From noon to midnight: Albany celebrates Kennedy’s 1975 novel "Legs"

"He walked into this Albany bar like he owned the joint, dressed to kill in a black overcoat with room enough for a Tommy gun. But all he was packing was his weapon of choice, a book..."

So begins reporter Dan Barry's profile of William Kennedy, published in the New York Times on Monday, November 17.

"The crowd met him at the door with a blast of cheers. There he is, they called out. There he is. William Kennedy. Bill.

Kennedy may be nearly 98 and using a walker, but don’t kid yourself. He knows where the bodies are buried — he still speaks to them — and he can drink you under the table. He is Albany’s ageless bard, and his appearance had just consecrated the rain-slickened night.

The occasion was a marathon reading of his novel “Legs,” about the dapper gangster Jack Diamond, who died in an Albany rooming house in 1931 from lead poisoning, brought on by three bullets to the head. The anointed venue was the ADCo Bar & Bottle Shop, an establishment of spirits, snug between the brick remnants of the old National Biscuit Co. bakery."

Read the story in the New York Times

NY State Senator Pat Fahy shows her copy of Legs newly signed by William Kennedy. (Paul Grondahl / NYS Writers Institute)

The marathon reading of William Kennedy’s 1975 novel Legs on Wednesday, Nov. 5, at Albany Distilling Co. Bar and Bottle Shop was one for the books, a day packed with unforgettable moments.

The event began at noon sharp. Cider Belly doughnuts and coffee lined the bar. Paul Grondahl read the first pages, kicking off what would become a long, spirited celebration of Kennedy’s prose.

Nearly 80 readers took turns at the lectern, including longtime Kennedy friends Terry Golway and Peter Quinn who drove in from New York City. Also attending was New York Times reporter Dan Barry, notebook in hand. Read Barry's account of the evening.

By the third hour, the reading slot schedule had entered the realm of fiction. The plan was to wrap up at 8 p.m. Readers lingered over Kennedy’s dialogue, savoring the rhythms of 1920s Albany. By the time we read the final pages, it was 12:19 a.m. Thursday.

At the 3/4 mark of the book, Mr. Kennedy himself approached the lectern and read an extended passage: the pivotal scene where Jack “Legs” Diamond employs his gangster ways to confront the bootlegger "Streeter." See video below the photo gallery.

Later, his son Brendan Kennedy read a section that opened -- "Dove Street runs north and south in Albany through what for years was the rooming house district on the fringe of downtown..." He paused, looked up, and told the crowd that the passage described the house where Legs Diamond met his end. "When I was a kid, I slept in the bedroom where he was shot."

Best of all, the event raised $1,605 for the food pantry at Sacred Heart of Jesus Roman Catholic Church, which was Kennedy’s childhood parish in Albany's North End. In the photo at right, Albany Distilling proprietor John Curtin hands the check to Mike Conners, parishioner of Sacred Heart and a food pantry volunteer.

Many, many thanks to all of the participants for being generous with your time and donations. Legs was truly a special community event.

This was our third annual marathon reading of Kennedy's novels. We started with the Pulitzer-winning Ironweed in 2023, followed by Billy Phelan's Greatest Game last year. Let's do it again next year.

Video:

William Kennedy reads from his 1975 novel Legs at the Albany Distilling Co. Bar and Bottle Shop on Wednesday, Nov. 5. It's a pivotal scene where Jack “Legs” Diamond uses his gangster ways to confront the bootlegger "Streeter."