GELTMAKER, Ty 1952-

PERSONAL: Born March 7, 1952, in Peoria, IL; son of Eugene and Milly (Darling) Geltmaker; companion of James Rosen (an architect and furniture designer). Ethnicity: "German-Irish-English." Education: Trinity College, Hartford, CT, B.A., 1974; attended Università per Stranieri, 1975-76; New York University, M.A., 1986; University of Southern California, Ph.D., 1994. Politics: "Democratic Socialist." Religion: "Atheist (raised Roman Catholic)." Hobbies and other interests: Dogs, gardening, European film.

ADDRESSES: Home—Los Angeles, CA. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Peter Lang Publishing, Inc., 275 Seventh Ave., 28th Floor, New York, NY 10001. E-mail— echobamboo@sbcglobal.net.

CAREER: Peoria Journal Star, Peoria, IL, reporter and copy editor, summers, 1972-73; Rome Daily American, Rome, Italy, copy editor, feature writer, and page layout technician, 1976-77; International Daily News, Rome, Italy, editor, political writer, page layout technician, and typesetter, 1977-79; United Press International, New York, NY, editor at international and foreign desks, 1979-81; freelance writer and editor, 1981—. English teacher in Rome, 1976-78; Cerritos Community College, instructor, 1989; University of Southern California, instructor, 1994, visiting lecturer in Italian, 2001; California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, CA, instructor in history, 1993-95; Bronx Community College of the City University of New York, adjunct assistant professor, 1993-95.

MEMBER: American Historical Association.

WRITINGS:

Tired of Living: Suicide in Italy from National Unification to World War I, 1860-1915, Peter Lang Publishing (New York, NY), 2002.

Contributor to books, including Negative Capability, edited by Eugene Walter, [Mobile, AL], 1981; and Queers in Space, edited by Gordon Brent Ingram, Bay Press (Seattle, WA), 1997. Contributor to periodicals, including Society and Space and Journal of the History of Sexuality.

WORK IN PROGRESS: Anni di Piombo: My Years of Lead, a "fictional autobiography" set in Rome in the 1970s; research on passion plays in twentieth-century Los Angeles.

SIDELIGHTS: Ty Geltmaker told CA: "I am primarily a fiction writer (of little success) whose works of historical nonfiction have been published. I am committed to historical narrative which incorporates theoretical perspectives without 'fetishizing' theory or letting theory drown out the voices of my historical sources. I am an intellectual, but wary of the academic life, as I fit best somewhere between the academy's essential conservatism and the rough and tumble of journalism. Though I see myself as American to the core, I've always felt most at home in Rome and Berlin (socially and politically). Not surprisingly, Nathaniel Hawthorne is my favorite American writer. Los Angeles is my favorite United States city; it has Rome's insouciance and Berlin's edginess.

"My history of suicide in Italy was an accident. I discovered the topic while reading Italian newspaper reports on the infamous 'Futurist Evenings' of 1909-15 (performances exalting violence ending in mock riot). I've written on AIDS and gay issues with a critical eye on my own experience.

"I write (whether fiction or nonfiction) because the solitary act of doing so makes me feel good—whether or not it gets published."