An Intro of a Sort?

Garret Weyr is a writer whose books have been banned, translated into a multitude of languages, and included in college curricula. Her work has won awards and readers.  Her short stories have been published in the Greensboro Review, the sadly missed Christopher Street, and the anthology Starry Eyed. She has taught Literature and Creative Writing at various college and MFA programs. She has an MFA from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. She is a native of New York City, lived for a time in Austria, D.C., and California. She is now back on the East Coast with her pets, all rescues.

So the above is a version of the paragraph that I send out for formal events.  It’s accurate but lacking.

I grew up in a fairly big apartment that was barely big enough for my amazing sisters, odd pets, interesting parents, and me.  And the books.  So many!  The books I read growing up shaped me more than the ones I read after I left home. When I went out into the world, I was surprised that people thought of NYC as scary or strange.  To me, the city is small and familiar.  What that reveals is that every story depends on point of view.  Think about your day from your chair’s point of view.  Or your cat’s.  Throw in a few important details (does your chair prefer when you sit up straight?  Does your cat throw up on your shoes or your bed?) and you have a story.

I’m passionate about all of us reading for pleasure, meditating, rescuing animals, and finding quiet.