Paul Wilkes

Paul Wilkes (born 1938) is an American writer and filmmaker who is best known for his focus on religion, especially Roman Catholicism and its monastic tradition.

He was born the youngest of seven children to immigrant parents, both Slovaks, in Cleveland, Ohio, where he attended Cathedral Latin High School. At Marquette University he received his B.A. in 1960. He then entered the U.S. Navy as a communications officer, serving from 1961 to 1964. In 1967 he completed an M.A. at Columbia University.

Wilkes started his career as a writer for the "Daily Camera" in Boulder, Colorado from 1964 to 1966. He joined the "Baltimore Sun" from 1967 to 1968, then worked as a book editor for Harper & Row in New York City in 1969. The next year he joined Harper's Magazine Press as a book editor.

He has taught writing at Brooklyn College, the University of Pittsburgh, Boston University, College of the Holy Cross, Clark University, and the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.

Wilkes has written for many magazines, including "The New Yorker", "New York Times Magazine", "Atlantic Monthly", "America", and "Commonweal".

He is married to Tracy Gochberg. They have two children.

Books

* "Fitzgo: The Wild Dog of Central Park", nonfiction (Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1973)
* "These Priests Stay", biography (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1973)
* "You Don't Have to Be Rich to Own a Brownstone", nonfiction (New York: Quadrangle, 1973)
* "Trying Out the Dream: A Year in the Life of an American Family", nonfiction (Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1975)
* "Six American Families", biography (New York: United Church of Christ, 1977)
* "Merton: By Those Who Knew Him Best", biography (San Francisco: Harper, 1984)
* "In Mysterious Ways: The Death and Life of a Parish Priest", biography (New York: Random House, 1990)
* "Companions along the Way", essays (Chicago: Thomas More Press, 1990)
* "My Book of Bedtime Prayers", children's (Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1992)
* "The Education of an Archbishop: Travels with Rembert Weakland", biography (Maryknoll: Orbis, 1992)
* "Temptations", novel (New York: Random House, 1993)
* "And They Shall Be My People: An American Rabbi and His Congregation", nonfiction (New York: Atlantic Monthly, 1994)
* "The Good Enough Catholic: A Guide for the Perplexed", nonfiction (New York: Ballantine, 1996)
* "The Seven Secrets of Successful Catholics", nonfiction (New York: Paulist Press, 1998)
* "Beyond the Walls: Monastic Wisdom for Everyday Life", nonfiction (New York: Doubleday, 1999)
* "Excellent Catholic Parishes: The Guide to the Best Places and Practices", nonfiction (New York: Paulist Press, 2001)
* "Excellent Protestant Congregations: The Guide to the Best Places and Practices", nonfiction (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2001)
* "Best Practices from America's Best Churches", editor, nonfiction (New York: Paulist Press, 2003)

Films

* "Six American Families", documentary, Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), 1977
* "Men of Iron", drama, Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), 1978
* "The Molders of Troy", co-writer, drama, Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), 1980
* "Merton", documentary, Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), 1984

References

Source: Contemporary Authors Online. The Gale Group, 2004. PEN (Permanent Entry Number): 0000106241.