CNY Branch Member Vanessa Johnson's Play "Cages" Premiers with the Syracuse City School District
New CNY Branch member Vanessa Johnson recently penned a one-act play takes place in a Detention Center on the Texas-Mexico border. Her play "Cages" features the voices of five children held in the Detention Center. We learn their stories about how they were detained, separated from their parents, and what life is like for them in detainment. The children in John's play plan an act of defiance to maintain their identities and individual autonomy inside these "CAGES". The pla


Three CNY Branch Pen Women Named Finalists in William Faulkner/William Wisdom Competition
The Pirates Alley Faulkner Society has announced the winners and finalists in the 2020 William Faulkner/William Wisdom creative writing competition, and three CNY Branch members were named finalists. Janine DeBaise's essay "Touching Earth" was named a short-list finalist, a heartbeat away from the winning entry. Nancy Dafoe's non-fiction memoir Unstuck in Time was named a finalist, as was her essay "Courage, Pain, and Medical Mystery" in the essay category. Karen Hempson's es