Karl Taro Greenfeld
Encyclopedia
Karl Taro Greenfeld is a journalist and author known primarily for his articles on life in modern Asia and both his fiction and non-fiction in The Paris Review.
The son of an American father and a Japanese mother, he grew up in Los Angeles
and went to college in New York
, graduating from Sarah Lawrence
in 1987. A regular contributor to publications such as GQ and Vogue
, Greenfeld was the managing editor of Tokyo Journal
before becoming the editor of Time Asia from 2002–2004 and editor-at-large at Sports Illustrated from 2004 - 2007. He is the author of two books about Asia -- Speed Tribes: Days and Nights with Japan's Next Generation
and Standard Deviations: Growing Up and Coming Down in the New Asia
-- as well as an account of the breakout of the SARS virus, China Syndrome: The True Story of the 21st Century's First Great Epidemic.
He is the son of writers Josh Greenfeld
and Fumiko Kometani
and he was greatly influenced by his parents, especially his father. In an interview, he expressed, "My dad was a huge influence in terms of what I think about writing, what has to be in a story, what has to be in a book. He's still a huge influence. When I wrote something well, he would make me feel really good. When I wrote something bad, he made me feel terrible. As a kid, it was most of my highs and lows -- to the point that if the writing was really good, it almost excused weeks of bad behavior. He would forgive any transgression if I wrote a good story." His younger brother Noah was the subject of the elder Greenfeld's "Noah" trilogy of books (A Child Called Noah, A Place for Noah, and A Client Called Noah); these books also indirectly chronicle Greenfeld's childhood as well. In May 2009, Greenfeld published his own memoir of his years with Noah, "Boy Alone: A Brother's Memoir."
His articles and essays have been selected for Best American Sports Writing, Best American Travel Writing, Best American Nonrequired Reading and Best Creative Nonfiction. His fiction has appeared in Best American Short Stories, The Paris Review, American Short Fiction, The Missouri Review, One Story, Commentary and The Sun. Karl was born in Kobe, Japan, has lived in Paris, New York, Hong Kong and Tokyo and currently lives in Pacific Palisades with his wife, Silka, and two daughters, Esmee and Lola.
The son of an American father and a Japanese mother, he grew up in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and went to college in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, graduating from Sarah Lawrence
Sarah Lawrence
Sarah Lawrence may refer to;* Sarah Lawrence College, an Arts college in Westchester County, New York* Sarah Lawrence , wife of Joseph Smith-See also:* Sara Lawrence, who represented Jamaica in the 2006 Miss World Contest...
in 1987. A regular contributor to publications such as GQ and Vogue
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
, Greenfeld was the managing editor of Tokyo Journal
Tokyo Journal
Tokyo Journal is an English-language magazine about Tokyo and Japan, which was started in 1981. Its first editor-in-chief was Don Morton, who later became the movie reviewer for Metropolis....
before becoming the editor of Time Asia from 2002–2004 and editor-at-large at Sports Illustrated from 2004 - 2007. He is the author of two books about Asia -- Speed Tribes: Days and Nights with Japan's Next Generation
Speed Tribes
Speed Tribes: Days and Nights with Japan's Next Generation is a 1995 book by Karl Taro Greenfeld. It is a collection of fiction short stories, each focusing on a specific Japanese youth in the early 1990s, a turbulent time in Japan following the collapse of the late 1980s "bubble" economy...
and Standard Deviations: Growing Up and Coming Down in the New Asia
Standard deviation
Standard deviation is a widely used measure of variability or diversity used in statistics and probability theory. It shows how much variation or "dispersion" there is from the average...
-- as well as an account of the breakout of the SARS virus, China Syndrome: The True Story of the 21st Century's First Great Epidemic.
He is the son of writers Josh Greenfeld
Josh Greenfeld
Josh Greenfeld is an author and screenwriter mostly known for his screenplay for the 1974 film Harry and Tonto along with Paul Mazursky, which earned them an Academy Award nomination and its star, Art Carney, the Oscar itself for Best Actor...
and Fumiko Kometani
Fumiko Kometani
Fumiko Kometani, born in Osaka, Japan in 1930, is a Japanese author and artist and a longtime resident of the United States. Kometani moved to the U.S. in 1960 when she was working as an abstract painter, spending time at the MacDowell Colony in New Hampshire where she met her husband, Josh...
and he was greatly influenced by his parents, especially his father. In an interview, he expressed, "My dad was a huge influence in terms of what I think about writing, what has to be in a story, what has to be in a book. He's still a huge influence. When I wrote something well, he would make me feel really good. When I wrote something bad, he made me feel terrible. As a kid, it was most of my highs and lows -- to the point that if the writing was really good, it almost excused weeks of bad behavior. He would forgive any transgression if I wrote a good story." His younger brother Noah was the subject of the elder Greenfeld's "Noah" trilogy of books (A Child Called Noah, A Place for Noah, and A Client Called Noah); these books also indirectly chronicle Greenfeld's childhood as well. In May 2009, Greenfeld published his own memoir of his years with Noah, "Boy Alone: A Brother's Memoir."
His articles and essays have been selected for Best American Sports Writing, Best American Travel Writing, Best American Nonrequired Reading and Best Creative Nonfiction. His fiction has appeared in Best American Short Stories, The Paris Review, American Short Fiction, The Missouri Review, One Story, Commentary and The Sun. Karl was born in Kobe, Japan, has lived in Paris, New York, Hong Kong and Tokyo and currently lives in Pacific Palisades with his wife, Silka, and two daughters, Esmee and Lola.