Richard M. Levine (born June 19, 1942) is an American journalist and author. He is known for ''Bad Blood: A Family Murder in Marin County'', his 1982 book about the murders of Jim and Naomi Olive. ''Bad Blood'' received positive reviews.

Greil Marcus Greil Marcus (né Gerstley; born June 19, 1945) is an American author, music journalist and cultural critic. He is notable for producing scholarly and literary essays that place rock music in a broader framework of culture and politics. Biogra ...

, writing in ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'', argued that "from the beginning of this tale through to its aftermath, the people caught up in its momentum are thrown back on themselves. That is what makes the story ''Bad Blood'' has to tell so terrible, and so compelling" ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...

'' wrote that it was a "chilling, fascinating reconstruction" and "a first-class study of a set of American dreams gone wrong." ''

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 ...

'', while slightly less enthusiastic, praised "the richness of its detail and the remarkable intimacy with which we get to know its characters."

Early life and education

Born June 19, 1942, in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, New York, Richard Michael Levine was the eldest of three children of businessman Bernard Levine and homemaker Gertrude Cohen Levine. The family moved to

Great Neck Great Neck is a region contained within Nassau County, New York, on Long Island, which covers a peninsula on the North Shore and includes nine incorporated villages, among them Great Neck, Great Neck Estates, Great Neck Plaza, Kings Poin ...

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

when he was a child, and he graduated from

Great Neck North High School John L. Miller Great Neck North High School or simply "Great Neck North," is a public high school, including grades 9 through 12, in the village of Great Neck, New York, operated by the Great Neck School District. As of the 2018–19 school year, ...

in 1959. He attended

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the Methodi ...

, graduating 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 ...

degree in literature in 1963. He continued his education at the Russian Institute of

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, where he received a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

degree in Slavic languages and literature in 1966. While at Columbia, he received a

Fulbright scholarship The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people ...

, which enabled him to study at the

University of Warsaw The University of Warsaw (, ) is a public university, public research university in Warsaw, Poland. Established on November 19, 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country, offering 37 different fields of study as well ...

and the

University of Krakow The Jagiellonian University (, UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and one of the oldest universities in continuous operation in the wor ...

(now Jagiellonian University) in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

Career

Levine has contributed to magazines, including ''Rolling Stone'', ''

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

'', '' Painted Bride Quarterly'', ''

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 ...

'', '' Mother Jones'', ''

The Atlantic Monthly ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 ...

'', ''

Harper's Magazine ''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 ...

'', as well as ''The New York Times'' newspaper. His 1969 essay, "Jesse Jackson: Heir to Dr. King?," published in ''Harper's Magazine'', has been reprinted numerous times. In addition to being a freelance journalist, he has been a contributing editor and columnist at ''Esquire'', as well as a staff writer and editor at ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...

'' and the '' Saturday Review''. Levine has also taught at the

UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism The UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism is a graduate professional school on the campus of University of California, Berkeley. It is designed to produce journalists with a two-year Master of Journalism (MJ) degree. It also offers a minor i ...

at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

. In 1977, he was awarded an

Alicia Patterson Foundation The Alicia Patterson Foundation (APF) program was established in 1965 in memory of Alicia Patterson, who was the editor and publisher of ''Newsday ''Newsday'' is a daily newspaper in the United States primarily serving Nassau and Suffolk c ...

fellowship. His mentors have included American journalist and historian

David Halberstam David Halberstam (April 10, 1934 April 23, 2007) was an American writer, journalist, and historian, known for his work on the Vietnam War, politics, history, the Civil Rights Movement, business, media, American culture, Korean War, and late ...

and American writer and editor

Willie Morris William Weaks Morris (November 29, 1934 – August 2, 1999) was an American writer and editor born in Jackson, Mississippi and raised in Yazoo City, Mississippi. Morris had a lyrical prose style which he lent to reflections on the American ...

. In 2015, Levine published a book of poetry and a book of short stories. He was a 2016 finalist for the Lascaux Prize in Poetry and the

Eric Hoffer Eric Hoffer (July 25, 1902 – May 21, 1983) was an American philosopher and social critic. A conservative moderate with an atypical working-class background, Hoffer authored ten books over his career and was awarded the Presidential Medal of F ...

Book Award in Fiction.

Personal life

Levine is married to educator and writer

Lucille Lang Day Lucille Lang Day (born December 5, 1947) is an American poet, writer, and science and health educator. Day has authored or edited 20 books and is a contributor to over 60 anthologies. She is best known as a poet and writer for her award-winning me ...

, and they live in

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

Books

* ''Bad Blood: A Family Murder in Marin County'' (

Random House Random House is an imprint and publishing group of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1927 by businessmen Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer as an imprint of Modern Library, it quickly overtook Modern Library as the parent imprint. Over the foll ...

, 1982). * ''Catch and Other Poems'' (Scarlet Tanager Books, 2015). * ''The Man Who Gave Away His Organs: Tales of Love and Obsession at Midlife'' (

Capra Press Capra Press is an independent publishing house that was founded in Santa Barbara, California, in 1969. The press relocated to San Francisco, California, in 2011. History Noel Young (1922–2002), a former commercial printer, founded the press i ...

, 2015).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Levine, Richard M. 1942 births Living people 20th-century American educators 20th-century American Jews 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American journalists 20th-century American poets 20th-century American short story writers 21st-century American educators 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American journalists 21st-century American poets 21st-century American short story writers Academics from Brooklyn Academics from Oakland, California American columnists American expatriates in Poland American magazine editors American male journalists American male poets American male short story writers Columbia University alumni Esquire (magazine) people Jagiellonian University alumni Jewish American academics Jewish American journalists Jewish American poets John L. Miller Great Neck North High School alumni Journalists from Brooklyn Journalists from Oakland, California Newsweek people Poets from California Poets from New York City University of California, Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism faculty University of Warsaw alumni Wesleyan University alumni