Hardy Griffin ‘91: Editor, Translator & Award-Winning Author

by Tim O'Keefe

Hometown: That’s a tough one—I grew up in Boulder, Colorado, but spent 15 years (the most I’ve ever lived anywhere) in Istanbul, Turkey.

Currently Residing In: Ithaca, New York

Education: Wesleyan University (BA); The City College of New York (MA); Boğaziçi University (PhD)

Occupation: Editor, Writer, and Translator

What are some of your interests?
In 2000, I went to live in Istanbul, Turkey, and stayed there until 2015, when the political situation got too crazy. But I love Turkish culture, food and literature.

A favorite memory of a CRMS faculty or classmate?
So many! As a 12th grader, Hal Langfur was my English teacher and I had to write an in-depth profile, and I couldn’t find anyone and in the end, I just called a random number on the school payphone. Turns out it was a 20-something person in Grand Junction, and he gave an amazing interview over the course of about $5 in quarters, and Hal said he couldn’t believe my luck. Sometimes, you have to try something totally off the wall.

How did CRMS play a role in your professional, personal, or community life?
CRMS taught me the immense importance of balance in life, between work, play, sports, and serving your community in meaningful ways.

How has your experience at CRMS influenced what you are doing now?
During the pandemic, I thought about what I could do to serve the literary community, and that’s why I helped start Novel Slices — it’s a nonprofit literary magazine devoted to novel excerpts from unpublished novels. We work to help new writers get their work agented and published.

What would you like to tell students today?
Follow your passion, but also be humble and work with others to affect meaningful change. Keep in touch with your friends from CRMS!

In 2022 Hardy won the Grand Prize for Unpublished Books from Eyelands Book Awards. He recently published that work of fiction, Broken Kismet, in 2023. Hardy published writing in Aesthetica Magazine, Fresh.ink, New Flash Fiction, Alimentum, Assisi, The Washington Post, American Letters & Commentary, and a chapter in The Gotham Writer’s Guide to Writing Fiction (Bloomsbury). His translations can be found in Words Without Borders, The Istanbul Biennial, and for Ermeniler, an award-winning book on the lives of Armenians in contemporary Turkey. He is the founding editor of Novel Slices, a publication dedicated solely to novel excerpts.