Molly McGrann is an American

literary critic A genre of arts criticism, literary criticism or literary studies is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical analysis of literature' ...

, poet, and novelist. She is an alumna of

Skidmore College Skidmore College is a Private school, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Saratoga Springs, New York. Approximately 2,700 students are enrolled at Skidmore pursuing a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Scien ...

and

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

. She lives in England.

Biography

McGrann graduated from

in 1995, and received an MFA in

Creative Writing Creative writing is any writing that goes beyond the boundaries of normal professional, journalistic, academic, or technical forms of literature, typically identified by an emphasis on craft and technique, such as narrative structure, character ...

from

. She is a literary critic and the author of two novels. In December 1998, McGrann married the

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon-on-Thames, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band members are Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Gre ...

bassist musician

Colin Greenwood Colin Charles Greenwood (born 26 June 1969) is an English bassist and a member of the rock band Radiohead. Along with bass guitar, Greenwood plays Double bass, upright bass and Electronic musical instrument, electronic instruments. With his y ...

in Oxford, England. They live in a village in

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

with their three sons, Jesse, Asa and Henry.

Writing

McGrann has worked as a reviewer for the ''

Times Literary Supplement ''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp. History The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to ''The Times'' but became a separate publication ...

'' and as a contributing

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, organization, a ...

for ''

The Paris Review ''The Paris Review'' is a quarterly English-language literary magazine established in Paris in 1953 by Harold L. Humes, Peter Matthiessen, and George Plimpton. In its first five years, ''The Paris Review'' published new works by Jack Kerouac, ...

''. She has also had

poem Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

s published in various literary magazines including ''

TriQuarterly ''TriQuarterly'' is a name shared by an American literary magazine and a series of books. The journal is published twice a year under the aegis of the Northwestern University Department of English and features fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama ...

'' and ''Arion''. She is a

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Editor of ''

A Public Space A Public Space is an independent nonprofit publisher of an eponymous literary and arts magazine and book imprint. The organization's magazine, ''A Public Space'', is a triannual, English-language literary journal based in Brooklyn, New York. Fi ...

'', a quarterly literary magazine, founded in 2005 by

Brigid Hughes Brigid Hughes is a New York City-based literary editor. Hughes is best known fosucceedingGeorge Plimpton as the editor of the literary magazine ''The Paris Review'' after his death in 2003 and for founding the literary magazine ''A Public Space' ...

, former Executive Editor of ''The Paris Review''. Her first novel, ''360 Flip'', looked at the tensions lying below the surface of the "

American Dream The "American Dream" is a phrase referring to a purported national ethos of the United States: that every person has the freedom and opportunity to succeed and attain a better life. The phrase was popularized by James Truslow Adams during the ...

" in a 60s

Levittown Levittown is the name of several large suburban housing developments created in the United States (including one in Puerto Rico) by William J. Levitt and his company Levitt & Sons. Built after World War II for returning white veterans and thei ...

-style suburb, through the eyes of a disillusioned young poet growing up there in the 1950s. It was dedicated to her husband. ''Exurbia'', McGrann's second novel, set in Los Angeles in the mid 80s during the

Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party and became an important figure in ...

era, is about the mentally ill living in the margins of society. It follows an insecure thirteen-year-old girl suffering from

bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder (BD), previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of Depression (mood), depression and periods of abnormally elevated Mood (psychology), mood that each last from days to weeks, and in ...

, Lise, and the parallel story of Ed Valencia, as their lives become entangled with the violent world of L.A.'s homeless gangs. It was dedicated to her parents.

Works

Fiction

* ''360 Flip'' (2004) * ''Exurbia'' (2007) * ''The Ladies of the House'' (2015)Reviews of ''The Ladies of the House'': * * *

Poetry

* ''From Less Than Spring, a long poem of conditions.

(1999) * ''Hermaphroditus'' (2002)

References

External links

A Public Space
official website {{DEFAULTSORT:McGrann, Molly 21st-century American novelists American expatriates in the United Kingdom American literary critics American women literary critics American women novelists New York University alumni Skidmore College alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American women poets 21st-century American women writers 21st-century American poets American women non-fiction writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers