Elena Passarello is an American writer, actor, and professor. In 2018, she became the announcer for the PRI variety show and podcast '' Live Wire'' with

Luke Burbank Luke Burbank (born May 8, 1976) is an American radio host and podcaster who hosts the Portland, Oregon-based syndicated variety show ''Live Wire Radio'' and the Seattle-based former radio program and current podcast '' Too Beautiful to Live''. H ...

Career

Originally from

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

, Passarello studied nonfiction at the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...

and The Nonfiction Writing Program at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...

. Her essays have been published in newspapers including ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' and national literary journals such as ''

Virginia Quarterly Review The ''Virginia Quarterly Review'' is a quarterly literary magazine that was established in 1925 by James Southall Wilson, at the request of University of Virginia president E. A. Alderman. This ''"National Journal of Literature and Discussion"'' ...

'', ''

Gulf Coast The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South, is the coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The coastal states that have a shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico are Texas, Louisiana, Mississ ...

'', ''

Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...

Iowa Review ''The Iowa Review'' is an American literary magazine that publishes fiction, poetry, essays, and reviews. History and profile Founded in 1970, ''Iowa Review'' is issued three times a year, during the months of April, August, and December. Origin ...

,'' and ''

Oxford American The ''Oxford American'' is a quarterly magazine that focuses on the American South. First publication The magazine was begun in late 1989 in Oxford, Mississippi, by Marc Smirnoff (born July 11, 1963). The name "Oxford American" is a play on ''T ...

.'' She is the recipient of a 2015

Whiting Award The Whiting Award is an American award presented annually to ten emerging writers in fiction, nonfiction, poetry and plays. The award is sponsored by the Mrs. Giles Whiting Foundation Mrs. (American English) or Mrs (British English; standard E ...

in nonfiction. Her first essay collection, ''Let Me Clear My Throat'', was published by

Sarabande The sarabande (from es, zarabanda) is a dance in triple metre, or the music written for such a dance. History The Sarabande evolved from a Spanish dance with Arab influences, danced by a lively double line of couples with castanets. A dance cal ...

in 2012 and received the gold medal for nonfiction at the 2013

Independent Publisher Book Awards The Independent Publisher Book Awards, also styled the IPPY Awards, are a set of annual book awards for independently published titles. They are the longest-running unaffiliated contest open exclusively to independent presses. The IPPY Awards ar ...

. In the book, Passarello writes about famous voices from cultural history, including the eighteenth-century

castrato A castrato (Italian, plural: ''castrati'') is a type of classical male singing voice equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto. The voice is produced by castration of the singer before puberty, or it occurs in one who, due to ...

Farinelli Farinelli (; 24 January 1705 – 16 September 1782) was the stage name of Carlo Maria Michelangelo Nicola Broschi (), a celebrated Italian castrato singer of the 18th century and one of the greatest singers in the history of opera. Farinelli h ...

, punk rock crows, impressionists, the

rebel yell The rebel yell was a battle cry used by Confederate soldiers during the American Civil War. Confederate soldiers used the yell when charging to intimidate the enemy and boost their own morale, although the yell had many other uses. No audio ...

, the

Wilhelm Scream The Wilhelm scream is a stock sound effect that has been used in a number of films and TV series, beginning in 1951 with the film ''Distant Drums''. The scream is usually used when someone is shot, falls from a great height, or is thrown from a ...

, the Howard "

Dean Scream The Dean scream, also known as "I Have a Scream", was a speech delivered by Vermont governor Howard Dean on January 19, 2004 at the Val-Air Ballroom in West Des Moines, Iowa. That night, the presidential candidate had just lost the Iowa caucus to ...

," Pittsburgh sportscaster

Myron Cope Myron Sidney Kopelman (January 23, 1929 – February 27, 2008), known professionally as Myron Cope, was an American sports journalist, radio personality, and sportscaster. He is best known for being "the voice of the Pittsburgh Steelers". Cope ...

's "Yoy!", and

Marlon Brando Marlon Brando Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American actor. Considered one of the most influential actors of the 20th century, he received numerous accolades throughout his career, which spanned six decades, including two Academ ...

's "Stella!" from ''

A Streetcar Named Desire ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' is a play written by Tennessee Williams and first performed on Broadway on December 3, 1947. The play dramatizes the experiences of Blanche DuBois, a former Southern belle who, after encountering a series of person ...

''. Passarello was the first woman to win the Stella Screaming Contest in New Orleans in 2011. The book's title comes from

DJ Kool John W. Bowman Jr. (born March 20, 1958), better known by his stage name DJ Kool, is an American DJ and rapper who produced several popular rap singles in the late 1980s. Career Raised in Washington, D.C., his influence from years of working th ...

