Why subscribe?
Subscribe to get excerpts from my memoir about my father Earle Olsen’s art career, from 1940s Chicago to 1960s New York City. No, he was not a famous artist— but that’s why it was challenging and interesting to research his life and work. You’ll be surprised by how much I found out!
Subscribe because you are interested in the craft of writing, the world of art and advertising, or midcentury American culture.
Subscribe because, like me, you are serious about making your writing better and putting it out there in the world.
All subscribers will receive weekly posts about the materials I work with—from archives to personal artifacts—and the choices I made as I crafted my memoir. I’ll share my insights into the writing process from years of teaching and critique my own work to improve yours. The memoir I’m sharing here, Daddy-O: A Story of Art, Advertising, and Family, is the result of five years of research and revision into my family’s relationship with the art and design worlds.
Join us
Be part of a community of researchers, writers, art lovers, genealogists, and family historians. Engage with me and each other as we figure how to understand the past, in its present forms.
When I turn on paid subscriptions, paid subscribers will have additional access to conversations and feedback from me on exercises or drafts. As the community grows I envision this becoming a platform for your writing as well, so we can share and workshop pieces together.
About me
I’ve published a lot of different kinds of writing.
a biography of Julia Margaret Cameron, the Victorian photographer.
essays on photographs for Smithsonian Magazine
a middle-grade novel about a Victorian girl with dyslexia
freelance marketing writing for tech companies
audiotour scripts for museum exhibits
I’ve taught a lot of different kinds of writing.
essay-writing and research skills at New York University for eleven years
business writing for product managers
life writing from biography to memoir
I have a Ph.D. in English literature.
