“O Albany”: Novelist William Kennedy on His Great Cycle of the City

Thanks so much, Max.

It's been a wonderful project to work with.

The Library of America is just an incredible organization.

And it's so nice to be here with Bill, who I first met in 1981.

And he's been my mentor for the last 45 years.

And I'm so proud to be the director of this Writers Institute that Bill started with part of his MacArthur Genius Grant.

But Bill, this volume is a beautiful volume, very elegant.

They never let it go out of print, archival production.

But now you're with, I call it the Pantheon, Steinbeck, Fitzgerald, Faulkner, Hemingway, on and on, Toni Morrison, who you knew as part of the Writers Institute as well.

How does it feel to be part of the Library of America edition?

Well, it was, I said something the other night at the party we had after the reading.

I said it was like the happiest day of my life.

But, you know, I modify that question.

to include the birth of my son and two daughters, and my marriage.

And those were great days, and they were very, very, very, very happy, and I had a great many happy days in my mother life.

I had a pretty happy life.

I've had some tragedies in it, but It's been great.

And this is the piece de resistance.

Well, for my work, I mean, this is what I dreamed of when I was starting out.

I used to think of Hemingway and how he was known the world over.