Randy Fertel

Randy Fertel, a former professor of English, is passionate about great stories and fresh ideas. Kirkus Reviews called his award-winning book, A Taste for Chaos: The Art of Literary Improvisation, “A smart blend of psychology, philosophy and literary history…. A tour de force of reading in the fields of literary theory and history befitting a George Steiner or Erich Auerbach.” His The Gorilla Man and the Empress of Steak: A New Orleans Family Memoir unspools untold tales as he tries to make sense of his parents—and himself—in a colorful, food-obsessed New Orleans. His latest, Winging It: Improv’s Power and Peril in the Time of Trump, explores improv’s brilliance and its darkness.