Born in Philadelphia, PA; attended High School in a town called Shickshinny; once saw Modest Mouse play “Float On” live; graduated Cum Laude from Wilkes University; will mention his trip to Alaska, unprompted, within minutes of meeting you; lives in rural Pennsylvania with wife and daughter, three dogs, two pigs, a chicken, a duck, and a constantly revolving number of farm cats.
Writers worship writers, and to pick just one as inspiration is impossible. Didion, O’Connor, Baldwin, Vonnegut, Hemingway, Morrison, Murakami, Chabon, DeLillo, Pynchon, King, Kushner, Eggers, DFW, Denis Johnson, Kelly Link, Woodrell, and McCarthy have each been the epitome of greatness at one point in my life. But it’s the lesser-known Hilda Hilst—that dog-loving, man-eating, Brazilian coffee heiress poet-playwright-novelist—who I return to for inspiration, writing with acidic comedy, fearlessness and dozens of dogs by her side. Read Hilda.