Brian Slattery - author, editor, occasional musician, gourmand

According to his Web site, Brian Francis Slattery is an "editor, writer, and occasional musician." What this inadequate description fails to impart is that he is, at core, a man who loves mustard and gets really snooty about eating only the best varieties.

Sometimes, however, he does edit for a bunch of journals you likely do not read and does write nonfiction pieces about public policy and the arts for the New Haven Advocate. At other times, he writes novels. Spaceman Blues: A Love Song was released in August 2007 to enthusiastic reviews, and his second novel Liberation: Being the Adventures of the Slick Six After the Collapse of the United States of America, is due out some time next year. Brian's prose has been described as "Pynchon crossed with Steinbeck, painted by Dali." While this might make some men giddy, mention it to Brian and he will gaze at you with an admixture of indifference and hostility. Try it and see.

As for music, Brian mostly plays fiddle and banjo in the old-time Appalachian style, and is a member of Wahoo and the Mudd Brothers, both high-energy old-time stringbands in the New York City area. Slattery considers himself a Dirtball, was once a Motherplucker, and looks very much forward to participating in the inaugural performance of Textual Healing with longtime friend and fellow band member Drew Bunting.

Occasionally Brian feeds sand to his child, who is too young to know better and not yet worthy of really good mustard.