Giles Gordon has written poetry, short stories, novels, and children's literature; he has edited and coedited nearly two dozen short-story collections, thereby improving the short story's status and encouraging fellow short-story writers; he has worked for several publishing houses as an advertising executive, editor, and literary agent; and he has taught creative writing at Tufts University's London branch. Businessman, teacher, and writer, he has evolved from an avant-garde poet and short-story writer into a novelist and, lately, a patron of and collaborator with fellow writers. Although the critical reception of his work has not always been warm, he has published regularly and widely throughout the thirty years of his career.

Giles Alexander Esme Gordon was born 23 May 1940 in Edinburgh, Scotland, to Alexander Esme, a noted architect, and Betsy Balmont McCurrey Gordon. Gordon apparently had a love/hate relationship with Edinburgh; after attending the Edinburgh Academy he left Scotland...