Greetings from Paul Grondahl

At 42, the Writers Institute director reflects on time, legacy, and the power of storytelling

At one of more than 30 events in our spring season, Ruth Franklin discussed her book The Many Lives of Anne Frank at the University at Albany during our spring season. (Michael Huber / NYSWI)

I’ve been thinking about age and the passage of time lately. I turned 66 in June, the same month my 93-year-old mother passed away. Our founder Bill Kennedy is working on a new novel at 97. Our beloved Writers Institute is completing its 42nd year with this fall’s lineup.

The age of 42 in Buddhism and Hinduism is associated with reaching a state of enlightenment. In American culture, 42 might be considered an age ripe for a midlife crisis. And in Douglas Adams’ science fiction novel The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, the number 42 is a supercomputer’s answer to “the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything.”

What does it mean that the Writers Institute is 42 this year? Well, we’re not going through a midlife crisis. We like to think we spread a bit of enlightenment. We don’t pretend to hold the ultimate answer to life’s deepest questions.

We do offer respite from these polarizing times. We believe in our mission statement: “We foster a vibrant community of readers and writers who engage in meaningful dialogue.”

We have welcomed more than 3,000 of the best writers from around the world to campus in 42 years. Where do we fit within today’s world where everything is accelerating and attention spans are being compressed down to nanoseconds?

Time stops for a reader immersed in a masterful narrative. New worlds are revealed. Fresh ways of looking at human experience unfold. We gain empathy for the characters and are transformed by the elements of literature created by a skilled writer, who elicits deep emotions that are real, not artificial. Who would want to outsource that to ChatGPT?

Reading a good book is about quieting one’s overstimulated headspace. Shutting out the noise and distractions of our devices, social media and political grievances. By focusing line by line on words on a page (or a screen), we lose ourselves in a story. It is a mindful conversation, bound by a sacred trust between reader and writer on a journey together. We come together in person at our events to listen attentively, to ask questions of the author, to get our book signed, to connect with others, and to glean insight in the process.

It pleases us to read that indie bookstores are thriving. Maybe reading has become retro chic, like vinyl records and vintage clothing and typewriters. Bring it on, we say.

When you see the brilliant authors we will welcome this fall, from acclaimed masters to dynamic and diverse new voices, this is what 42 looks like. Bold. Confident. Expansive. A wide-angle view of humanity. Be enlightened.

Join the conversation.

Paul Grondahl, Opalka Endowed Director, NYS Writers Institute