Lives are defiant things – they resist easy description, particularly by those who live them. I live several lives every day, as a teacher, writer, sportsman, son, etc. Where does one begin and another end? Where are the valleys and peaks of that range? Cumulatively, I suppose these are the more visible topographic features “about” me, in reverse chronological order:
Academic, Writer and Teacher
Scholarship: I have published books and articles on a variety of topics in modern literatures. A more complete list is here. In addition to research and writing, I keep a regular schedule of editorial work. I was Editor of the Dialogue Series from 2013-2018, and I am on the editorial board of several academic journals, including boundary 2.
Advocacy for the Arts & Humanities: I serve on the Board of Trustees at Gary Bowling’s House of Art in Bluefield, West Virginia, a non-profit school and gallery that supports local artists.
Teaching: I have taught at and been a visiting writer at several universities, and since 2006 I have taught at UNC Chapel Hill, where I am currently Assistant Professor of Teaching in the Department of English.
Sportsman
I have enjoyed the outdoors since I was a child, and dedicate time to promoting and practicing recreational fishing. My advocacy for the sport includes:
- Conducting seminars at local stores
- Directing Tournament series at the state and regional level
- Writing articles
- Coordinating charity work for fishing-related charities and people
As a competitor, I have been fortunate to fish and/or win money at several historic events in the young sport of kayak fishing, among them the 2019 FLW Cup, KBF Trail Events and every KBF National Championship. In 2019, I was featured on the cover of Wildlife in North Carolina Magazine’s Spring Guide.
Musician
My musical career was short, youthful and loud. As a a member of the band Revenant (1986-1994), I toured Europe and the United States, released records and appeared on MTV’s Headbanger’s Ball. Revenant was one of the early acts in the NY/NJ metal underground, a node in the emergent scene for extreme music. Our demos brought us attention, and in 1990 our first 7″ single was released by Thrash records. In 1990 we were signed to Nuclear Blast Records. Over the years we played with or toured with legendary acts including Napalm Death, Morbid Angel, Cannibal Corpse, Suffocation, Gorefest, Type O Negative, Monster Magnet, Ripping Corpse, Atheist, and others.
I left Revenant in 1995, but our music was rediscovered, through reprints and posthumous releases, by a later generation of metalheads. My last musical appearance was as a backing vocalist on 3 tracks on Dim Mak’s Knives of Ice studio album in 2002. From 2002–2004 , I was also the guitar tech for the American rock band Clutch, working about 75 concerts during that time.
I no longer perform music or work as a roadie, but I owe much of who I am to it, for better or worse.
Rare Books & De Luxe Editions 