The Local Edition

John J. Lennon said he was stunned when he learned he had been named a 2026 Guggenheim Fellow in General Nonfiction.

The acclaimed journalist and essayist is believed to be the first person in the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation’s 101-year history to receive the prestigious fellowship while currently incarcerated.

Speaking with Radio Catskill from Sing Sing Correctional Facility, Lennon described the recognition as both humbling and difficult to fully process within the confines of prison.

“You’re just kind of stunned,” Lennon said. “It’s just a totally humbling experience.”

But celebrating good news inside a prison, Lennon explained, is complicated.

“You don’t burst out of your cell and say, ‘Guys, guess what?’” he said. “You kind of have to contain it.”

Lennon said incarcerated people sometimes exercise restraint when sharing accomplishments because they do not know how the news will be received by those around them.

“Prison is a tough place. It’s a tough environment,” he said. “The stakes are a little higher in here.”

The Guggenheim Fellowship will support a piece Lennon is writing for The New York Review of Books. The essay will explore the 200-year literary history of Sing Sing during the prison’s bicentennial year and is expected to be published this fall.

Lennon has written extensively about incarceration, criminal justice and daily life behind prison walls. His reporting and essays have appeared in national publications, offering readers a view of prisons that outside journalists rarely have access to.

He said incarcerated writers face obvious disadvantages, including limited technology, research materials and communication with editors. However, they also possess something most reporters cannot easily obtain: direct access to life inside a prison.

“What we do have is something that most journalists would really like, at least temporarily,” Lennon said. “That’s the access to what’s around us.”

That access includes the sounds, conversations, personalities and daily events unfolding in cellblocks, prison yards and other areas that visiting reporters are unlikely to see.

“The best a reporter is going to get if a reporter comes in here is they’re going to sit on the visit floor,” Lennon said. “That’s a totally different dynamic than me telling an in-action story in the cellblock or the yard.”

Lennon said his work often connects the experiences of the people around him with his own emotional life. When writing about someone experiencing serious mental illness, for example, Lennon said he may draw upon periods when he experienced deep depression inside his cell.

He described that shared human experience as an important part of telling stories that reach readers beyond prison walls.

Lennon also said the country is experiencing what he considers a renaissance in prison writing, as more incarcerated writers and artists find ways to publish work and receive recognition.

“There’s not many things we can do on the inside,” Lennon said. “Art is one of them.”

He said incarcerated artists and writers should be considered for the same grants, fellowships and professional opportunities available to people outside prison.

“We should be in the running too,” he said.

Recognition Beyond the Literary World

Alelur “Alex” Duran, program director at Galaxy Gives, said Lennon’s Guggenheim Fellowship is significant far beyond the literary community.

Duran leads the foundation’s criminal justice reform portfolio and was himself incarcerated for 12 years. He said there has historically been too little acknowledgment of “the brilliance, the beauty and the bravery” of thinkers and artists living behind prison walls.

“We shouldn’t make any distinction between people who are in prison and people who are not,” Duran said. “If you are a writer of that kind of caliber, I think you should get the same opportunities as anybody else.”

In 2022, Lennon became the first currently incarcerated person to receive a Galaxy Leader Fellowship. Duran said Lennon went through the same competitive process as hundreds of other applicants and was selected based on the strength of his work.

The fellowship included flexible funding, leadership development and other professional support. Lennon has participated in meetings and gatherings by telephone when possible.

Duran said more foundations should recognize the leadership, experience and creative ability of incarcerated people.

“Prisons don’t only shield the public from the brutality that happens in there,” Duran said. “They also shield the public from a lot of the brilliance that incarcerated people hold.”

He said Lennon’s work challenges assumptions about who incarcerated people are and what they are capable of accomplishing.

Duran also described prison journalism as a democratic necessity. Because prisons frequently operate outside sustained public scrutiny, he said writers such as Lennon can document conditions that would otherwise remain hidden.

“The work that John is doing is actually strengthening our democracy by reporting and bearing witness on what’s happening behind prison walls,” Duran said.

