I was born in the arms of God. Born in Texas in a little hospital near the banks of the Brazos River, called by early Spanish explorers Río de los Brazos de Dios (translated as “The River of the Arms of God”).
I worked for my Texas hometown daily newspaper until I moved to Houston to work for a film production company. My Plan A was to save up enough money for a one-way bus ticket to New York City. My Plan B was to get a scholarship to New York University Film School. Miraculously, I got the latter and wound up with a BFA in Film Production and a life in New York.
Film work–which included cult classics Times Square and Maniac–followed graduation.
Having survived the dirty, dangerous, bankrupt days of NYC in the 1970s, I split for Thatcher’s impoverished Britain in the mid-1980s. There I lived in a London squat and landed a job with an indie record label, Red Flame Records.
All the while, I wrote stories. I returned to New York and learned from a variety of teachers, including Carol Emshwiller, Lynne Tillman, Barbara Jones, and Gordon Lish. I also attended The Bennington Writers Workshop.
My work has appeared in Big Bridge, Mr. Beller’s Neighborhood, Boog City, Brink, Phase Zero, and Whiskey Tit Journal. An essay I wrote appears in the liner notes for the box set, G Stands for Go-Betweens Volume II. My curatorial residency at Howl! Happening: An Arturo Vega Project in the East Village is archived on video as Janie Heath &Friends.
Episode 1 Maggie Dubris, Philip Shelley, Leah Hennessey
Episode 2 Tom Cole, Dana Wachs (as Vorhees), Philip Shelley
Episode 3 Rhona Bitner, Jon Hammer, Kid Congo Powers
Episode 4 Wanda Phipps, Robert Leslie, Gregg Shapiro