David Hajdu (; born March 1955) is an American columnist, author and professor at

Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism is located in Pulitzer Hall on the university's Morningside Heights campus in New York City. Founded in 1912 by Joseph Pulitzer, Columbia Journalism School is one of the oldest journalism s ...

. He was the music critic for ''

The New Republic ''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hum ...

'' for 12 years and is music editor at ''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper tha ...

''.

Biography

Hajdu is of Hungarian and Italian descent, and was born and raised in Phillipsburg, New Jersey, he attended

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 ...

, where he majored in journalism. His first professional work was illustrating for ''

The Easton Express ''The Express-Times'' is a daily newspaper based in Easton, Pennsylvania. The newspaper provides national news and extensive local news coverage of the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855, ''The Express-Times'' is the lo ...

'' in 1972. He started writing for ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...

'' and ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' in 1979, and was the founding editor of ''Video Review'' magazine, where he worked from 1980 to 1984. In the late 1980s he began teaching at

The New School The New School is a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for progressive thinkers. ...

, and was an editor at ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' from 1990 to 1999. He was the music critic for ''

'' for 12 years and is music editor at ''

''. He has taught at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

(as nonfiction writer in residence),

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

, and

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, where he is a professor of journalism. He has written biographies and other nonfiction about the musicians

Billy Strayhorn William Thomas Strayhorn (November 29, 1915 – May 31, 1967) was an American jazz composer, pianist, lyricist, and arranger, who collaborated with bandleader and composer Duke Ellington for nearly three decades. His compositions include "Take ...

Joan Baez Joan Chandos Baez (; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing more ...

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

Mimi Baez Farina Mimi or MIMI may refer to: People * Mimi (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Constantin Mimi (1868–1935), Bessarabian politician and winemaker * Mimi (footballer, born 1996), Bissau Guinean footballer * Mohanad Ali (born 2 ...

, and

Richard Farina Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'strong ...

. He has also written about comic books. In October, 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Hajdu to serve a six year term on the

National Endowment for the Humanities The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...

Awards

*1997 ASCAP-Deems Taylor Award: ''Lush Life: A Biography of Billy Strayhorn'' *2002 ASCAP-Deems Taylor Award: ''Positively 4th Street: The Lives and Times of Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Mimi Baez Farina and Richard Farina'' *Finalist, National Book Critics Circle Award: ''Positively 4th Street: The Lives and Times of Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Mimi Baez Farina and Richard Farina'' *Finalist,

Firecracker Book Award A firecracker (cracker, noise maker, banger) is a small explosive device primarily designed to produce a large amount of noise, especially in the form of a loud bang, usually for celebration or entertainment; any visual effect is incidental to ...

: ''Positively 4th Street: The Lives and Times of Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Mimi Baez Farina and Richard Farina'' *2010 ASCAP-Deems Taylor Award: ''Heroes and Villains: Essays on Music, Movies, Comics, and Culture''

Bibliography

All books published by

Farrar, Straus and Giroux Farrar, Straus and Giroux (FSG) is an American book publishing company, founded in 1946 by Roger Williams Straus Jr. and John C. Farrar. FSG is known for publishing literary books, and its authors have won numerous awards, including Pulitzer ...

, New York, unless otherwise noted. * * * * * *

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hajdu, David 1955 births Living people American non-fiction writers New York University alumni People from Phillipsburg, New Jersey The Nation (U.S. magazine) people Rolling Stone people The Village Voice people American writers of Italian descent American people of Hungarian descent EC Comics