's 1996 hip-hop song. Passarello's second collection, ''Animals Strike Curious Poses'' (Sarabande 2017), is a bestiary of famous animals. From Jeoffry the Cat to

Koko the Gorilla Hanabiko "Koko" (July 4, 1971 – June 19, 2018) was a female western lowland gorilla. Koko was born in San Francisco Zoo, and lived most of her life at The Gorilla Foundation's preserve in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The name , , is of Japanese ori ...

Dürer's Rhinoceros ''Dürer's Rhinoceros'' is the name commonly given to a woodcut executed by German artist Albrecht Dürer in 1515. Dürer never saw the actual rhinoceros which was the first living example seen in Europe since Roman times. Instead the image is ...

, these essays are as much about the animals as the humans who named and interact with them. The book's title comes from

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

's 1984 single "

When Doves Cry "When Doves Cry" is a song by American musician Prince, and the lead single from his sixth studio album '' Purple Rain''. According to the DVD commentary of the film '' Purple Rain'' (1984), Prince was asked by director Albert Magnoli to write a ...

." The book received favorable reviews from ''The New York Times'', ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

'', ''

Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is av ...

'', and ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

''. It was listed as a New York Times Notable Book of 2017 and in ''The Guardian'' and Publishers Weekly's Best Books of 2017. In May 2018, it received the

Oregon Book Award The Oregon Book Awards are presented annually by Literary Arts to honor the "state’s finest accomplishments by Oregon writers who work in genres of poetry, fiction, graphic literature, drama, literary nonfiction, and literature for young readers. ...

. The book has been translated into German, Italian, and Chinese. Her essays have also appeared in several anthologies, including ''

The Best American Science and Nature Writing ''The Best American Science and Nature Writing'' is a yearly anthology of popular science magazine articles published in the United States. It was started in 2000 and is part of ''The Best American Series'' published by Houghton Mifflin. Articles ...

'', ''Pop When the World Falls Apart'' (

Duke University Press Duke University Press is an academic publisher and university press affiliated with Duke University. It was founded in 1921 by William T. Laprade as The Trinity College Press. (Duke University was initially called Trinity College). In 1926 Du ...

), ''I'll Tell You Mine: Thirty Years of Essays from the Iowa Nonfiction Writing Program'' (

University of Chicago Press The University of Chicago Press is the largest and one of the oldest university presses in the United States. It is operated by the University of Chicago and publishes a wide variety of academic titles, including ''The Chicago Manual of Style'', ...

), ''After Montaigne: Essayists Cover the Essays'' (

University of Georgia Press The University of Georgia Press or UGA Press is the university press of the University of Georgia, a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia. It is the oldest and la ...

), and ''How We Speak to One Another'', ''Cat is Art Spelled Wrong'', and ''Little Boxes: Twelve Writers on Television'' (all

Coffee House Press Coffee House Press is a nonprofit independent press based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The press’s goal is to "produce books that celebrate imagination, innovation in the craft of writing, and the many authentic voices of the American experience ...

). She co-edits the In Place Reading Series for

West Virginia University Press West Virginia University Press (WVU Press) is a university press and publisher in the state of West Virginia. A part of West Virginia University, the press publishes books and journals with a particular emphasis on Appalachian studies, history, hig ...

and edits nonfiction for ''Iron Horse Literary Review'' at

Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...

. Passarello also has credits as a performer, having originated roles in plays by David Turkel (''Wild Signs'', ''Holler'') and

Christopher Durang Christopher Ferdinand Durang (born January 2, 1949) is an American playwright known for works of outrageous and often absurd comedy. His work was especially popular in the 1980s, though his career seemed to get a second wind in the late 1990s. ...

(''

Mrs. Bob Cratchit's Wild Christmas Binge ''Mrs. Bob Cratchit's Wild Christmas Binge'' is a musical comedy written by Christopher Durang, a parody of the Charles Dickens 1843 novel ''A Christmas Carol''. Durang was commissioned by Pittsburgh City Theatre Artistic Director Tracy Brigden t ...

''), as well as several voice-over credits. She is currently an Associate Professor of Creative Writing in the MFA program at

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering co ...

Corvallis, Oregon Corvallis ( ) is a city and the county seat of Benton County in central western Oregon, United States. It is the principal city of the Corvallis, Oregon Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Benton County. As of the 2020 United ...

Awards

* 2018

Winner * 2015

Winner * 2014

finalist * 2013 Gold Medal for Nonfiction,

* 2011 Fellowship, Macdowell Colony * 2010 Fellowship, Hambidge Center

Bibliography

* *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Passarello, Elena Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Writers from Charleston, South Carolina American women essayists 21st-century American essayists Oregon State University faculty University of Pittsburgh alumni University of Iowa alumni 21st-century American women writers American women academics