Melissa Febos
Encyclopedia
Melissa Febos is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 writer and ex-dominatrix.
She is the author of Whip Smart (2010), a critically acclaimed memoir of her work as a professional dominatrix while she was studying at The New School
The New School
The New School is a university in New York City, located mostly in Greenwich Village. From its founding in 1919 by progressive New York academics, and for most of its history, the university was known as the New School for Social Research. Between 1997 and 2005 it was known as New School University...

. The work resulted in a front-page appearance on the cover of the New York Post, and a feature interview on NPR's radio program Fresh Air
Fresh Air
Fresh Air is an American radio talk show broadcast on National Public Radio stations across the United States. The show is produced by WHYY-FM in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its longtime host is Terry Gross. , the show was syndicated to 450 stations and claimed 4.5 million listeners. The show...

 with Terry Gross
Terry Gross
Terry Gross is the host and co-executive producer of Fresh Air, an interview format radio show produced by WHYY-FM in Philadelphia and distributed throughout the United States by National Public Radio....

. Febos also contributes to The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...

, Hunger Mountain, Dissent, The Southeast Review, Redivider, The Rambler, The Huffington Post, Bitch Magazine and The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Life

Febos grew up in Falmouth, Massachusetts
Falmouth, Massachusetts
Falmouth is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States; Barnstable County is coextensive with Cape Cod. The population was 31,531 at the 2010 census....

. She left home at sixteen after passing the GED, moved to Boston, and work at an assortment of jobs including as a boatyard hand and as a chambermaid. She attended night courses at Harvard, then enrolled in The New School
The New School
The New School is a university in New York City, located mostly in Greenwich Village. From its founding in 1919 by progressive New York academics, and for most of its history, the university was known as the New School for Social Research. Between 1997 and 2005 it was known as New School University...

 and moved to New York City in August, 1999. She later earned an MFA at Sarah Lawrence College
Sarah Lawrence College
Sarah Lawrence College is a private liberal arts college in the United States, and a leader in progressive education since its founding in 1926. Located just 30 minutes north of Midtown Manhattan in southern Westchester County, New York, in the city of Yonkers, this coeducational college offers...

.

Febos is the co-curator, with Rebecca Keith, of the monthly Mixer Reading and Music series on the Lower East Side. She has taught at SUNY Purchase College
State University of New York at Purchase
Purchase College, State University of New York, is a public four-year college located in Purchase, New York, United States. It is one of 13 comprehensive colleges in the State University of New York system...

, the Gotham Writers' Workshop
Gotham Writers' Workshop
Gotham Writers' Workshop is the U.S.'s largest adult-education writing school. It was founded in New York City in 1993 by writers Jeff Fligelman and David Grae and currently offers courses both in New York and on-line...

, The New School
The New School
The New School is a university in New York City, located mostly in Greenwich Village. From its founding in 1919 by progressive New York academics, and for most of its history, the university was known as the New School for Social Research. Between 1997 and 2005 it was known as New School University...

, Sarah Lawrence College
Sarah Lawrence College
Sarah Lawrence College is a private liberal arts college in the United States, and a leader in progressive education since its founding in 1926. Located just 30 minutes north of Midtown Manhattan in southern Westchester County, New York, in the city of Yonkers, this coeducational college offers...

, New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...

, and Utica College
Utica College
Utica College is a private university located in Utica, New York. The history of the college dates back to the 1930s when Syracuse University began offering extension courses in the Utica area. Syracuse University established Utica College as a four-year institution in 1946, and in 1995, UC ...

.
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