Jonathan Wilson
Professor and Chair, English; Fletcher Professor of Rhetoric and Debate

BACKGROUND: Born in London, England; educated at the University of Essex, St. Catherine's College, Oxford, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem; with a dissertation on the novels of Saul Bellow; Guggenheim fellowship in fiction; at Tufts since 1982.

PUBLISHED WORK: Seven books, including two novels, two collections of stories, two critical works and a biography of Chagall.

ABOUT WRITING: "Writing is a lifetime of unfolding your imagination. It remains a mysterious activity."

WHY TUFTS: "Teaching at Tufts is an undiminished pleasure. It's a pleasant atmosphere for teaching, an intimate atmosphere. I keep up with many of my former students; I get e-mails from some students I taught 22 years ago."

AFTER-HOURS: "I'm a soccer fanatic. [Wilson covered the 1994 world cup for The New Yorker.] I also love watching TV with my sons. I used to play poker but gave that up.