About Joseph G. Peterson
A note from the author --
"My books tell the story of men, mostly white working-class loners, who are no longer properly plugged into the normalizing constructs of family, work, and the social engagement made possible by clubs and civic volunteerism. The men I write about either willfully decline to take on a role in these structures, or they are no longer relevant to these structures. My characters are not politically oriented, they are usually loyal to the ones they love; and they don’t try to act dishonorably though sometimes they do. My writing charts the confusion, the social isolation, and the self-harm that becomes these guys and the harm they cause to others as they drift away from normalizing social constructs. My books are built around voices, conversations, dialogue and they rely less heavily on descriptive passages. They are filled with non-sequiturs; conversational enjambment; circular story-telling, and repetition. My books include snippets of verse, song, and theatrical dialogue. I have committed myself as a writer to a modernizing literary impulse and literary experimentation so that I might find a place in our contemporary literary culture for these voices. I also push the boundaries of the noir genre to expose the underlying humanity of characters in these traditional roles. Most of all, my books aim for truth and beauty."
About Joseph --
Joseph G. Peterson is the author of several works of fiction and poetry. He grew up in Wheeling, Illinois, received his B.A. from the University of Chicago, and his MA. from Roosevelt University. The Des Plaines River and the forest preserves surrounding it winds through the town of Wheeling, and through the imaginary territory of many of his books. He currently lives with his family in the Chicago neighborhood, Hyde Park, on the southern shore of Lake Michigan.