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  • I'm a writer, journalist, and the editor of The Gambit, the alt-weekly newspaper in New Orleans.

    Journalism: My work has appeared in The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, The Globe & Mail (Canada), The Times- Picayune (New Orleans), The Oregonian, and Willamette Week, as well as in magazines including Details, Vogue, Publishers Weekly, and Portland Monthly.

    Publishing: Tight Shot, my first novel, was nominated for an Edgar Award by the Mystery Writers of America. Its sequel, Hot Shot, was roundly ignored by everyone, but was a far better book. I'm also a member of the National Book Critics Circle.

    Stage: I was a member of the Groundlings and Circle Repertory West in Los Angeles, and am a playwright (see "Stage" in the right-hand rail).

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« Dancing (the Hora) With Wolves | Main | Update on this week's latest fake-memoir controversy »

March 03, 2008

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Comments

Jil

"She is still a few credits short of a diploma"

I was thinking exactly the same thing.

Ranger Bob

"The shame is more complicated, but it has something to do with fact-checking in a world where The New York Times, the Oprah magazine, Kirkus, and a host of other media fall over themselves to praise a new fake memoir..."

What IS this?

Why all the JT Leroys, the James Freys, the Rigoberta Menchus?

Why is everyone so all-fired eager for gang-banger drug-addict holocaust-refugee-raised-by-wolves oppressed-campesino truck-stop-cowboy bio-porn?

Do marketing surveys really show that squalor is where the bucks are?

I guess I should just take a couple days off, come up with a dynamite dysfunctional persona, write up a quick autobiography, and wait for the mailman to come round with the royalty checks. Seems to be the new scam in town.

I'm thinking bestiality in the mix. Nobody's done that one yet.

Samuel John Klein

We note that Margaret Jones' MySpace page is set to private now.

However, we are still in her extended network. So, hey, bonus there!

Ranger Bob

Have you taken a look at the NYT comments page for this story lately?

A small but significant portion- maybe 10 or 15%- are saying, "What's the problem? It's a great story and it needs to be told."

Ummm... what part of, "It didn't happen" don't they understand? Jeezus!

And then there are a couple who write, "Shame on the sister for ratting Seltzer out." Yeah. Omerta, and all that.

Anyway, egg on Michiko Kakutani's face, too, but I evidence suggests she uses Teflon makeup, so no long-term harm there.

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