Elyssa East
Encyclopedia
Elyssa East is an American novelist. She is the author of the historical fiction
novel Dogtown: Death and Enchantment in a New England Ghost Town, which chronicles a murder that occurred in an area known as Dogtown, Massachusetts
, just outside of Gloucester
, in 1984. As part of her research for the book, East interviewed the murderer, Peter Hodgkins, in prison. This novel won the 2010 L. L. Winship/P.E.N. New England Award and has been critically reviewed. According to East, her novel was inspired in part by the paintings by Mardsen Hartley of Dogtown.
East grew up in Marietta, GA and attended Reed College
, where she graduated with a degree in Art History in 1994. She went on to received a Master's of Fine Arts from Columbia University’s School of the Arts. She currently lives in New York and teaches Creative Writing at Purchase College.
Historical fiction
Historical fiction tells a story that is set in the past. That setting is usually real and drawn from history, and often contains actual historical persons, but the principal characters tend to be fictional...
novel Dogtown: Death and Enchantment in a New England Ghost Town, which chronicles a murder that occurred in an area known as Dogtown, Massachusetts
Dogtown, Massachusetts
Dogtown is an abandoned inland settlement on Cape Ann in Massachusetts. Once known as the Common Settlement and populated by respectable citizens, the area later known as Dogtown is divided between the city of Gloucester and the town of Rockport...
, just outside of Gloucester
Gloucester, Massachusetts
Gloucester is a city on Cape Ann in Essex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is part of Massachusetts' North Shore. The population was 28,789 at the 2010 U.S. Census...
, in 1984. As part of her research for the book, East interviewed the murderer, Peter Hodgkins, in prison. This novel won the 2010 L. L. Winship/P.E.N. New England Award and has been critically reviewed. According to East, her novel was inspired in part by the paintings by Mardsen Hartley of Dogtown.
East grew up in Marietta, GA and attended Reed College
Reed College
Reed College is a private, independent, liberal arts college located in southeast Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1908, Reed is a residential college with a campus located in Portland's Eastmoreland neighborhood, featuring architecture based on the Tudor-Gothic style, and a forested canyon wilderness...
, where she graduated with a degree in Art History in 1994. She went on to received a Master's of Fine Arts from Columbia University’s School of the Arts. She currently lives in New York and teaches Creative Writing at Purchase College.