Award-winning author, professor, and journalist to speak at SUNY New Paltz

NEW PALTZ — Samuel G. Freedman, award-winning writer, journalist and professor, will share a wealth of experiences gained throughout his career when he visits the State University of New York at New Paltz to give a public lecture and meet with students. The topic of his April 13 public lecture will be “Writing Across Borders – how to render honorably the experiences of others different from ourselves.”

Freedman will address students enrolled in the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP), as well as host a workshop for Journalism II and Feature Writing classes. The EOP talk, focusing on the importance of reading and writing in any field, will take place at 3:30 p.m. on April 13. The workshop for journalism students will be held the following day, April 14, from 2 to 4:15 p.m.

Freedman is the author of three highly acclaimed books that depict how well he has been able to cross borders: “Small Victories: The Real World of a Teacher, Her Students and Their High School” (New York: HarperCollins, 1990); “Upon This Rock: The Miracles of a Black Church” (New York: Harper Collins, 1993); and “The Inheritance: How Three Families and America Moved from Roosevelt to Reagan and Beyond” (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996). All three have been named a notable book of the year by the New York Times Book Review.

A tenured professor at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, Freedman was named the nation’s outstanding journalism educator in 1996 by the Society of Professional Journalists. He also serves on the advisory board of CommonQuest: The Magazine of Black-Jewish Relations.

Currently, Freedman’s work-in-progress is a book about friction in an American-Jewish community. He hopes to finish this project by the end of 1999.

The invitation to have Freedman visit the New Paltz campus was first extended by Jessica Siegel, a faculty member in the department of communication and media. She and her former students from Seward Park High School on Manhattan’s Lower East Side were the subject of Freedman’s first book, “Small Victories.” The book also mentions SUNY New Paltz and some of the students who later enrolled in the New Paltz EOP program and have since graduated from the college.

Freedman was a reporter for The New York Times from 1981-1987, before leaving to write “Small Victories.” He continues to contribute to The New York Times on a freelance basis.

“Small Victories” was a finalist in non-fiction for the 1990 National Book Award. In addition to The New York Times Book Review, it was named a notable book of the year by the American Library Association, and the New York Public Library, and was chosen as a main selection by the Book of the Month Club.

“The Inheritance” was a finalist for the 1997 Pulitzer Prize in general nonfiction. It received the 1997 Humanities Book Award from the New Jersey Council for the Humanities and was listed among the best books of 1996 by the Washington Post, Chicago Sun-Times and Milwaukee Journal.

“Upon This Rock” won the 1993 Helen Bernstein Award for Excellence in Journalism and was cited among the best books of 1993 by the Chicago Tribune and the Boston Globe. It also earned front-page reviews in the book sections of the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times and The New York Times.

“Upon This Rock, ” Freedman’s second book, is the one the writer says he most enjoyed. “The experience was transforming,” he said. “Writing the book really affected my religious as well as personal life.”

A contributing editor to New York magazine and a member of the USA Today Board of Contributors, Freedman also writes regularly for numerous other publications, including Rolling Stone and the Online magazine, Salon.

“Salon is a very good addition to journalism in this country; though, I am leery of publications on the Net,” Freedman says. “Without editors, suddenly you have someone like Matt Drudge wielding influence.”

Freedman’s advice to students in all fields: “Since you are surrounded by readers and writers in college, avail yourselves of that. Decide ‘Now is my time and I’m going to seize it and learn as much as I can.'”

Following the 7:30 p.m. talk in Lecture Center 102, Ariel Booksellers will host a reception and book sale. Copies of all three of Freedman’s books will be available.