The Great Read: At 97, the Bard of Albany Still Spins Tales of Gangsters and Politicians
William Kennedy raised money for the food pantry at his old church by reading from “Legs,” the gangster novel he began his celebrated Albany cycle with half a century ago.
The New York Times
The Great Read

November 13, 2025, 2:01 p.m. Eastern time

On weekdays and Sundays, we recommend one piece of exceptional writing from The Times — a narrative or essay that takes you someplace you might not expect to go.

A dapper older man in a jacket and tied sits in a crowded bar, with a brick wall and a TV set visible in the background.

Patrick Dodson for The New York Times

At 97, the Bard of Albany Still Spins Tales of Gangsters and Politicians

William Kennedy raised money for the food pantry at his old church by reading from “Legs,” the gangster novel he began his celebrated Albany cycle with half a century ago.

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