MCC Proud: Meet Tony Leuzzi

January 22, 2025

Tony Leuzzi, an English Professor in the Department of English/Philosophy (ENG/PHL), has a long history at Monroe Community College (MCC). Leuzzi has been a full-time employee at MCC since Fall 2001. He also worked for several years (throughout the 90’s) as an adjunct in the ENG/PHL Department, a few terms as an adjunct in the former Transitional Studies Department, and for equally as many years as a tutor in MCC’s former Writing Center.

“I care deeply about MCC students. I love teaching. I have also tirelessly advocated for the continued well-being of the ENG/PHL Department,” he said.

Leuzzi was destined to be a teacher. “Even as a little kid I envisioned myself a teacher,” he said. “I love to talk about ideas and to start conversations. I love books. I love chalkboards!”

However, in the course of his undergraduate studies, Leuzzi began to question whether or not he should do something more practical. “Was it ‘useful’ to take courses in English just so I could teach courses in English?” he wondered.

For Leuzzi, the answer was yes! “I realized the best career path was one that was connected to my passions, and that I would be doing a lot more than regurgitating what I learned back to a new generation of students,” he said.

Leuzzi also has a passion for reading. He noted, “My first forays into reading were the dated encyclopedias in my parents’ house. I read them obsessively. Then I started to read stories, too. Novels, novels, novels.” While he also enjoyed writing, Leuzzi didn’t start writing on a regular basis until his undergraduate years.

At MCC, Leuzzi has been honored with several awards, including the NISOD Teaching Award in the early 2000s. He was the first junior faculty member to receive the Hansen Teaching Award a few years later. He has also received the Writing Across the Curriculum Faculty Award and the SUNY Award for Creativity and Scholarship.

“I have been, in a word, blessed,” he said.

Outside of MCC, Leuzzi is an avid writer. He has written four books of poetry across fifteen years, three poetry chapbooks (which are small books), and had one anthology of his interview with American poets published in 2012. He is also a regular contributor to The Brooklyn Rail, where he writes book reviews and conducts author interviews.

Leuzzi won an ImageOut Poetry Prize in 2004. In 2009, he won the New Sins Editorial Prize, which resulted in his first full-length book of poems called Radiant Losses. He has been nominated four times for Pushcart Poetry Prizes and in 2024, his book Fog Notes was a finalist for both the Big Other Poetry Prize and the Big Other Readers’ Choice Award.

For many years, Leuzzi was involved in the now-defunct Gay Alliance of the Genesee Valley (currently renamed and restructured). He spent years as a low-level activist and previously donated his public relations skills to the ImageOut Film Festival. “…I have never been ‘organization’ minded,” he said. “Instead, I support and attend events that are of interest to me, that are of importance to me.”

He has also been involved in several literary events (in and beyond Rochester) and is a member of several art galleries in the city.

When asked what suggestions he would give current/prospective MCC students, Leuzzi said, “My advice to young writers is to read, read, read, read, read. Don’t be in a hurry to ‘find your voice’. Inevitably, that will come.” Instead, Leuzzi encourages students to spend their formative years concentrating on literature.

He added, “Turn off the phones. Turn off the game consoles. Get off social media. Immerse yourself in the world of books. Humble yourself. Set aside ego. And, please, enjoy the natural world, which is a gift. Go outside, spend time in the woods, return with leaves in your hair.”

Leuzzi is Rochester born-and-raised. He completed his BA in English Writing and Literature at SUNY Potsdam and his MA in English from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, where he earned free tuition as a Teaching Assistant.

FUN FACTS ABOUT TONY:

If you had to eat the same meal at least once a day, what would it be? Ceviche—the traditional Peruvian blanco (white) ceviche. Delicious.
Favorite Movie? I have many. But right now, at this moment, I’m thinking of Ordinary People (1980).
Favorite Sports Team? The Yankees—it’s a family thing. But I’m not terribly sports minded. I do love watching soccer (European “football”).
Biggest Fear? Rats
Is there anything about you that people are surprised to learn? I am a mirror twin: my brother (five minutes older than me) is right-handed; I’m left-handed.
If you could attend a dinner with any celebrity, living or dead, who would you choose? Bela Bartok (composer)
Do you prefer staying up late or waking up early in the morning? Staying up late—unless I’m away from the city and then it’s reversed.
Share the best piece of advice anyone has ever given you. “Move with the sunlight” (I’m still learning how to do this.)
What destination do you hope to visit one day? So many, but here are a few places: Kathmandu, Nepal; Poland; Greece; New Zealand.
What activities do you participate in over the weekend? Weekends—I guard them, cherish them. What I do depends…

Tony Leuzzi