Jay Kirk is an American journalist, author, and lecturer at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

. He was born on July 19, 1970, and has written for publications such as GQ,

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 magazin ...

, and

Harper's ''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the United States. ''Harper's Magazine'' has ...

. His book '' Kingdom Under Glass'', published in 2010, recounts the life and story of taxidermist

Carl Akeley Carl Ethan Akeley (May 19, 1864 – November 17, 1926) was a pioneering American taxidermist, sculptor, biologist, conservationist, inventor, and nature photographer, noted for his contributions to American museums, most notably to the Milwauk ...

. He is the recipient of a 2017 Whiting Foundation Creative Nonfiction Grant for his upcoming book ''Avoid the Day''. Kirk is a National Magazine Award finalist for his story ''Burning Man'', received the 2005

Pew Fellowship in the Arts The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage is a nonprofit organization, nonprofit grantmaking organization and knowledge-sharing hub for arts and culture in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US established in 2005. In 2008, Paula Marincola was named the first ...

and also is a MacDowell Fellow. He is the founder of ''Xfic'', a journal of experimental nonfiction at the University of Pennsylvania.

Biography

Jay Kirk was born in Nashville, TN on July 19, 1970. He got his a BA in English at

Emerson College Emerson College is a private college in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It also maintains campuses in Los Angeles and Well, Limburg, Netherlands (Kasteel Well). Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a "school of Public Speaking, o ...

and proceeded to earn a BFA in creative writing at the same school.

The Chicago Reader The ''Chicago Reader'', or ''Reader'' (stylized as ЯEADER), is an American alternative newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, noted for its literary style of journalism and coverage of the arts, particularly film and theater. The ''Reader'' has been ...

, for which he wrote a few cover stories, was the place where Kirk developed his interest in long-form journalism. His Harper's piece titled My Undertaker, My Pimp, was included in 2003's Best American Crime Writing Anthology. In 2005, Kirk became a faculty member at the

, where he teaches classes like Narrative Non-Fiction, Magazine Writing, and Experimental Non-Fiction.

Books

''Kingdom Under Glass'' was published by Henry Holt in 2010. The book tells the story of real-life taxidermist

, who created the famed dioramas at the

American Museum of Natural History The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Located in Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 21 interconn ...

in New York City and

The Field Museum The Field Museum of Natural History (FMNH), also known as The Field Museum, is a natural history museum in Chicago, Illinois, and is one of the largest such museums in the world. The museum is popular for the size and quality of its educationa ...

in Chicago. The book was well received by critics. The Washington Post named it one of the best nonfiction titles of 2010. The

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...

calling it “an epic display of one man’s life” and NPR's All Things Considered deeming it “a thrill ride”. His next book, ''Avoid the Day'', an experimental memoir, is set to be published by Harper Perennial in 2020. The Whiting Foundation calls ''Avoid the Day'' “a thrilling, eccentric journey through time and space… a courageous experiment in hypersubjectivity” that “pushes the boundaries of what nonfiction can do”.

Film

Director's Commentary: Terror of Frankenstein, was co-written by Jay Kirk and his cousin Tim Kirk, producer of the cult documentary

Room 237 ''Room 237'' is a 2012 American documentary film directed by Rodney Ascher about interpretations of Stanley Kubrick's film '' The Shining'' (1980) which was adapted from the 1977 novel of the same name by Stephen King. The documentary includes ...

. The movie provides fake director's commentary over Calvin Floyd's 1977 movie ''Terror of Frankenstein. Director's Commentary'' played at the Stanley and Fantasia Film Festivals in 2015, and opened to mixed reviews.

Uproxx Uproxx Studios (stylized as ''UPROXX'') is an American music, entertainment and popular culture website and content studio. It was founded in 2008 by Jarret Myer and Brian Brater. The website was acquired in 2014 by Woven Digital (which later ...

says it is “the ultimate film nerd joke”, and Bloody Disgusting deems it “a bizarre cinematic experiment”, while the

Chicago Reader The ''Chicago Reader'', or ''Reader'' (stylized as ЯEADER), is an American alternative newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, noted for its literary style of journalism and coverage of the arts, particularly film and theater. The ''Reader'' has been ...

says the commentary is outshined by the actual movie

Bibliography

Harper's Magazine * “My undertaker, my pimp”, March 2002 * “Watching the detectives”, August 2003 * “Aslan Resurrected”, April 2004 * “Fool at War”, October 2005 * “The Shining Path”, June 2013 * “Bartók’s Monster”, October 2013 GQ * "Hotels Rwanda", July 2008 * “Burning Man”, January 2012 * “The Swear Jar”, August 2013 * "Welcome to Pariahville", April 2015 New York Times Magazine * "Gospel for Dummies", August 2000 Cimarron Review * “Son of a Preacher”, Winter 2012 The Wilson Quarterly * "The Electric Meme: A New Theory of How We Think and Communicate", Summer 2002 Chicago Reader * “Simone’s Got Blue Eyes”, December 2001

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kirk, Jay 1970 births Living people American male journalists Emerson College alumni Journalists from Nashville, Tennessee