Writer. Fiction, poetry, used to be a journalist ages ago. (Some of my stuff has been published online if you're curious.) Born in northern NJ, lived in NYC most of my twenties, now teaching at Smith College and Western New England University in western Massachusetts.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

My friends on Couchsurfing keep raving about it, both as guests and hosts. I like traveling and I like meeting new people.

Interests

Literature, history (especially the first half of the 20th century), current events, playing bocce on the beach, walking aimlessly for hours.

• writing
• literature
• poetry
• cocktails
• walking
• traveling
• history
• journalism
• beaches

Music, Movies, and Books

Books:
Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
The Beggar Maid by Alice Munro
Jesus' Son by Denis Johnson
Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson
Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon
Currently on a big James Salter kick. Grew up reading comics (Batman, Neil Gaiman's Sandman, Alan Moore's early stuff), still do from time to time.

James Tate = greatest poet of all time.

Music: Pretty much anything, though don't listen to a ton of opera for enjoyment. Recently been big into Tame Impala, Vince Staples, Kendrick Lamar, Viet Cong (though I guess they're not called that anymore). iTunes tells me I've listened to William Basinski's "Disintegration Loops" and The Walkmen's "Bows + Arrows" more than anything else in the last six years.

Movies: I watch "Jaws" and "The Royal Tannenbaums" at least once every year. "Casablanca," "Star Wars," "Blade Runner," "Requiem For A Dream,""The Lives Of Other," a great and disturbing Mike Leigh film called "Naked" that no one else has ever heard of but might be my all time favorite.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Hmm, this section feels kind of like bragging. I don't know if this is amazing but back in 2000 my college girlfriend and I found an emaciated puppy in the middle of the Australian outback and somehow managed to keep her alive, get her healthy, and bring her back with us to the States, where she had a pretty happy life (she died earlier this year - sad face).

What I Can Share with Hosts

I make amazing cocktails.

Countries I’ve Visited

Bermuda, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Croatia, France, Greece, Guam, Guatemala, Mexico, Netherlands, Spain

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, Turkey, United Kingdom