WVBR News Directors Andrew Modrowsky and Jack Donnellan interview NM State Senator, Cornell alum (and one-time kick returner on the football team) and author Bill O'Neill. O’Neill read from his recent poetry collection The Definition of Empty from University of New Mexico Press, as well as his recent novel Short Session from Red Mountain Press at Buffalo Street Books on June 4th at 2:00 PM. A native of rural Ohio, he was elected to the New Mexico Legislature in 2008 and is now in his second term in the New Mexico State Senate. O’Neill’s poems have appeared in numerous literary reviews, both regional and national, and his career has been framed by his work with nonprofits, with a focus on incarcerated juveniles and adults. In 2005, Governor Bill Richardson appointed him Executive Director of the NM Juvenile Parole Board. Named an Emerging Leader in 2016 by the University Of Virginia’s Darden School, he credits his early literary inspiration to mentors E.L. Doctorow and V.B. Price.

This interview, first released on AFTER HOURS, will be broadcasted live on WVBR 93.5 FM in August 2022. Special thanks to Bill O’Neill and Ben Tanzer for making this episode possible.

wvbr.com/afterhours

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