A Brief Biography (Part II)

Click here to download the bio in Microsoft Word (.doc) format

So we loaded up the truck and we moved to Baltimore. Maryland, that is; crab cakes, bouffant hair. But we no longer felt like hillbillies; in fact, after six years in Atlanta, Charm City looked like hicksville: a decaying downtown, no good bookstores, a provincial air. It was several years before we felt at home.

      Les got pregnant that first year in Baltimore, and on July 4, 1989, our son Cameron Scott was born, six weeks early. Cam was an unusual child: at age one, he wanted to read books, but he never played with toys. By 18 months, he'd lost most of his words; by age two-and-a-half, we learned he had autism. Our life with Cam has been an enormous struggle, a difficult learning experience, but also a peculiar sort of triumph. I detail these experiences in my book One of Us: A Family's Life with Autism. Click here to visit neurodiversity.com, one of the best and least-biased autism websites.

      I've stayed at Loyola since then, publishing many articles and six books, and teaching a wide variety of courses; in 1995 I was tenured, and in 2001 I was promote to full professor, and in 2000 I won Loyola's Nachbahr Award for outstanding research in the humanities. In 1996 I decided also to enhance my long-held interest in movies as well as Loyola's curriculum, by founding a Film Studies minor at Loyola. I particularly enjoy research and teaching that combines different disciplines. For example, I've edited two books dealing with the intersections of literature, economics and anthropology, and last year I edited a special issue of Genre on jazz and jazz writing. In October, 2005, I organized a conference called Representing Autism: Writing, Cognition, Disability, which was the first conference devoted to autism and the humanities. Click here to see the conference program and other information. My most recent book, Autism and Representation, gathers essay derived from that conference. 

      I've also maintained my musical avocation. After hanging up the horns for three years, in 1991 I picked them up again to join the Loyola College Jazz Ensemble. In 1993 I met Brian Smith and Phil Ravita, and we began rehearsing at Loyola with an ex-student of mine, guitarist Greg Schlimm. Within a few months, Cold Spring Jazz Quartet was born. Greg left in 1996, and we replaced him with another Greg, drummer Greg Mack. With this lineup, CSJQ performed in the Baltimore-Washington region until 2002, when we started working with a new bass player, Gary Kerner.

      CSJQ is a mainstream jazz group, but our diverse repertoire features everything from blues to standards, bop to contemporary jazz. In 2003 we recorded and released our first CD, Same Place. Different Time. In 2008, we recorded and released our second disc, Urban Pastoral. For more information, please visit our website: http://www.coldspringjazz.com. I also work as a freelance sideman on saxophone whenever I get calls from other local jazz groups. Click here for my musical resume.

      In 2004 I helped found a new not-for-profit organization called Baltimore Jazz Alliance, devoted to furthering the interests of jazz in this region. I'm now president of this organization, which has sponsored youth concerts, educational initiatives, the first Baltimore Composers' Showcase, a compilation CD, and a music book, among other projects. To buy the CD or book, please visit our website: http://baltimorejazz.com.

      Writing, reading and teaching literature, and playing music remain the three most important areas of my intellectual and artistic life. Each of them offers challenges and delights sufficient for multiple lifetimes. But my greatest joys come from spending time with my wife and son. They matter much more than any achievement, vocation or hobby.