Kennedy, William (1928-…), an American author, became known for his novels set in his hometown of Albany, New York. Kennedy wrote a trilogy called the Albany Novels that consists of Legs (1975); Billy Phelan’s Greatest Game (1978); and Ironweed (1983), which won the 1984 Pulitzer Prize for fiction. Kennedy’s novels have been praised for their colorful characters, realism, and ability to vividly blend history and fiction.
In Legs, Kennedy wrote a fictionalized biography of gangster Jack “Legs” Diamond. Billy Phelan’s Greatest Game is set during the Great Depression and deals with the kidnapping of the son of a powerful Albany politician. Ironweed follows the adventures of an alcoholic former baseball player and his girlfriend as they try to survive on Albany’s skid row. Kennedy’s other novels include The Ink Truck (1969), Quinn’s Book (1988), Very Old Bones (1992), Roscoe (2001), and Chango’s Beads and Two-Tone Shoes (2011). A collection of his essays on Albany’s politics and history was published as O Albany! (1983).
Kennedy was born in Albany on Jan. 16, 1928, and graduated from Siena College in 1959. Kennedy was a journalist for several newspapers, including the Albany Times-Union, from 1949 to 1970. Since 1973, he has taught in the English department at the State University of New York at Albany.
