Molly McGrann is an American

literary critic Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. Th ...

, poet, and novelist. She is an alumna of

Skidmore College Skidmore College is a private liberal arts college in Saratoga Springs, New York. Approximately 2,650 students are enrolled at Skidmore pursuing a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree in one of more than 60 areas of study. History Sk ...

and

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

. She lives in England.

Biography

McGrann graduated from

in 1995, and received an MFA in Creative Writing from

. She is a literary critic and the author of two novels. In December 1998, McGrann married the

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass) ...

bassist musician

Colin Greenwood Colin Charles Greenwood (born 26 June 1969) is an English musician and the bassist for the rock band Radiohead. Along with bass guitar, Greenwood plays Double bass, upright bass and Electronic musical instrument, electronic instruments. With h ...

in Oxford, England. They live in a village in

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

with their three sons, Jesse, Asa and Henry.

Writing

McGrann has worked as a reviewer for the '' Times Literary Supplement'' and as a contributing

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...

for ''

The Paris Review ''The Paris Review'' is a quarterly English-language literary magazine established in Paris in 1953 by Harold L. Humes, Peter Matthiessen, and George Plimpton. In its first five years, ''The Paris Review'' published works by Jack Kerouac, Philip ...

''. She has also had

poem Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings in ...

s published in various

literary magazine A literary magazine is a periodical devoted to literature in a broad sense. Literary magazines usually publish short stories, poetry, and essays, along with literary criticism, book reviews, biographical profiles of authors, interviews and letter ...

s including '' TriQuarterly'' and ''Arion''. She is a

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Editor of ''

A Public Space ''A Public Space'' is a nonprofit triquarterly English-language literary magazine based in Brooklyn, New York. First published in April 2006, ''A Public Space'' publishes fiction, poetry, essays and art. The magazine's Focus portfolios have exam ...

'', a quarterly literary magazine, founded in 2005 by

Brigid Hughes Brigid Hughes is a Brooklyn, New York-based literary editor. Hughes is best known for assuming the executive editor role at literary journal ''The Paris Review'' after the death of founding editor George Plimpton and for founding the literary ma ...

, former Executive Editor of ''The Paris Review''. Her first novel, ''360 Flip'', looked at the tensions lying below the surface of the " American Dream" in a 60s Levittown-style suburb, through the eyes of a disillusioned young poet growing up there in the 1950s. It was dedicated to her husband. ''Exurbia'', McGrann's second novel, set in Los Angeles in the mid 80s during the

Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

era, is about the mentally ill living in the margins of society. It follows an insecure thirteen-year-old girl suffering from

bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated mood that last from days to weeks each. If the elevated mood is severe or associated with ...

, Lise, and the parallel story of Ed Valencia, as their lives become entangled with the violent world of L.A.'s homeless gangs. It was dedicated to her parents.

Works

Fiction

* ''360 Flip'' (2004) * ''Exurbia'' (2007) * ''The Ladies of the House'' (2015)Reviews of ''The Ladies of the House'': * * *

Poetry

* ''From Less Than Spring, a long poem of conditions.

(1999) * ''Hermaphroditus'' (2002)

References

External links

A Public Space
official website {{DEFAULTSORT:McGrann, Molly 21st-century American novelists American expatriates in the United Kingdom American literary critics American women literary critics American women novelists New York University alumni Skidmore College alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American women poets 21st-century American women writers 21st-century American poets American women non-fiction writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers