Michael O’Connell is a writer, editor and educator who lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Since earning his Ph.D. in American literature from Loyola University Chicago, he has spent over a decade teaching literature and humanities courses at the university level, both online and in person. He is the author of “Startling Figures: Encounters with American Catholic Fiction” (Fordham University Press, 2023), editor of “Conversations with George Saunders” (University Press of Mississippi, 2022) and co-editor of The Journal of David Foster Wallace Studies. His essays have appeared in a wide array of peer-reviewed academic journals, as well as literary journals and websites. He is currently the inaugural fellow at the Jesuit Media Lab. You can find more of his reflections on literature, sports, spirituality, and the fleeting nature of beauty at Nothing Gold.
