Peter L’Official teaches in the literature program in the division of languages and literature at Bard College, and was recently a fellow at the Charles Warren Center for Studies in American History at Harvard University. His scholarly interests lie at the intersections of American literature and American art, architecture, and urban history, and he has written about art, music, sports, and culture for various publications. His first book, Urban Legends: The South Bronx in Representation and Ruin, is in progress, and he currently serves on the Advisory Committee for A Marvelous Order, an opera about Robert Moses and Jane Jacobs.