About | Mysite

About John Glassie

John Glassie is the author of A Man of Misconceptions (Riverhead, 2012), a non-fiction book about a great and strange 17th-century polymath named Athanasius Kircher. A New York Times Book Review "Editors' Choice," it was called one of the best books of 2012 by Atlantic Wire and Scientific American.

Glassie's written work has been published by the Believer, The New York Times, The New Republic, Los Angeles Review of Books, The Paris Review, The Washington Post, Wired, and many other venues. In addition to writing articles about books, the arts, and ideas, he has interviewed dozens of public figures, from Gene Simmons to Anita Hill to Jhumpa Lahiri.

For many years, Glassie was a contributing editor for The New York Times Magazine, where he published personal stories from around the world and worked with authors such as Diane Ackerman, Daniel Alarcón, Nadeem Aslam, Sarah M. Broom, Ben Fountain, Sheila Heti, Gabe Hudson, Samantha Hunt, Randa Jarrar, Mat Johnson, Bret Anthony Johnston, Etgar Keret, Rachel Kushner, Laila Lalami, Yiyun Li, Sarah Manguso, ZZ Packer, Karen Russell, Saïd Sayrafiezadeh, Robert Stone, Wells Tower, Abraham Verghese, Vendela Vida, Bryan Washington, Kevin Wilson, and John Wray.

John's street photographs became the basis of a 2005 book, Bicycles Locked to Poles, published by McSweeney's, and the subject of an exhibition at Jen Bekman Gallery in New York. At certain odd times he has also exhibited paintings, constructions, and video. His writing and photographs have been included in several anthologies, including The Public Domain Review: Selected Essays, 2011-2013 (PDR Press, 2014), New York: A Photographer's City (Rizzoli, 2011), Art of McSweeney's (Chronicle Books, 2010), and Ancient Gonzo Wisdom: Interviews with Hunter S. Thompson (DeCapo press, 2009).

Glassie has taught at Pratt Institute and has given talks or participated on panels at BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music), Columbia University, Loyola University in New Orleans, The New School, The CUNY Graduate Center, and The University of Iowa. He has also been a ghostwriter and speechwriter, and has worked with media, policy, and cultural organizations. He grew up near Washington, D.C., and attended The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. He lives in Brooklyn.