Simon Black has been teaching writing at the university level since 2001. Previously, he wrote novels, plays, films, TV. Scripts, blogs, songs and articles for magazines and academic journals. He brings to the practice of analytic and argumentative writing a distinctive approach that stems from the various fields of creative writing that he has practiced. He learned academic writing at his alma mater, Columbia College, and owes a deep debt of gratitude to his Professor of Comparative Literature, the late Karl Ludwig Selig. He lives in the Los Angeles, California, with his wife, two children and their dog, Mac.