One of the primary homes my writing has found is with Numero Cinq, which founder/editor Douglas Glover calls "a warm place on a cruel web." As a writer, editor, and mentor, Doug has been one of my great influences. Almost every piece of mine he published on NC went through extensive editorial back-and-forth before he accepted it for publication, and all of them are better for it. Here is a list of my NC pieces, which are also linked under the Writing tab above.
Personal Essays:
- "The Immortality of the Crab," 6/24/11 - Hybrid essay exploring the philosophy of crabbing, book collecting, and socialist political theory
- "What It's Like Living Here," 3/4/11 - Cultural and historical essay about New York City, with my work commute providing the guideposts
- "Burroughs & Son," 5/24/10 - Personal essay recounting William Burroughs, his family, and their dealings with my own family
Critical Work:
- "The Answer I Found in a Fortune Cookie: Toward a Digital Conception of Nonfiction," 11/28/11 - Extensive theoretical and historical overview of nonfiction with emphasis on non-linear modes of writing, including Montaigne, Viktor Shklovsky, John O’Banion, Sei Shonagon, Christopher Smart, and many modern essayists
- "7 Things I Learned from Reading 15 List Essays," 5/13/10 - Early critical exploration of the list essay as a nonfiction form"
- Sanders, Shklovsky, and the Role of the Personal Essayist," 4/18/10 - Early critical application of the work of Viktor Shklovsky to the essay
- "Montaigne's Motifs," Part One, Part Two, Part Three, and Part Four, Aug-Dec, 2010 - Four-part series of critical essays focusing on key elements of Michel de Montaigne’s essays employed by contemporary personal essayists
Ephemera:
- "In Praise of Barry Lopez (and Salt)," 1/13/11 - Review of a workshop I attended with writer and activist Barry Lopez, author of Winter Count, Of Wolves and Men, with a micro-essay I generated from it
- "The Day After the Memoir: An Interview with Steven Church," 7/29/11 - Interview with Steven Church, author of The Day After The Day After and The Guinness Book of Me and editor of The Normal School Literary Magazine