About
Fiction author, political activist, and performance artist, most known for his comedic books of short stories and his satirical runs for public office. His early work was influenced by the metafictionists of the 1970s, Ronald Sukenick, Donald Barthelme, John Barth, and his mentor, Jonathan Baumbach.
Before Fame
He earned his master's degree in English at Richmond College, now the College of Staten Island. He also got another master's in creative writing at Brooklyn College, where he studied fiction writing and joined the Fiction Collective.
Trivia
Some of his books of short stories include With Hitler in New York and Other Stories, Lincoln's Doctor's Dog and Other Stories, and The Silicon Valley Diet and Other Stories. In 1984 and 2012, he ran for President with satirical plans such as deporting Republicans back to the 18th century, immediate nuclear war, and moving the nation's capital to Davenport, Iowa.
Family Life
He was born Richard Arnold Ginsberg two years after his parents, Marilyn and Daniel, had married. When he was six months old, his parents changed their Jewish last name to Grayson.
Associated With
In his 1984 bid for the presidency, he proposed Jane Wyman to run as his vice-presidential candidate because of her prior experience in "dumping Ronald Reagan."
