William McKeen
Encyclopedia
William McKeen is professor and chairman of the Department of Journalism at Boston University
.
McKeen has written and/or edited a dozen books and is a leading pop-culture authority. Outlaw Journalist (W.W. Norton, 2008) is his acclaimed biography of writer Hunter S. Thompson
. The Miami Herald called the book "essential", and the New York Observer said it was "the best record to date of Thompson's life". Writing in the Washington Post, Jonathan Yardley said, “[McKeen] gets it all in: the boozing and drugging, the histrionics, the womanizing, the violence, but also the intelligence, the loyalty, the inherent decency”. Christopher Hitchens, writing the lead review in The Sunday Times of London, called it "admirable" and "haunting". Anita Thompson, the writer's widow, posted a message on her Web site: "As Hunter's wife, I strongly recommend this book to you."
McKeen's latest book is Mile Marker Zero (Crown Books, 2011), a non-fiction narrative about the writers, artists, musicians and actors in Key West in the 1970s. Write Tom Wolfe called the book “a tall but telescopic-sight-true tale of Hunter Thompson, Jimmy Buffett, Tom McGuane, and a large cavorting cast running around with sand in their shoes at ‘ground zero for lust and greed and most of the other deadly sins,’ Key West.” Historian Douglas Brinkley said it was "a wonderful zinger of a book. Every page sings a story worth a Jimmy Buffett song."
In 2012, McKeen will publish Homegrown with the University Press of Florida. McKeen edited the collection about growing up in Florida, and wrote two of the stories in the volume. Other contributors include Michael Connelly, Carl Hiaasen, Tom Petty, Fabiola Santiago, Zora Neale Hurston, Anne V. Hull and many others.
His earlier books include Highway 61 (W.W. Norton, 2003), Rock and Roll is Here to Stay (W.W. Norton, 2000), Literary Journalism (Wadsworth, 2000), Tom Wolfe (Simon and Schuster, 1995) and several earlier books on popular culture. His writing has appeared in Maxim, American History, Holiday, The Saturday Evening Post and many other newspapers and magazines. Before beginning his academic career, he was a newspaper reporter and copy editor in Indiana, Florida and Oklahoma. He was associate editor of The American Spectator and The Saturday Evening Post," where he helped compile The American Story (Curtis, 1975).
McKeen teaches courses on journalism history, literary journalism and rock n' roll and American culture. He earned his bachelor's degree in history and his master's in journalism, both from Indiana University
. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Oklahoma
. He taught at Western Kentucky University
and the University of Oklahoma before joining the University of Florida
faculty in 1986. He taught there until 2010, and chaired the journalism department from 1998 until 2010, before moving to a similar position at Boston University. McKeen has frequently been honored for his teaching and writing and became a fellow of the World Technology Network in 2006. He was also named to Hunter S. Thompson's Honor Roll in 2003 and cited as one of America's Eight Most-Fun Professors by Playboy magazine in 1993.
He is married to Nicole Cisneros McKeen, a magazine editor, and has seven children: Sarah, Graham and Mary (from his first marriage), and four children still at home, Savannah, Jack, Travis and Charley. They live in an Adirondack cottage on Cohasset Harbor in Massachusetts.
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
.
McKeen has written and/or edited a dozen books and is a leading pop-culture authority. Outlaw Journalist (W.W. Norton, 2008) is his acclaimed biography of writer Hunter S. Thompson
Hunter S. Thompson
Hunter Stockton Thompson was an American journalist and author who wrote The Rum Diary , Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72 .He is credited as the creator of Gonzo journalism, a style of reporting where reporters involve themselves in the action to...
. The Miami Herald called the book "essential", and the New York Observer said it was "the best record to date of Thompson's life". Writing in the Washington Post, Jonathan Yardley said, “[McKeen] gets it all in: the boozing and drugging, the histrionics, the womanizing, the violence, but also the intelligence, the loyalty, the inherent decency”. Christopher Hitchens, writing the lead review in The Sunday Times of London, called it "admirable" and "haunting". Anita Thompson, the writer's widow, posted a message on her Web site: "As Hunter's wife, I strongly recommend this book to you."
McKeen's latest book is Mile Marker Zero (Crown Books, 2011), a non-fiction narrative about the writers, artists, musicians and actors in Key West in the 1970s. Write Tom Wolfe called the book “a tall but telescopic-sight-true tale of Hunter Thompson, Jimmy Buffett, Tom McGuane, and a large cavorting cast running around with sand in their shoes at ‘ground zero for lust and greed and most of the other deadly sins,’ Key West.” Historian Douglas Brinkley said it was "a wonderful zinger of a book. Every page sings a story worth a Jimmy Buffett song."
In 2012, McKeen will publish Homegrown with the University Press of Florida. McKeen edited the collection about growing up in Florida, and wrote two of the stories in the volume. Other contributors include Michael Connelly, Carl Hiaasen, Tom Petty, Fabiola Santiago, Zora Neale Hurston, Anne V. Hull and many others.
His earlier books include Highway 61 (W.W. Norton, 2003), Rock and Roll is Here to Stay (W.W. Norton, 2000), Literary Journalism (Wadsworth, 2000), Tom Wolfe (Simon and Schuster, 1995) and several earlier books on popular culture. His writing has appeared in Maxim, American History, Holiday, The Saturday Evening Post and many other newspapers and magazines. Before beginning his academic career, he was a newspaper reporter and copy editor in Indiana, Florida and Oklahoma. He was associate editor of The American Spectator and The Saturday Evening Post," where he helped compile The American Story (Curtis, 1975).
McKeen teaches courses on journalism history, literary journalism and rock n' roll and American culture. He earned his bachelor's degree in history and his master's in journalism, both from Indiana University
Indiana University
Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...
. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Oklahoma
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...
. He taught at Western Kentucky University
Western Kentucky University
Western Kentucky University is a public university in Bowling Green, Kentucky, USA. It was formally founded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1906, though its roots reach back a quarter-century earlier....
and the University of Oklahoma before joining the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
faculty in 1986. He taught there until 2010, and chaired the journalism department from 1998 until 2010, before moving to a similar position at Boston University. McKeen has frequently been honored for his teaching and writing and became a fellow of the World Technology Network in 2006. He was also named to Hunter S. Thompson's Honor Roll in 2003 and cited as one of America's Eight Most-Fun Professors by Playboy magazine in 1993.
He is married to Nicole Cisneros McKeen, a magazine editor, and has seven children: Sarah, Graham and Mary (from his first marriage), and four children still at home, Savannah, Jack, Travis and Charley. They live in an Adirondack cottage on Cohasset Harbor in Massachusetts.