I'm the kind of guy who really doesn't like writing self-summaries. I teach and write, I have a cat, I live in Brooklyn. Let's talk more when we meet.

On a good day, teaching, writing, editing, and maybe cooking.

Remembering lyrics. Arguing about movies. Teaching literature. Knowing what to order in any restaurant. Talking to kids.

My eyes, my nose, and the fact that I speak too quickly.

In no particular order, and just as a start, Nick Flynn, Balzac, Junot Diaz, Raymond Carver, Yeats, Kenneth Koch, Frantz Fanon; 8 1/2 (no shit), Godard, Kieslowski, Coen Brothers, Godfather 1 and 2; Breaking Bad, Top Chef, Louie, Mad Men; Pixies, The Clash, Magnetic Fields; Japanese, Turkish, Italian, Vietnamese, Ethiopian........

I'm generally reading multiple things at the same time, right now that would be: re-reading Moustafa Bayoumi's How Does It Feel to Be a Problem? (I'm teaching that), Ovid's Metamorphosis (teaching that too), Anna Karenina (bedside book, my first time reading it)

Liking the new season of Mad Men and the occasional episode of Louie on Netflix.

Musical taste is eclectic to the point of ridiculousness. The two things I've been listening to alternately (and obsessively) this week are these: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SK75WCcUDkM and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzMZGL-Z2E4. Should give some idea.

books
bread
email
movies
long walks
water water water

Deadlines, student papers, food, and these days, my purpose in life.

I don't really have typical Fridays but I try not to be at crowded bars.

Ask me in person.

(No, that's a snarky answer. How about this: I used to play bass in cover bands that specialized in what an ex once described as "white guy drinking music." But that's not really private or embarrassing. OK, forget it, just ask me in person...)

OK: I've been thrown out of 2 different countries. You can ask me more about that one.

Message me if you are kind, with a great sense of humor, open to new experiences, care about the world, and like deep thoughts and also very silly ones.