Poet Éireann Lorsung to lead ‘A Procession for SUNY Oswego’
Poet Éireann Lorsung will be the next featured guest in SUNY Oswego’s 2026 Living Writers Series, appearing at 3 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 12, in the Marano Campus Center auditorium (room 132).
Lorsung, the author of four books of poetry, will begin the event by reading from her work and discussing her poetic and environmental philosophy before leading an interactive event she calls “A Procession for SUNY Oswego.”
The procession will use the form of the religious, labor or suffrage procession to bring language that is often left tacit into public view.
For Lorsung, the procession is a way of bringing people together and creating an opportunity to re-present language and reimagine what it is possible to say together. Rather than simply observing an artwork, participants will become part of the work itself.
Lorsung’s appearance continues this year’s Living Writers Series theme of A/I, which explores the tension between Artistic Intelligence and Artificial Intelligence. Her philosophy of art emphasizes direct human connection, curiosity and making things collaboratively in specific places.
“I am invested in spending the limited time I have on earth being alively on earth with the people in front of me, and trying to find out what it means to be human in the most direct ways available to me,” Lorsung said.
“I want to make things with people, in places, aware of what people and places mean and do. I want to be more curious. I want to find things out with others,” she added. “So the products selling statistical generation, grouped together as 'artificial intelligence,' don't interest me at all. They seem dull and, worse, they seem to produce dullness in people and brokenness in the world.”
"What better way to think about Artistic Intelligence than for all of us to create something together," said Sari Fordham, the curator of this year's Living Writers Series. "This is likely our first Living Writers Series procession and we're going to make a splash. I'm excited."
The event is free and open to the campus and wider community. This Living Writers Series event is presented by ARTSwego, the Office of Sustainability and the Department of English and Creative Writing.
During Living Writers Series events, the community may park for free in lots E-10 and E-17 beyond Marano Campus Center (no pass required). Visit oswego.edu/parking for parking and campus maps.
For assistance in attending an event, contact Accessibility Resources at 315.312.3358 or [email protected].
— Submitted by the Living Writers Series