I’m an award-winning author and educator whose work in three genres—fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction—focuses strongly on place, culture, and the natural environment. I have an especially deep interest in Central Asia, where I lived and worked for four years, and I’ve traveled widely across Asia and twice bicycled throughout Great Britain. I earned degrees in creative writing from Bowling Green State University (BFA) and Eastern Washington University (MFA). I’ve taught writing and literature for nearly two decades and conducted numerous workshops, both in the U.S. and abroad. I currently live with my wife (an ethnic Russian Kazakhstani) and two cats in Corvallis, Oregon, where I teach at Oregon State University and am at work on a novel. I’m available for workshops, readings, and related areas. Please contact me through my website listed above.
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NPR’S BOOK OF THE DAY
- Two romance books give opposite takes on love, relationships and the absence of both June 19, 2026In the new novel They All Fall in Love at the End, polyamory is the topic at hand — primarily what it offers the protagonist and how she navigates a world where open relationships are not the norm. The End of Romance tells a story quite the opposite: A woman becomes opposed to romance altogether […]
- In 'Stolen Revolution,' six Iranians share perspectives on modern Iran and its future June 18, 2026How does a nationwide revolution affect the individual lives of its citizens? In the midst of the latest conflict in Iran, journalists Bozorgmehr Sharafedin and Yeganeh Torbati set out to answer this question by charting Iran’s history since its 1979 revolution. The product is Stolen Revolution, a collection of accounts from six Iranians — each […]

