The Peru Gazette

SARANAC LAKE — Troy author Daniel Killion will be at Adirondack Center for Writing (ACW) on Wednesday, July 31, at 7 p.m. along with co-author Michael Klane to read from his book Portrait of a Bank Robber.

Portrait of a Bank Robber is a work of creative nonfiction that follows Killion’s life from his adoption into an evangelical family in suburban Connecticut to his adventures in bank robbing and subsequent 12-year incarceration to his post-prison life as an artist and small business owner.

Killion started writing while incarcerated, supported by Connecticut’s Community Partners in Action program. Invited to write, paint and sculpt while serving his sentence, Killion discovered a new purpose for his life. Since leaving the prison system, he has published a memoir and opened a business, Weathered Wood, a local shop specializing in art and furniture made from Hudson River driftwood and other locally scavenged materials. His work can be viewed at weatheredwoodtroy.com.

“ACW has been running prison-writing programs in the North Country for over twenty years–and we’re starting a new one this week at Adirondack Correctional–so we’re especially interested in bringing Killion here to talk about his experience,” says program manager Tyler Barton. In a recent interview with Spectrum News in Albany, Killion put it this way: “Because of the prison art program and programs that go into prisons and consider incarcerated people to not be throwaways, you know, it made me feel like I wasn’t a throwaway.”

The event is part of ACW’s free author reading series, which occurs every other month and always concludes with an open mic. Anyone can share up to five minutes of their own writing. Register at adirondackcenterforwriting.org/event/portrait-of-a-bank-robber.

The Adirondack Center for Writing has brought people and words together for 25 years through provocative events and meaningful programs. For more information about ACW, visit adirondackcenterforwriting.org or follow @adkctr4writing on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.