenian family history.  He co-founded and co-edited, with Bruce Smith, the poetry magazine Graham House Review. His prizes and awards include a Guggenheim Fellowship and a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts.Balakian read from his work on March 3, 2011, in Cornell’s Goldwin Smith Hall. This interview took place earlier the same day.

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Host J. Robert Lennon interviews writers visiting Cornell University as part of the Barbara and David Zalaznick Reading Series, including George Saunders, Junot Diaz, Lydia Davis, Charles Simic, Claudia Emerson, Nicholson Baker, Téa Obreht, Jonathan Franzen, Heather McHugh, and many more.