He spent three years (1997-2000) as U.S. Poet Laureate and also served as a consultant in poetry for the Library of Congress during that time. Pinsky, a New Jersey native, has published several poetry and prose collections, including "The Figured Wheel: New and Collected Poems 1966-1996," which was a Pulitzer Prize nominee. He's won numerous awards, including an American Academy of Arts and Letters award, the William Carlos Williams Award, and the PEN/Voelcker Award for Poetry. Pinsky will read poetry this week, as part of the NYS Summer Writers Institute. 8 p.m. Friday. Free. Davis Auditorium, Palamountain Hall, Skidmore College, 815 N. Broadway, Saratoga Springs. 580-5590; http://goo.gl/ngyTwx