More recently and in response to the growing conflict around the world, McCoy decided to focus her energies on creating and producing projects that draw on her background in literature and visual culture to generate a greater awareness of the ‘other’ in an attempt to promote increased tolerance. Her large-format book, Cuba on the Verge: An Island in Transition (Bulfinch Press) which she created/edited and produced was released in May, 2003 to critical praise. Pulitizer-Prize winning novelist, William Kennedy, wrote the book’s introduction while Arthur Miller contributed its original epilogue, entitled Castro. McCoy also guest curated an exhibition of all the photographs contained in the book at NY’s International Center of Photography. The exhibition, which opened in conjunction with the release of the book, was on view from June through September 2003.
Ms. McCoy is a member of New York Women in Film and Television. She is also an Advisory Board Member of Cities of Refuge, North America. With Russell Banks as its Founding Board Member and President, the organization’s purpose helps writers, persecuted and silenced in their native countries, to find safe haven in North America, spaces where they may practice their craft freely, unfettered by censorship and political repression. Ms. McCoy lives in New York City and works around the world.
Click here to hear McCoy and Leonard Lopate discuss Cuba on the Verge: An Island in Transition