Writer, critic and Stanford University professor Gilbert Sorrentino was born in Brooklyn, NY in 1929. He attended Brooklyn College until he served in the US Army Medical Corps. After his two years in the Army, he returned to Brooklyn College to finish his degree. Sorrentino founded and edited the literary magazine Neon. He also was an editor for Kulcher magazine and Grove Press. Sorrentino has earned two Guggenheim Fellowships, a Lannan Literary Award, and the 2005 Lannan Lifetime Achievement Award. He died on May 18, 2006.