J.G. RISING!
By:
October 6, 2010
It’s Josh Glenn’s birthday, and the presents are flowing in! This morning I sent him a long-delayed gmail invite; I hope he’s excited as I was. But even better, Josh has made the New Haven Review list of 20 nonfiction writers under 40. I’m sure Josh will agree that it’s a marvelous present to receive on one’s 43rd birthday.
Noting the splash made by the recent New Yorker list of young fiction writers, NHR editor Mark Oppenheimer wonders, “why does nobody ever make such lists for non-fiction writers? Some would say that non-fiction is rather vital right now.” Other writers on the list include HiLobrow favorites Keith Gessen, Tom Bissell, and Zadie Smith.
Here’s the citation:
Joshua Glenn is the cofounder of HiLobrow, where he describes himself as a “freelance writer, editor, and cultural semiotics analyst for international brands.” The blog has various contributors who write everything from fiction to posts about web technology and, of course, cultural semiotics. Glenn was an editor and columnist for the Boston Globe’s “Ideas” section. In 2007, he co-edited the anthology Taking Things Seriously: 75 Objects With Unexpected Significance, a collection of first-person essays about favorite objects. In 2008, he co-wrote The Idler’s Glossary, a listing of the etymology of hundreds of words and phrases used to describe people in various states of not working.
Surprisingly, no mention is made of J.G., Josh’s heartbreaking, staggering memoir of his childhood spent struggling to raise his brother, fend off therapeutic depradations, and keep his trousers zipped. It’s a staggering omission, given the work’s place in the canon. But the joy at HiLo headquarters will not be diminished!