Summer Update: Fitz in The New York Times

A short note with some exciting news

Credit...Photo illustration by Karl Russell Vickers, New York Times

As promised, things have been quiet around here these last several weeks as summer mode has been in full swing. We are beginning to think toward the fall, however, and gearing up to get back on a regular publishing schedule.

In the meantime, I wanted to share some exciting news. For as long as I’ve been writing professionally, I’ve had a goal of publishing in The New York Times. Periodically over the years, I’ve submitted op-eds or pitched editors of various sections, all to no avail. That is, until this spring, when I had a pitch accepted by the editor of one of my favorite NYT features, the “Letter of Recommendation” column, which appears in the Sunday magazine. As the column’s tagline says, it celebrates “the overlooked and underappreciated.” In other words, it’s a place where writers can publish personal narratives built around the weird things they’re into.

For my essay, I wrote about how over the past year I got heavy into watching vintage b-roll video clips posted by GBH Archives, a social media account of Boston’s public media station. I find the clips incredibly relaxing, and they were just what I needed to get through a relatively stressful time last fall and winter. And this relates to my other bit of big news, which also figures into the NYT piece. For much of past academic year, I was going through the process of applying and then interviewing for a new position in the English Department at Salem State University. Early in the spring, I was offered the job and I’m starting there in the fall. I’ll be an Associate Professor of English and Coordinator of the Professional Writing Program.

While I was in the midst of the nearly seven month application process, I had zero chill, but watching GBH Archives’ b-roll clips helped me feel calm. This is what my “Letter of Recommendation” piece is about. You can read it online here and it will be in the print edition of The New York Times Magazine on Sunday.

So, that’s where I’ll leave it for now. This link to the essay will give you access even if you don’t subscribe to The New York Times, so I hope you’ll give it a read.

See you in September!