Jonathan Ames

Jonathan Ames is an American author who has written a number of novels and comic memoirs. He was a columnist for the "New York Press" for several years, and became known for self-deprecating tales of his sexual misadventures. He also has a long-time interest in boxing, appearing occasionally in the ring as "The Herring Wonder". [Citation | last=Littlefield | first=Alex | title=Jonathan Ames's Punch-out! | publisher=New York Magazine | date= 2007-07-25 | url = http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2007/07/jonathan_ames_punch_out.html | accessdate = 2008-06-02 ]

Print

While at the "New York Press" his columns were often recollections of his childhood neuroses and his unusual experiences, written in the gritty tradition of Charles Bukowski. These columns were collected and in three nonfiction books, "What's Not to Love?: The Adventures of a Mildly Perverted Young Writer" (2000), "My Less Than Secret Life" (2002), and "I Love You More than You Know" (2006).

Ames's novels include "I Pass Like Night" (1989), "The Extra Man" (1998), and 2004's "Wake Up Sir!", described by The New York Times as "laugh-out-loud funny". [cite web | url= http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C01E2DA163DF932A3575BC0A9629C8B63 | title = Crying Jeeves When There Is No Jeeves | 2004-08-01 | access date = 2008-06-02] Due in September 2008 from DC Comics is "The Alcoholic", Ames' first foray into graphic novels. [cite web | url= http://dccomics.com/comics/?cm=9791| title = DC Comics: Coming September 2008 | 2008| access date = 2008-06-01] In 2009, he will publish a new collection of essays and fiction with Scribner, entitled "The Double Life is Twice as Good."

Other Media

He became known as a raconteur in New York City following his 1999 one-man stage show, "Oedipussy," and continues to perform frequently with the New York based oral-storytelling performance company The Moth.

He has been a guest several times on "The Late Show with David Letterman" and in 2004, the Showtime network commissioned Ames to develop a pilot based on his writings, titled "What's Not to Love?" Ames played himself in the pilot but it will not be going to series, though it did air as a special in winter 2007-2008. Ames previously had the lead role in a 2001 IFC film titled "The Girl Under the Waves", a film notable only as an on-screen experiment in improvisational acting. Ames will be appearing in the upcoming film "The Great Buck Howard", directed by Sean McGinly and starring John Malkovich, which debuted at Sundance in 2008.

Education

Ames is a 1987 graduate of Princeton University and he holds a Master of Fine Arts in Fiction from Columbia University. He has been a visiting faculty member at Columbia University, The New School, and the Iowa Writers' Workshop. He was also responsible for the controversy over the Most Phallic Building contest following publication of an article he wrote in Slate magazine. [cite web | url = http://www.forgotten-ny.com/STREET%20SCENES/willie/willie.html| title = Williamsburg Bank?| 2007| accessdate = 2007-06-16 ]

Bibliography

Novels

*"I Pass Like Night" (1989)
*"The Extra Man" (1998)
*"Wake Up Sir!" (2004)

Essays

*"What's Not to Love?: The Adventures of a Mildly Perverted Young Writer" (2000)
*"My Less Than Secret Life" (2002)
*"I Love You More Than You Know" (2006)

Anthologies

*"Sexual Metamorphosis : An Anthology of Transsexual Memoirs" (2005)

References

External links

* [http://www.jonathanames.com/ JonathanAmes.com Official Site]
* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950CEED7163DF934A35755C0A9649C8B63&sec=travel&pagewanted=all "For a Grown-Up, a Few Growing Pains"]
* [http://www.villagevoice.com/2008-09-23/books/on-the-town-with-jonathan-ames/ Profile] in the Village Voice (September 23 2008)