About

About Me

I am an author, a seasoned film critic and feature writer, and a frequent adjunct lecturer of film studies. I am also an intrepid traveler.

I write mostly about film, although I have written about Italian art, food, wine and travel. I am the "Cinema" columnist for the Washington, D.C.-based Ambassador, and I often write for the New York City-based Cineaste. My work has appeared has also appeared in the LA Times, All Arts, WNET's online magazine, The Brooklyn Eagle, Awards Watch and on Biography.com, among many other online and print outlets in the U.S. and Canada. Links to my work appear on my website.

My recent book is "Cinematic Quests for Identity: The Hero's Encounter with the Beast" (Rowman & Littlefield, 2015.). I am also the author of "Gender Equity Module: Ensuring Unbiased Behavior in an All-Girl Environment" (GSUSA, 1994), a first-of-its-kind module on bias in all-girl informal educational environments.

For the past 30 years, I have been a full and part time academic in graduate and undergraduate departments of English, film and writing. I have taught at Rutgers, Pratt, several CUNY colleges, and at Dine College on the Navajo Reservation.

I am a native New Yorker, and reside in Manhattan with my feline companions, Luca and Luna. At this writing, I am working on my next film book.

Featured Work

Cinematic Quests for Identity: The Hero's Encounter with the Beast

2015

This book is a feminist and scholarly consideration of the ways in which Western and Eastern myths, folklore and literature about the quest are represented in American, European and Asian movies. The “beast” in my subtitle refers to the person who enters the hero’s life, and compels him or her to embark on a quest for identity. The quest is viewed as a lifelong journey for consciousness and meaning. My use of the term “beast” is inspired by Jean Cocteau’s "La Belle et la Bête," the subject of my first chapter. Publisher's page is here: https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781442246980/Cinematic-Quests-for-Identity-The-Hero's-Encounter-with-the-Beast

Other Works

  • Gender Equity Module: Ensuring Unbiased Behavior in an All-Girl Environment

    1994

Awards and Recognition

  • Gender Equity Module received an honorable mention in the April 1994 Congressional Record.

Press and Media Mentions