About the writer in 3 genres
Genre 1: Pic -n- Blurb
Me and a lamp. Sometime around 2015 or 2016 or maybe 2017. Or 2018.
Genre 2: Resume or CV
Summer 2005 – Summer 2025: Lived in Shenzhen, China, except for 6 months in Kunming. Taught at colleges and universities, except the first year and a half. Got bits of the writing thing somewhat figured out.
1999 – 2005: Lived in Portland, Oregon. Studied English at Portland State University, with an emphasis on literary and critical theory. Worked hard to get the writing thing figured out. Got a bachelors and then a master’s degree there. Wrote an essay that studied the resume, which opened my eyes to that (this) form of writing, how beginning in the 1970s, but especially in the 1980s, the resume became a socially required genre of writing that provides individuals an opportunity to shape themselves in relation to work, labor markets, and a new-ish idea of “career”. Decided to shape myself other ways, using other genres of text, instead.
1993 – 1999: Lived in Eugene, Oregon. Recovered from the trauma of living in Arizona. Took a few classes at the University of Oregon. Continued trying to figure out the writing thing.
1977 – 1993: Lived alternately in Scottsdale, Arizona and Ventura, California. Did very well in college but had to drop out when my father died. Became a hotel chef. Tried to figure the writing thing out.
1974 – 1977: Lived in Agoura, California. Fell in love.
1974: Lived in Scottsdale, Arizona for a few months. In the middle of shattering, though I didn’t know it then because I was too young to realize.
1971 – 1974 or thereabouts: Lived in West Orange, and then Reese AFB near Lubbock, Texas. Decided at Reese to become a writer. Nobody tried to stop me. I don’t think anybody noticed. I remember making the decision and can still vividly imagine my bedroom as it looked at that moment. I checked Google Earth to see if the house still exists, but Reese was decommissioned some years ago. It’s now the Reese Technology Center. Base housing, the houses all gone, is only streets and curbs crumbling slowly into the ground.
1963 – 1971 or thereabouts: Lived in Manchester, Haddenham, and then Alconbury AFB, England.
1962: Born, in Albany, Georgia, USA, fifth of five children, to my father, a Master-Sergeant in the US Air Force, and my mother, a graduate of Manchester University in England, both of them children of World War 2.
Genre 3: mildly embarrassing diary note
March 1, 2013
Last night had many strange dreams. Tough day yesterday; bad rosacea flareup, people laughing at me, students laughing at me in class. I explained rosacea a little, and that helped. Then last night many dreams.
Dreamed I made out with LOVER REDACTED. It was odd. A room, rooms, large sort of mansion, ocean shore with rocks outside. FRIEND REDACTED was there; they were speaking, sitting at a dining room table, bare table. I left them. Later I came back. REDACTED sitting on, I don’t know, a sofa or chair or bed. She spoke, said something that led toward saying “stay here with me.” took my arm, stroked my arm. Or else I asked her to stay. We kissed. Passionately. As we kissed she whispered intellectual things about love. Funny. I tried to do the same and came up with “we’re all dust”, which almost broke the mood as she didn’t get how this was romantic, but later I changed it to “like stars, the stars look like dust too” or some such. And we continued kissing.