Toni Morrison: Conversations
University of Mississippi Press, edited by Carolyn Denard
In the latter days of Book Magazine, I had the opportunity to meet with Toni Morrison on several occasions — at the home of Sonny Mehta, at her Soho apartment, but NOT at her home in Nyack (that’s a whole other story). Our conversations were included in this anthology where she talked about the novel she had just published (Love) and stargazing.
How to Spell Chanukah and Other Holiday Dilemmas
Edited by Emily Franklin
Autumn, 2007
Whether your Chanukahs were spent singing "I have a Little Dreidel" or playing the "Maoz Tzur" on the piano, whether your family tradition included a Christmas tree or a Chanukah bush, whether the fights among your siblings over who would light the menorah candles rivaled the battles of the Maccabees, or even if you haven't a clue who the Maccabees were, this little book proves there are as many ways to celebrate Chanukah as there are ways to spell it.
Before : The Big Book of Pregnancy and Parenting
Overlook | Edited by Emily Franklin and Heather Swain
Spring, 2006
This is an anthology concerning a topic about which I knew nothing until,
oh, about one and a half years ago. My contribution is brief and not
particularly sentimental. But it's a much better story than the one I
originally started writing, which dealt with an Indiana photographer taking
pictures of tree holes near Griffy Lake in Bloomington.
Chicago Noir
Akashic Books | Edited by Neal Pollack
Fall, 2005
Neal Pollack, who I know from my days with The Reader in Chicago, was kind enough to ask me to contribute a short story to this collection, which features a number of cool Chicago authors, including Alexai-Galaviz Budziszewski (a favorite of Stuart Dybek’s), Joe Meno, Kevin Guilfoile, Achy Obejas, and many others. The story I wrote, Bobby Kagan Knows Everything, recalls a brief, fearful time in my childhood when, at one time or another, nearly every house on my block was robbed.
The Encyclopedia of Exes
Three Rivers Press | Edited by Meredith Broussard
Fall, 2005
Meredith Broussard, whom I met over a bubble tea in Morningside Heights, asked if I might have a story to contribute to her anthology of love gone wrong. I rewrote a monologue of mine from a one-woman show called Three Glasses of Sherry. The story, Devotion, was originally called Sherry Darling, like the Springsteen song.
The Good, The Bad, And Me : In My AnecdotageThe Good, The Bad, And Me : In My Anecdotage
Harcourt Books | Written By Eli Wallach
Summer, 2005
One of the greatest pleasures I’ve had in the past couple of years was to work with legendary actor Eli Wallach (The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly, The Misfits, Baby Doll, The Magnificent Seven, Mystic River) on his memoirs. Once a week, I would sit in Wallach’s apartment that he shares with his wife, Anne Jackson (a major star of stage and screen in her own right) and listen to stories of Brooklyn in the 1920’s, Broadway in the 1940’s and 50’s, Marilyn Monroe, Clark Gable, and Marlon Brando. I often am asked whether I ghostwrote this book, but with the exception of a couple of chapter titles, Wallach wrote the whole thing himself, longhand.
The Best Men’s Stage Monologues 2000
Smith & Kraus Publishers | Edited by Jocelyn Beard
Spring, 2000
Features some of the work from Coaster, the play I produced in Chicago shortly before I moved to New York.
The Best Women’s Stage Monologues 2000
Smith & Kraus Publishers | Edited by Jocelyn Beard
Spring, 2000
More from Coaster, the play I produced in Chicago.
The Madness of Art
Chicago Review Press
Summer, 1996
Back in Chicago, when I was trying to eke out a living as a journalist and an artist, I paid some bills by writing a guide to Chicago, a guide to film festivals, and this guide to the local arts scene. A lot of the material is, of course, outdated now; even the area codes have changed. But I interviewed some cool people for the book, most notably artist Tony Fitzpatrick, writers Stuart Dybek and Michael Collins, Smashing Pumpkin D’arcy, jazz legend Von Freeman, improv pioneer Del Close, among others. If you can track down a used copy, it’s now an amusing period piece.