“Cultural anthropology at its most exuberant.”
—The New Yorker
About Hank Stuever
Hank Stuever is a journalist, editor and author. His previous work includes 26 years at the Washington Post, where he was executive features editor, overseeing the teams that produced the Style section’s coverage of politics, media, arts, culture, fashion and trends, as well the paper’s food, travel, books, home, advice and local entertainment coverage. In earlier roles at the Post, he was Style’s senior editor; chief television critic; and a features writer covering a broad range of people, trends, culture and news.
Before the Post, Stuever worked as a feature writer at the Austin American-Statesman in Texas. He began his career as a news reporter and feature writer at the Albuquerque Tribune in New Mexico, where his work was twice named a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in feature writing.
Stuever is the author of two books: Tinsel, a nonfiction book about the emotional and economic impact of Christmas, and Off Ramp, a collection of his essays and articles. He was born and raised in Oklahoma City and earned a journalism degree from Loyola University in New Orleans. He has appeared on several TV shows (including Today, The View, The Late Late Show) and public radio programs (including It’s Been a Minute, Weekend Edition, Day to Day). In 2012, he was the T. Anthony Pollner visiting professor at the University of Montana’s School of Journalism.
He lives with his partner, Michael Wichita, in Washington, D.C.
Books
Tinsel
In Tinsel, Hank Stuever turns his unerring eye for the idiosyncrasies of modern life to Frisco, Texas—a suburb at once all-American and completely itself—to tell the story of the nation’s most over-the-top celebration: Christmas. Stuever’s tale begins on the blissful easy-credit dawn of Black Friday, as he jostles for bargains among the crowds at the big-box stores. From there he follows Frisco’s true believers as they navigate through three years of holiday drama. Tammie Parnell is the proprietor of “Two Elves with a Twist,” a company that decks the halls of other people’s McMansions. Jeff and Bridgette Trykoski spend eleven months preparing the visible-from-space, awe-inspiring light display they stage on their lawn each December. And single mother Caroll Cavazos, a devout churchgoer, hopes that the life-affirming moments of the season can transcend her everyday struggles. Tinsel is a humane, revealing, and very funny portrait of one community’s quest to discover a more perfect holiday amidst the frenzied, mega-churchy, shoparific world of Christmas.
Off Ramp
In his unique, funny, and haunting reports from "Elsewhere," Hank Stuever records the odd and touching realities of modern life in everyday places. Elsewhere might be revealed in the tract-house adventures of a home-décor reality show, at a discount funeral home in a strip mall, or in the story of an armed man named Honey Bear in the hunt for his beloved but now missing sleeper sofa which he left in a storage unit. Off Ramp shows us America through the humorous gaze of Hank Stuever, who finds beauty in the midst of the most unlikely and invisible lives and places.
Praise for Hank's Work
“Stuever reaches to the core of the human condition… A mixture of compelling writing style and deep reflection.”
—The Denver Post
“Mr. Stuever is one of those increasingly rare creatures: a journalist who has his heart in the right place.”
—Joe Queenan, author of Closing Time
“Stuever’s voice maintains a comfortable balance between the sardonic and the empathetic. His is a refreshing take on America.”
—Chicago Tribune
“Laugh-out-loud funny … Stuever’s keen eye misses very little.”
—USA Today
“[A] razor-sharp eye … a master class in top-notch journalism.”
—Entertainment Weekly
“Stuever’s fascination with and empathy for the human experience are abundant.”
—Minneapolis Star Tribune
Contact
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