Occupation Professor, writer Genres Novel, criticism Role Writer | Nationality American Name Roxane Gay | |
 | ||
Alma mater Michigan Technological University
Phillips Exeter Academy Education Yale University, Michigan Technological University, Phillips Exeter Academy Nominations Goodreads Choice Awards Best Nonfiction Books Bad Feminist: Essays, An Untamed State, Ayiti Profiles | ||
The f word roxane gay
Roxane Gay (born 1974) is an American writer, professor, editor, blogger, and commentator. She is a professor of English at Purdue University, contributing op-ed writer at The New York Times, founder of Tiny Hardcore Press, contributing editor for Bluestem Magazine, essays editor for The Rumpus, and co-editor of PANK, a nonprofit literary arts collective.
Contents
Roxane gay interviewed by alexander chee pt 1 running away tones of skin and ina garten
Career
She is the author of the short story collection Ayiti (2011), the novel An Untamed State (2014), the essay collection Bad Feminist (2014), and Hunger (forthcoming 2016). She also edited the book Girl Crush: Women's Erotic Fantasies. In addition to her regular contributions to Salon and the now defunct HTMLGiant, her writing has appeared in Best American Mystery Stories 2014, Best American Short Stories 2012, Best Sex Writing 2012, A Public Space, McSweeney’s, Tin House, Oxford American, American Short Fiction, West Branch, Virginia Quarterly Review, NOON, Bookforum, Time, The Los Angeles Times, The Nation and The New York Times Book Review.
Reception
Gay's publication of the novel An Untamed State and essay collection Bad Feminist in the summer of 2014 led Time Magazine to declare, "Let this be the year of Roxane Gay." The magazine noted of her inclusive style: "Gay’s writing is simple and direct, but never cold or sterile. She directly confronts complex issues of identity and privilege, but it’s always accessible and insightful." In the United Kingdom's The Guardian, critic Kira Cochrane offered a similar assessment, "While online discourse is often characterised by extreme, polarised opinions, her writing is distinct for being subtle and discursive, with an ability to see around corners, to recognise other points of view while carefully advancing her own. In print, on Twitter and in person, Gay has the voice of the friend you call first for advice, calm and sane as well as funny, someone who has seen a lot and takes no prisoners."
Education
Gay holds a doctoral degree in rhetoric and technical communication from Michigan Technological University.
She attended high school at Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire.
Personal life
Gay was born in Nebraska and her family moved several times in her childhood. Struggling to make friends, she turned to books instead. She began writing essays as a teenager. She is of Haitian descent, and writes about how her Haitian American upbringing affected her in her book of essays, Bad Feminist.
Gay is also a competitive Scrabble player in the U.S.
She is openly bisexual.