Elba author Bill Kauffman publishes collection of previous writings

Kauffman is receiving accolades from the literary world for his newest achievement, “Poetry Night at the Ballpark and Other Scenes from an Alternative America.” The book is a compilation of pieces he has written in the last 28 years, including literary, political and science topics, said the Elba resident. There are also themes dealing with what he finds fascinating about his home community. “I have a love of the local, near-at-hand,” Kauffman said. “We live in a beautiful and history-rich area that is under-appreciated. Batavia is the smallest city in America with both its own symphony orchestra and professional baseball team.” Kauffman has been praised by politicians and authors, such as Gore Vidal, who said, “Kauffman and I are the original patriots. Kauffman is a romantic reactionary, a writer with an odd, energetic optimism.” Howard Frank Mosher, author of “Northern Borders,” said, “I’ve admired Bill Kauffman’s books for years…appealing, elegantly written and entirely American.” Tom Russell, author of “The Father of All Things,” described Kauffman as one of America’s funniest and wisest writers. “Not only can he make anarchism seem lovable, he forces you to reassess everything you believe about American politics and culture. He might even make you change your life.” “Poetry at the Ballpark” was released in June and is available at select book stores and online at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Kauffman grew up in Batavia. He was working for a magazine in Southern California when he met his wife Lucene from Los Angeles. She also worked for the same magazine but in a different office. After talking on the phone for three months, they met and were married. They moved back to Genesee County in 1988. Kauffman has also worked for Senator Daniel Moynihan in Washington, D.C.; The Wall Street Journal, The American Scholar, Los Angeles Times Book Review, USA Today, Newsday, The Australian and The Spectator of London, to name a few. He has edited numerous books for a variety of publishers and institutions and conducted lengthy published interviews with subjects, such as Shelby Foote, Joe Paterno, Clarence Thomas and Charlton Heston. He has lectured or given readings at many schools, colleges and libraries across the country and locally. His book “Dispatches from the Muckdog Gazette” won the 2003 national “Sense of Place” award from Writers and Books. “Look Homeward, America” was named one of the best books of 2006 by the American Library Association. Kauffman wrote the screenplay for the feature film “Copperhead,” which came out in 2013, starring Billy Campbell and Peter Fonda. He is currently waiting to hear if he has been chosen to write the biography of a former president. He and Lucine live in Elba with their daughter Gretel.