Duran said his own experience in prison continues to shape his work in philanthropy and his commitment to ending mass incarceration. He argued that people directly affected by incarceration should have a central role in shaping criminal justice policy.

“Every institution that has power should be centering the voices of currently incarcerated people,” he said.

For Lennon, the Guggenheim represents not only a personal milestone but also another step toward treating incarcerated writers as serious contributors to American journalism and literature.

He said recognition from institutions such as Galaxy Gives and the Guggenheim Foundation could encourage more people inside prisons to pursue writing and art despite the obstacles surrounding them.

“This is a space where people are producing work on the inside, publishing it and selling art to galleries,” Lennon said. “These institutions that give these grants—we should be in the running too.”

On July 11 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sullivan Street was packed with fairgoers celebrating Founders Day in Wurtsboro. The event highlighted local businesses, live music and vendors from surrounding communities selling their products.

The sun beamed down over the fair as people looked around at the different offerings. Founders Day gives the community a chance to come together, support Wurtsboro and celebrate each year. The Wurtsboro Board of Trade hosts the event annually and helps put together the 150 vendors spread across the area. Some fairgoers have been coming to Founders Day for decades, and the event gives them a chance to meet new people and see new faces each time. Near the end of the street, cars lined both sides of the road for a car show.

For one local vendor selling freshly made maple syrup, the event is something Robert Scheuermann looks forward to every year. He said this year also gave him a chance to be on the other side of business, selling instead of typically buying from vendors.

“It's a really nice street fair, it's always busy, calm,” Scheuermann said. “Everyone's always nice, polite. It's definitely a street fair I would recommend everyone to show up to.”

One of the event’s main draws is the arts scene the town has to offer. Live music played throughout the day in Veterans Park, while different vendors sold original artwork.

At Catskill Creative Art, a local business in town, two visiting artists showcased their skills live at the market. Debs Originals painted watercolor cards, while Steve Duffy created a larger piece in the sun.

Business owner Billie Robson said she enjoys having artwork on display and connecting with people walking past their stand.

“I'm really happy to be part of the community with all the new artwork,” Robson said. “And the village is up and coming, and every year the street fair becomes more and more incredible. It's very artistic.”

There were also local organizations tabling throughout the event, including the Basha Kill Area Association, Mamakating Environmental Education Center and Mamakating Library, which is located right on Sullivan Street.

At the end of the street, one of the car show contestants, Eileen Brodsky, enjoyed showing off her newly restored car and being part of the community she makes sure to support.

“You meet new people and the same old ones sometimes, so it's nice,” Brodsky said. “And then a lot of our friends [are] selling stuff, so you gotta help them.”

Throughout the day, the sun continued to shine and the street fair stayed vibrant as people traveled from around the county to attend.

“It was amazing to see dozens and dozens of people just having a wonderful time,” Robson said. 

"We Keep Us Safe" is an audio documentary by NPR, KUOW, and The Seattle Times, investigating the shooting death of a black teenager at a Black Lives Matter protest. Antonio May Jr.'s case has gone unsolved for years despite the night of his death being broadcast across several livestreams. Sydney Brownstone, Will James, and David Gutman worked together to fill in the gaps between the footage. 

The hot summer day hung over Hutton Brickyards. Blankets covered the floor near the main stage as fans waited for the final performance of the night. After a storm swept through briefly and cleared the sky, rainbows appeared overhead, setting the stage for the headlining act.

Noah Kahan performed on the main stage at Hutton Brickyards on July 4 for StateSide, a festival hosted by Rolling Stone that brought artists to two stages. Many fans camped out near the main stage, making connections, playing games or relaxing between sets. Music began at noon and wrapped up after Kahan’s performance and a fireworks display after 11 p.m. Vendors lined the grounds, along with a table from the local O+ Festival.

While the event was one of the first music festivals of its kind at Hutton Brickyards, the ticket price was steep for a single-day festival. On regular sale, general admission tickets started at $408, a cost that can be out of reach for locals in the surrounding area.

To beat the heat, the event provided free water bottles at various points throughout the venue. Bringing blankets to rest between sets also gave attendees a chance to bond throughout the night.

