Chad Gusler

Chad Gusler graduated from Eastern Mennonite College in 1993 with a degree in biblical studies and theology. In 1998, he received a M.A. in Religion from Eastern Mennonite University. His thesis was entitled, "Building a Context for Buddhist and Christian Peacemaking: The Kingdom of God, Pratityasamutpada, and Sunyata." Because of this degree, Chad works as a painter. But, alas, one master's degree wasn't good enough, so Chad has decided to pursue a Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing from Seattle Pacific University. In true charity of the Christian spirit, he plans on giving Dan one of his degrees upon graduation.

Okay. I’m going to tell you what’s next to my bed: a stack of books tripped over on my way to the coffee maker. Included are Thomas Mann’s Buddenbrooks; Dante’s Inferno; The Puttermesser Papers by Cynthia Ozick (an exceptionally good book if you’re into golems that have a sexual appetite that’s out of this world); Haruki Murakami’s The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles; Brighton Rock by Graham Greene; Love Among the Ruins by Robert Clark (a really cool guy who knows his wines); a collection of essays by Flannery O’Conner entitled Mystery and Manners; a poetic translation of Nagarjuna’s Mulamadhyamakakarika by Stephen Batchelor called Verses From the Center; finally, The Religious Sense by Luigi Giussani. And there is also the occasional issue of Tin House and Granta I trip over. Anyway, I suppose I like to read.

What’s on my iPod? Glad you asked! There’s Of Montreal’s Sunlandic Twins, Bjork’s sublime record Vespertine, some Can (thanks, Dan, for turning me on to them!), U2, Spoon’s Gimme Fiction, Talkie Walkie by Air, Laurie Anderson’s Big Science, and no MP3 player is complete without the Postal Service. Oh, and Iron and Wine.

Contact Chad Gusler via email.