Writing

I write memoir, essays, and fiction because I'm fascinated by how private lives intersect with larger histories. I find myself drawn to stories of family, inheritance, conscience, and belonging. I'm interested in the ways stories help us understand who we are and how we came to be.

For many years I thought I wanted to become a poet like my teachers, Charles Simic and Mark Strand. After publishing poems in literary journals, however, I found myself longing for sentences, stories, and the larger canvas of prose. Poetry taught me how to listen to language; prose gave me permission to follow questions wherever they led.