caption birth_place nationality birth_date spouse image article_title name alma_mater
jay parini pittston , pennsylvania american april 2 , 1948 devon jersild jaypariniinoffice.jpg jay parini
 jay parini lafayette college university of st. andrews
jay parini

jay parini -lrb- born april 2 , 1948 -rrb- is an american writer and academic .
he is known for novels and poetry , biography and criticism .
having published novels about leo tolstoy , walter benjamin , and herman melville , jay parini is regarded as one of the leading innovators in the genre of biographical fiction .
`` while parini 's contributions to american letters are many and varied , as he is a first-rate poet , a well-respected critic , and a masterful novelist , '' writes michael lackey , `` he is a pioneer , as both a practitioner and theoretician , in the genre of the biographical novel . ''
