Washington Writers' Publishing House

Dan Gutstein

All told, Dan Gutstein is the author of eight books and chapbooks, including Metacarpalism (poems) and non/fiction (stories). In November 2023, the University Press of Mississippi published Dan Gutstein’s book Poor Gal: The Cultural History of Little Liza Jane as part of its American Made Music Series. Poor Gal chronicles the extraordinary journey of the “Liza Jane” family of songs, one that touches people from many different sides of the American experience. In October 2024, Poor Gal received a Special Recognition Award from the ASCAP Foundation in its 55th annual Deems Taylor/Virgil Thomson Book Awards. Poems, flashes, and stories have appeared in Ploughshares, Prairie Schooner, American Scholar, TriQuarterly, The Iowa Review, Best American Poetry, The Penguin Book of the Sonnet, and many other publications. Gutstein has received grants and awards from the Maryland State Arts Council, Arts & Humanities Council of Montgomery County (Md.), the Bread Loaf Writers Conference, New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation, and Women in Film & Video, among other organizations.

Speaking of film, Gutstein is the co-director of a forthcoming documentary that centers on the abovementioned song “Little Liza Jane.” And speaking of song, he is a vocalist for the 2025 performance album Live at the Black Cat! released by improv band Fanoplane as well as the 2022 post-punk album States of America released by rock band Joy on Fire. Music videos have been featured by NPR’s All Songs Considered, Jammerzine, 25 YL, American Pancake, and a host of international film festivals. In addition to the Black Cat, he has performed at An Die Musik, John & Peter’s, Comet Ping Pong, Velvet Lounge, Metro Gallery, and several other iconic music spaces.

Work in progress includes a manuscript of short fiction, a manuscript of poems, and a nonfiction project devoted to the folk song “In the Pines.”

Otherwise, Gutstein is a connoisseur of stout and pancakes. Often he thinks about John Coltrane, Joy Division, Frédéric Chopin, Paul Celan, and Clarice Lispector. He cheers for Swansea City and he does the crossword in ink.