Ben Purkert

Ben Purkert discusses the rich text of toxic masculinity, writing a novel that engages with authenticity and a character who has no idea who he is, the role Judaism plays in the book, poetry being his first love, the dearth of heterosexual male intimacy, writing complex female characters, and more! Ben Purkert is the author of the debut novel, The Men Can’t Be Saved (Abrams/Overlook). His poetry collection, For the Love of Endings (Four Way Books, 2018), was named one of Adroit’s Best Poetry Books of the Year. His writing has appeared in The New Yorker, The Nation, Slate, Poetry, Ploughshares, Kenyon Review, Tin House, and elsewhere. He holds degrees from Harvard and NYU, where he was a New York Times Fellow. He is the editor of Back Draft, a Guernica interview series focused on revision and the creative process. He currently teaches creative writing at Rutgers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices