Charles John Klosterman (; born June 5, 1972) is an American author and essayist whose work focuses on

American popular culture The culture of the United States encompasses various social behaviors, institutions, and Social norm, norms, including forms of Languages of the United States, speech, American literature, literature, Music of the United States, music, Visual a ...

. He has been a columnist for ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...

'' and ESPN.com and wrote "The Ethicist" column for ''

The New York Times Magazine ''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors. The magazi ...

''. Klosterman is the author of twelve books, including two novels and the essay collection '' Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto''. He was awarded the ASCAP Deems Taylor award for music criticism in 2002.

Early life

Klosterman was born in Breckenridge, Minnesota, the youngest of seven children of Florence and William Klosterman. He is of German and Polish descent. He grew up on a farm in nearby Wyndmere, North Dakota, and was raised Roman Catholic. He graduated from Wyndmere High School in 1990, and then from the

University of North Dakota The University of North Dakota (UND) is a Public university, public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States. It was established by the Dakota Territory, Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishm ...

in 1994 with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree of accuracy. The word, a noun, applies to the journ ...

with a minor in

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from the English-speaking world. The English language has developed over more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian languages, Anglo-Frisian d ...

Career

After college, Klosterman was a journalist in

Fargo, North Dakota Fargo is the List of cities in North Dakota, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Cass County, North Dakota, Cass County. The population was 125,990 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, which was e ...

, and later a reporter and arts critic for the '' Akron Beacon Journal'' in

Akron, Ohio Akron () is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, fifth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 190,469 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Akron metr ...

, before moving to New York City in 2002. From 2002 to 2006, Klosterman was a senior writer and columnist for '' Spin''. He has written for '' GQ'', ''

'', ''

'', '' The Believer'', ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', and ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

''. His magazine work has been anthologized in

Da Capo Press Da Capo Press is an American publishing company with headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts. It is now an imprint of Hachette Books. History Founded in 1964 as a publisher of music books, as a division of Plenum Publishers, it had additional offi ...

's ''Best Music Writing,'' ''Best American Travel Writing,'' and ''The Best American Nonrequired Reading.'' Though initially recognized for his rock writing, Klosterman has written extensively about sports and began contributing articles to

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

's Page 2 on November 8, 2005. In 2008, Klosterman spent the summer as the Picador Guest Professor for Literature at the

Leipzig University Leipzig University (), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December 1409 by Frederick I, Electo ...

's Institute for American Studies in Germany. Klosterman was an original member of '' Grantland'', a now-defunct sports and pop culture web site owned by ESPN and founded by Bill Simmons. Klosterman was a consulting editor. In 2020, he co-hosted a podcast titled "Music Exists" with Chris Ryan as part of ''The Ringer'' podcast network. He also appeared as an animated version of himself in several episodes of the

Adult Swim Adult Swim (stylized as dult swimand s is an American adult-oriented television programming block that airs on Cartoon Network which broadcasts during the evening, prime time, and Late-night television, late-night Dayparting, dayparts. T ...

web feature '' Carl's Stone Cold Lock of the Century of the Week'', to discuss the week's football games and to sometimes try to promote his latest book (Carl cuts him off each time). In one episode, Carl recites a list of facts and Klosterman asks "Is this, perhaps, from Wikipedia?" In 2012, Klosterman appeared in the documentary '' Shut Up and Play the Hits'' about musical group

LCD Soundsystem LCD Soundsystem is an American Dance-punk#Contemporary dance-punk, dance-punk revival band from Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2002 by James Murphy (electronic musician), James Murphy, of DFA Records. The band comprises Murphy (vocals ...

; Klosterman's extended interview with the group's frontman James Murphy "forms the...backbone of the film". His eighth book, titled '' I Wear the Black Hat,'' was published in 2013. It focuses on the paradox of villainy within a heavily mediated culture. In 2015, Klosterman appeared on episodes 6 and 7 of the first season of IFC show '' Documentary Now!'' as a music critic for the fictional band The Blue Jean Committee. His best-selling ninth book, '' But What If We're Wrong? Thinking About the Present As If It Were the Past'', was published June 7, 2016. It visualizes the contemporary world as it will appear in the future to those who will perceive it as the distant past. In 2021, Klosterman appeared on the podcast '' Storybound'', backed by an original Storybound remix with Portico Quartet. His 12th book, '' The Nineties'', debuted at No. 2 on ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' nonfiction bestseller list on February 27, 2022.

Personal life

In 2009, Klosterman married journalist Melissa Maerz. They have two children.

Books

Klosterman is the author of 12 books and two sets of cards.

Non-fiction

* '' Fargo Rock City: A Heavy Metal Odyssey in Rural Nörth Daköta'' (2001), a humorous memoir/history on the phenomenon of

glam metal Glam metal (also known as hair metal or pop metal) is a subgenre of heavy metal music, heavy metal that features pop music, pop-influenced Hook (music), hooks and guitar riffs, upbeat arena rock, rock anthems, and slow Sentimental ballad#Powe ...

* '' Killing Yourself to Live: 85% of a True Story'' (2005), a road narrative focused on the relationship between rock music, mortality, and romantic love * '' I Wear the Black Hat: Grappling with Villains (Real and Imagined)'' (2013) * '' But What If We're Wrong? Thinking About the Present As If It Were the Past'' (2016) * '' The Nineties'' (2022)

Essay collections

* '' Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto'' (2003), a best-selling collection of original pop culture essays * '' Chuck Klosterman IV: A Decade of Curious People and Dangerous Ideas'' (2006), a collection of articles, previously published columns, and a semi-autobiographical novella * '' Eating the Dinosaur'' (2009), an original collection of essays on media, technology, celebrity, and perception * '' Chuck Klosterman X: A Highly Specific, Defiantly Incomplete History of the Early 21st Century'' (2017), a collection of previously published essays and features

Fiction

* '' Downtown Owl: A Novel'' (2008), a novel describing life in the fictional town of Owl, North Dakota * '' The Visible Man: A Novel'' (2011), a novel about a man who uses a cloaking device to observe others * '' Raised in Captivity'' (2019), a collection of 34 essayistic short stories, described as "fictional nonfiction"

Card sets

* ''HYPERtheticals: 50 Questions for Insane Conversations'' (2010), a set of 50 cards featuring hypothetical questions * ''SUPERtheticals: 50 Questions for Strange Conversations'' (2020), another set of 50 cards featuring hypothetical questions

References

External links

Chuck Klosterman
at

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster LLC (, ) is an American publishing house owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts since 2023. It was founded in New York City in 1924, by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. Along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group US ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Klosterman, Chuck 1972 births 20th-century American journalists 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American journalists 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers American male essayists American humorists American male non-fiction writers American music critics American music journalists American people of German descent American people of Polish descent ESPN.com Esquire (magazine) people Former Roman Catholics Living people People from Breckenridge, Minnesota People from Richland County, North Dakota Sportswriters from New York (state) The New York Times Magazine University of North Dakota alumni Writers from Minnesota Writers from New York City Writers from North Dakota Writers from Ohio