"Books entered my house under cover of night, from the four winds, smuggled in by woodland creatures, and then they never left. Books collected on every surface; I believe that somehow they managed to breed" -- Lucy Sante
Lucy Sante
Writer and art critic
7 p.m. Tuesday, October 18, 2022
A Creative Life conversation with WAMC’s Joe Donahue
UAlbany Performing Arts Center, 1400 Washington Ave., Albany.
See map with parking info
Free and open to the public
Lucy Sante is a transgender, Belgian-born nonfiction writer, art critic and cultural commentator of astonishingly wide interests, including the Beastie Boys, early photography and the history of New York City reservoirs.
She is also “one of the handful of living masters of the American language, as well as a singular historian and philosopher of American experience,” according to Peter Schjeldahl of The New Yorker.
Heretofore known as Luc Sante, she is widely recognized for Low Life (1991) about crime and entertainment in Old New York, 1840-1919 as well as her collected essays, Kill All Your Darlings: Pieces 1990-2005 (2007). A second collection, Maybe the People Would Be the Times, came out in 2020.
She wrote about her recent gender transition in the February 2022 issue of Vanity Fair. Honors include a Whiting Writer's Award, an Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a Grammy (for album notes), an Infinity Award from the International Center of Photography, and Guggenheim and Cullman fellowships.
More: lucysante.com


Lucy Sante, photo by Bob Krasner
About "The Creative Life"
Created and produced by the New York State Writers Institute, University Art Museum, and UAlbany Performing Arts Center in collaboration with WAMC Northeast Public Radio, The Creative Life features leading figures from a variety of artistic disciplines in conversation with WAMC host Joe Donahue about creative inspiration, craft, and career.
Major support for The Creative Life is provided by The University at Albany Foundation, The John D. Picotte Family Foundation and Stewart’s Shops/Dake Family. Additional support is provided from the College of Arts and Sciences, Office of Intercultural Student Engagement and University Auxiliary Services.
More information on the Creative Life Series.