Becky Himmelblau, who drove in from Albany, formed a connection with people from Florida.

“This is our blanket club. We made a club, we introduced ourselves, we had normal social interactions, and then we made a pact that we're gonna stay here together and watch out for each other's belongings,” Himmelblau said.

Even with the fun atmosphere, some locals said they noticed few other attendees from the area. Amber Larsen and Casey Arnold, both from the Hudson Valley and local to the venue, said the cost likely kept many locals away.

“We will say they were very, very expensive, and most of the locals — we have not met a single local that is here because nobody can afford it from our area, which is unfortunate,” Arnold said.

Himmelblau said the prices were on par with the rest of Kahan’s tour and cheaper than some other venues he played. She also said concert prices in general have risen.

“What hasn’t gone up in recent years?” Himmelblau said. “Everything is up in price, especially tickets. It is so expensive to go to any kind of event.”

According to TicketData, Noah Kahan tickets are currently selling for as low as $233 for his first night at Fenway Park or as high as $637 at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. The festival price, then, seemed like a bargain to some fans compared with his stadium tour, where the same amount of money could buy a seat among more than 30,000 other fans.

According to Pollstar, which tracks ticket prices and concert revenue, average stadium tour ticket prices rose to $216.13 per show in 2025, up from $182.66 the year before. Compared with 2023, the 2025 average was 29% higher.

That makes concerts a luxury good, with cheap tickets increasingly a thing of the past. This festival, while exciting for fans, showed how a high price tag can still feel worthwhile because of the destination and Kahan’s move away from smaller venues.

Noah Kahan was not the only artist with high-priced tickets, even at a one-day festival. While many fans stayed near the main stage to see Kahan close out the night, the Scout Stage featured artists throughout the day, surrounded by food trucks, picnic tables overlooking the Hudson River and old brickyards, and several drink stands, mostly selling Dogfish Head products.

That built-in festival feel gave fans another reason to pay, since they could see multiple artists in one day even if it meant staying in one place for hours.

“I would say for me it felt worth it because Noah's tickets, I was looking at resale tickets for Philly, and they were like $400-plus for not that great of a seat,” said Bri McKenna. “So I felt like going to a smaller venue would be cool.”

Morgan Blake, who came from Florida, also saw value in the setting. Ticket prices near her were comparable or higher.

“[Noah Kahan was] playing in the Kia Center in Orlando, where we're from, it was like $150 or $350 for the cheapest seats, but it was gonna be 80,000 people,” Blake said. “And so this is like, for just 50 bucks more, 4,000 people.”

That more intimate setting was part of the appeal for many fans, especially with Kahan on a stadium tour. It offered a chance to see a major artist with a general-admission setup at a small venue hosting a festival of this size for the first time.

“We also were just like, it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. When is he ever gonna play in Kingston, New York, again? Who knows?” Larsen said. “I figured it's gonna be a long, long time if he ever does, so I was like, we have to go now.”

The main stage featured Arcy Drive, Bo Staloch, Sydney Rose and Gigi Perez before Kahan. The Scout Stage included Hudson Ingram, Derby, Michalea Anne, Calder Allen and Devon Gilfillian.

Even with the high ticket prices, the event sold out within days and remained on resale until the festival. 

Despite the high prices, fans still came out to support their favorite artists. Throughout the day, they gathered to sign an American flag with Noah Kahan in the center and sang along to his songs over the speakers between sets at the main stage.

Music festivals and concerts bring fans together over shared music and the chance to discover new artists and revisit favorites. Even with the heat, attendees kept enjoying the performances and embraced the first music festival at Hutton Brickyards.

In 2026, the size of New York State’s volunteer fire service is the smallest it has been in more than 40 years. Small towns rely on volunteer firefighters to respond to emergencies like fires, drowning, fallen trees, missing persons and more. As the volunteer pool dries up, stations are forced to close or merge to rally a large enough response. Reporter Rebekah Hendricks spoke with John Hauschild the Director of Safety and Fire Coordinator of Sullivan County about how this issue affects us here in the Catskills.