Al Young, 1939 - 2021 For over 30 years, Al was vital member of the Community of Writers, teaching across the programs and serving on the Board of Directors. Many Friday night Follies found Al onstage, often part of the three-man Granite Chief quartet or as a duo with his friend Jim Houston, serenading the audience with such classics as “Hey Good Lookin’” or “Mr. Bojangles.”

Al, who served as California’s Poet Laureate for three years, wrote over 25 books of fiction, nonfiction and poetry. A graduate of UC Berkeley, he also taught widely, as a Stegner fellow and Jones Lecturer at Stanford, as well as at universities and conferences across the country and the world. He was the recipient of numerous awards and honors, among them the Guggenheim, the Richard Wright Award for Excellence in Literature, a Fulbright, NEA Fellowships, PEN-USA awards, and Radio Pacifica’s KPFA Peace Prize. R

While Al’s final publication credits include an appearance in The Best American Poetry 2016, edited by Edward Hirsch, as well as our recently published anthology Why to These Rocks: Fifty years of Poems from the Community of Writers, the most impressive credit is certainly the five poems which appear in the Library of America’s African American Poetry: 250 years of Struggle and Song, edited by Kevin Young

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Screenwriting Program
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From Screenwriting 2008 2009
Screenwriting Program
Photo by Christopher Upham
From Screenwriting 2008 2009
Screenwriting Program
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From Screenwriting 2008 2009
Screenwriting Program
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From Screenwriting 2008 2009
Screenwriting Program
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From Screenwriting 2008 2009
Brett Hall Jones and Hunter - Registration
From Poetry Workshop 2005
Poetry Program
Galway Kinnell individual conference
From Poetry Workshop 2005
Poetry Program
David Lukas on Nature Walk
From Poetry Workshop 2005
Poetry Program
Galway Kinnell and Robert Hass listen to Craft Talk
From Poetry Workshop 2005
Poetry Program
Lucille Clifton (Center)
From Poetry Workshop 2005
Lucille, Sharon, Brenda, Robert, Galway, Kevin
Poetry Program 2005
From Poetry Workshop 2005
Poetry Program 2005
Lucille Clifton
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Oakley Hall, Lisa Alvarez and Brenda Hillman
From Poetry Workshop 2005
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Poet Softball
From Poetry Workshop 2007
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Poet Softball - Sharon Olds
From Poetry Workshop 2007
Lake Tahoe
From Poetry Workshop 2007
Poetry Program 2009
Brenda Hillman
From Poetry Workshop 2007
Poetry
Maxima Kahn, Brett Hall Jones, Lisa Alvarez, Gary Short
From Poetry Workshop 2007
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From Poetry Workshop 2007
Writers Workshop - 2007
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From Writers Workshops 2007
Writers Workshop - 2007
Photo by Brett Hall
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Writers Workshop - 2007
From Writers Workshops 2007
Writers Workshop - 2007
Photo by Brett Hall
From Writers Workshops 2007
Writers Workshop - 2007
San Hall, Oakley Hall, Brett Hall Jones
From Writers Workshops 2007
Oakley Hall Books & Typewriter
Photo credit: Steve Susoyev 2008
Writers Workshop - 2008
Reagan Arthur, Joshua Ferris, Julie Barer
Writers Workshops 2008
Poetry Program
Brenda HIllman
From Poetry Workshop 2009
Poetry Program
Brenda HIllman Craft Talk
From Poetry Workshop 2009
Poetry Program
Galway Kinnell Special Workshop
From Poetry Workshop 2009
Poetry Program
Cornelius Eady
From Poetry Workshop 2009
Poetry Program
Robert Hass Individual Conference
From Poetry Workshop 2007
Poetry Program
Poet Softball Team
From Poetry Workshop 2009
Poetry Program
Lake Tahoe BBQ
From Poetry Workshop 2009
Poetry Program
Lake Tahoe BBQ
From Poetry Workshop 2009
Poetry Program
Cornelius Eady Individual Conference
From Poetry Workshop 2009
Poetry Program
Robert Hass Craft Talk
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Poetry Program - Final DInner
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From Poetry Workshop 2009
Opening Talk Writers Workshop - 2009
Lynn Freed
From Writers Workshops 2009
Writers Workshop
From Writers Workshops 2009
Writers Workshop - Craft Talk
Janet Fitch
From Writers Workshops 2009
Writers Workshop
Michael Pietsch, Janet Fitch, Mark Childress, Leslie Daniels, Susan Golomb
From Writers Workshops 2009
Writers Workshop - 2009
Individual Conference with Dorothy Allison
From Writers Workshops 2009
Writers Workshop - 2009
David Womack
From Writers Workshops 2009
Writers Workshop - 2009
From Writers Workshops 2009
Writers Workshop - 2009
Dagoberto Gilb
From Writers Workshops 2009
Writers Workshops 2009
Published Alumni Reading: Julie Flynn Siler, Jamie Ford, Frances Dinkelspiel, Vicki Forman, David Bajo
From Writers Workshops 2009

Al Young, 1936 - 2021

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