About

I grew up in Pittsburgh. My ethnic background is Italian and Polish. I graduated from Wesleyan Unversity (CT) with high honors in English, owing to my senior thesis, which was a novel. I also received an M.A. from Hollins College (now University), where I won both fiction and poetry writing awards (Andrew James Purdy and Academy of American Poets). My published books include Flowers in the Dark (poetry, Kelsay Books), Ghost Tracks: Stories of Pittsburgh Past (Big Table Publishing), A Luke of All Ages/Fire and Ice (Adelaide Books), Calling the Names (David Roberts Books), Painting a Disappearing Canvas (Grayson Books), and The Landscapes of Pater (Vineyard Press). My work has also appeared in numerous literary magazines and anthologies around the U.S. and abroad. I am also a painter. Recently I retired from Yale University as a medical illustrator and graphic designer.

Other Works

  • A Luke of All Ages/Fire and Ice

    2020
  • Ghost Tracks: Stories of Pittsburgh Past

    2017
  • Calling the Names

    2017
  • Painting a Disappearing Canvas

    2012
  • Thaddeus Olsen (in Desperate Remedies)

    2008
  • The Landscapes of Pater

    2004

Awards and Recognition

  • Gertrude Claytor Poetry Award (from Academy of American Poets) at Hollins College, 1983
  • Andrew James Purdy fiction award (Hollins College), 1983
  • Epic Poem Award (Mellen Poetry Press, 1996)
  • Reader Views short fiction award (for novellas A Luke of All Ages/Fire and Ice), 2021