___________________________ was born in New York in 1982 and raised in California. He studied at Reed College, Oxford University and the London Consortium at the University of London. His essays and reviews have appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, Nerve.com, the Forward, Paste magazine and elsewhere. He recently left Buenos Aires for London, but may be back just yet.
I have reviewed books for a number of publications, including the San Francisco Chronicle, The Forward, Publishers Weekly, and Paste magazine. I often write about contemporary African literature and literature by American Jews. Below is a selection of those reviews.
African Literature:
San Francisco Chronicle | "African explores a triracial Ohio town"
Paste Magazine| "Going South: Lonely South Africans at home & abroad"
Bookslut.com | "Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits"
American Jewish Literature:
San Francisco Chronicle | "'The End of the Jews' is more of a beginning
San Francisco Chronicle | "Every happy relationship is different"
San Francisco Chronicle | "Young, unsure—and Jewish, by the way"
The Forward | "Parsing the messy terrain of the heart"
A number of my nonfiction essays have been published. Below are a few of my favorites.
Nerve.com | "The Sushisexuals: The depressing truth about my dating history"
Nerve.com | "Weird Date: The Fortuneteller"
Nerve.com | "Radio Friendly: A non-listener goes undercover at an NPR singles event"
Porchlight: A Literary Magazine | "Listening for Echoes: Where the Wild Things Are as Picturebook, Novel, Film, and Memory."
I have conducted interviews of artists, writers and musicians for Nerve.com, Publishers Weekly, Nextbook.org and Bookslut.com. Links to a few are provided below.
Nerve Q&As:
"The Buddha of Suburbia" Q&A with writer Richard Ford
"Californication" Q&A with writer Jane Smiley
"Insane in the Membrane" Q&A with the biographer of filmmaker Ken Russell
"Accidental Tourist"Q&A with writer Cullen Thomas
Other Q&As:
Bookslut.com | An Interview with writer David Markson
Nextbook.org | "Late Bloomer" Q&A with memoirist Harry Bernstein
Publishers Weekly | "A Writer Takes Off at 90" Follow-up interview with Harry Bernstein
For two years, I edited the TV section at Flak magazine. In addition, I covered independent music for Popmatters.com and About.com, running the "About Alternative & Independent Music" site for the latter from September 2006 to April 2008. Here is some of my pop culture writing.
TV Writing:
Flak Magazine | Aaron Spelling: 1923-2006 Obituary for the television mogul
Flak Magazine | Da Vinci & The Code He Lived By TV review
Flak Magazine | Iconoclasts TV review
Flak Magazine | The Crusades TV review
Music Writing:
Flak Magazine | Words Are Enough A short assessment of artist Morrissey's lyrics
Popmatters.com | "Excerpts from the Misery of Grandaddy" A conversation with Grandaddy frontman Jason Lytle
Popmatters.com | "Finally Professional: Nada Surf at Ten Years" A celebration of Nada Surf turning 10
As a copywriter, I've written press releases for local businesses and international bands, business material for online start-ups and literary study-guides for SparkNotes publishing. I'm currently available for a variety of commissioned projects. Below are some samples of my work.
Press Copy:
Band Bio (Coming soon)
Band Press Release (Coming soon)
Business Press Release (Coming soon)
Study Guides:
SparkNotes Guide for Deborah Eisenberg "Twilight of the Superheroes"
SparkNotes Guide for Sue Monk Kidd The Secret Life of Bees
SparkNotes Guide for Henry James The Ambassadors
Business Copy:
(Coming soon.)
Buy Me! Look for my short story "Toward Lithuania" in Promised Lands: New Jewish Fiction on Longing and Belonging forthcoming this Fall from Brandeis University Press.