Though he keeps a low profile, Paul Collins is easily one of Portland’s most accomplished and prolific writers. He’s been a regular contributor to publications like the Believer, New Scientist, and the New Yorker. He was NPR’s “literary detective” for roughly a decade (2003-2013). Collins even has his own McSweeney’s publishing imprint (the Collins Library). All that and he’s the chair of the English department at Portland State University.
Collins has also authored books—this new one is his 10th—on a dizzying array of subjects: failed inventors (Banvard’s Folly), the nearly-lost legacy of Shakespeare (The Book of William), raising an autistic son (Not Even Wrong), and tracking down the bones of revolutionary philosopher Thomas Paine (The Trouble with Tom), just to name a few.