The New York State Literary Center (NYSLC) was founded in 1979 by Dale Davis and A. Poulin, Jr. It was one of the first upstate New York arts organizations to send writers into the public schools to teach on a regular basis. In the past twenty-eight years, over 300 writers and artists have worked with over 32,000 children in more than 600 different schools that span from rural, suburban, and urban schools to alternative educational settings, residential placement facilities, group homes, day treatments programs, juvenile justice facilities, and jails and correctional facilities. 

Beginning in the early 1980’s The New York State Literary Center developed in-depth, long-term, project-based, interdisciplinary Arts in Education programs with a small number of schools. The NYSLC brought together writers, visual artists, actors, and technology in standards-based arts-integrated programs. Writers included Homero Aridjis, William Bronk, Kenneth Burke, Robert Creeley, Malcolm Cowley, Robert Fitzgerald, Hugh Kenner, Emir Rodriguez Monegal, and Octavio Paz; actors included Ruth Maleczech; and visual artists included Carrie Mae Weems. Rock musician Ron Nine and Miami Heat guard John Wallace also worked with Dale Davis as integral parts of NYSLC programs.

NYSLC programs addressed real, concrete dilemmas generating creative solutions that transformed the writing that went on in school from a solitary, mechanical process into vibrant, interactive communications. Students’ writing achieved size, clarity, and became an event. Students wrote about their own experiences and concerns, and the projects drew individual student expression into collective publications, videos, CDs, and events to achieve presence. NYSLC programs built community.

NYSLC programs addressed motivation, literacy, and critical thinking through visual art, theater, music, media education, AIDS education, identity, poverty, stereotypes, racism, and popular culture. In theater, with the production by a high school of Dale Davis’ play, like we call it home, adapted from the writing of teenagers, the NYSLC brought in an audience of over 2000 students, parents, and educators. Another project culminated in the world premiere of William Carlos Williams’ play, Tituba’s Children, performed by high school students.

A high school student who participated in a NYSLC project accepted an internship by Bill Moyers that was offered on the basis of the research and writing she did for the project. Another high school student’s video was selected for inclusion in PBS’s Point of View / NewViews.

Another result of a NYSLC residency was the peer directed AIDS ‘N US project cited for excellence by The Center for Disease Control National AIDS Clearinghouse. This project has been replicated nationally.