Articles


What I believe and have taught is that writing is a craft that improves the more the writer practices and reads. Early in my career, I seized every available opportunity to write, kind of like a musician who is willing to perform on the streets, if necessary, to hone a distinct sound.

My first publications grew out of the talents I developed in graduate training in History: research and writing. Thankfully, there were plenty of professional editors and scholars who needed topics covered in reference volumes. I enjoyed writing biographical pieces on significant figures in American culture and life, as well as on topics centered in the twentieth century.

Soon, I developed enough of a voice to begin working as a magazine journalist, then used that experience as a way to start writing for a variety of magazine-like sites on the web. During the lead-up to the dot.com era, I worked as a full-time journalist, covering technology, venture capital, and startups in tech regions outside Silicon Valley, such as New York City, Chicago, Charlotte, Atlanta, Cleveland, Denver, and Pittsburgh. I also served as Contributing Editor at Inside Business, the sister publication of Cleveland magazine, focused on writing profiles of business leaders in Northeast Ohio and corporate histories of leaders who guided the region in the past.

Along the way, particularly after turning to university teaching, I started writing peer-reviewed journal articles to showcase some of the ideas that developed in the classroom with my students.

I have a deep and abiding love for long-form nonfiction writing and am fascinated by the creative nonfiction of some of my favorite authors, including John Updike, Norman Mailer, and F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Below are some magazines, reference works, websites, and other venues I have written for over the years.

75 essays (ranging from 50-words to 10,000-words) in reference books, such as The Encyclopedia of the Midwest, Encyclopedia of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era, Encyclopedia of the Great Depression, Encyclopedia of Leadership, The Encyclopedia of Work in America, Biographical Dictionary of Management and Dictionary of American History.

Approximately 200 general interest articles, op eds, and essays in a variety of online and print publications, including The American Prospect Online, LocalBusiness.com, Inside Business, and Northern Ohio Live.

Several of the journal articles include:

“The Enduring Influence of The Great Gatsby,” The Journal of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era, Vol. 14, 2015, 1-6.

“Visions of the American Dream: F. Scott Fitzgerald, Bob Dylan, and Norman Mailer Probe at the Heart of the National Idea,” The Mailer Review, Vol. 7:1, 2013, 74-89.

“Why Engaging with Ray Browne and Marshall Fishwick Matters: A Review Essay,” The Popular Culture Studies Journal, Vol. 1: 1&2, 2013. 116-26.

“Starbucks: A Case Study Examining Power and Culture via Radical Sociodrama,” (with Kaitlin Krister), PRism, Vol. 9:2, 2012.

“Mailer and Updike: Probing American Culture as Writers and Celebrities,” The Mailer Review, Vol. 6:1, 2012. 129-44.

“Literary Lions Tackle 9/11: Updike and DeLillo Depicting History Through the Novel,” Radical History Review, 2011. 175-83.

“Digital Technology and Teaching American Culture,” The Journal of American Culture, Vol. 34:1, March 2011. 49-55.

“Looking at the Past: Nostalgia as Technique in The Naked and the Dead and For Whom the Bell Tolls,” The Mailer Review, Vol. 4:1, 2010. 303-10.

“Re-branding the NHL: Building the league through the ‘My NHL’ integrated marketing campaign,” (co-authored with Melanie Formentin). Public Relations Review, June 2008. 156-60.