Paul Austin

Paul Austin’s collection “Notes on Hard Times” was published by Village Books Press. His work has appeared in such publications as This Land, Sugar Mule, Oklahoma Review, More Monologues by Men, and Newport Review. His poems have also been included in Speak Your Mind, the 2019 anthology of Woody Guthrie Poets Bull Buffalo and Indian Paintbrush, an anthology of Oklahoma poetry, Behind the mask: Haiku in the Time of Covid-19, Jerry Jazz Musician, and LEVEL Land: poems for and about the I-35 corridor. Late Night Conspiracies, a collection of his writings was performed with jazz ensemble at New York’s Ensemble Studio Theatre. He has written for and about the theatre in essays, poetry and plays. Spontaneous Behavior, the Art and Craft of Acting will be published in 2022 by Turning Plow Press.

In his theatre career he has acted and directed On and Off Broadway, Off-Off Broadway, summer stock, and regional theatres around the nation, as well as acting for television and film. He was for many years the Artistic Director of The Image Theatre in New York, where he produced plays and taught acting. Mr. Austin’ latest venture was as Founder and Artistic Director of The Liberty Free Theatre, a free theatre which ran for ten years as a public service for the underserved community of Sullivan County, NY.

In addition to teaching privately in NY, he was a tenured faculty member at Sarah Lawrence College for twenty years. He has also taught at the University of Oklahoma and the Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute He was a recipient of the Teachers Who Make a Difference award from the Creative Coalition at the Sundance Film Festival.

He is married to Oklahoma native, the novelist, Rilla Askew.