Charles Euchner — the author or editor of a dozen books who has taught writing at Yale and directed a think tank at Harvard — is the creator and principal of The Elements of Writing.
Euchner (pronounced IKE-ner) now teaches writing at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation.
Euchner has two major works in progress: Anatomy of Defeat: Woodrow Wilson’s Failed Campaign for the League of Nations and. New World Order (summary here) and Rules of Activism: Dissent, Organizing, and Direct Action in American Politics (summary here).
Euchner is also coaching authors on their books about the history of money and the redevelopment of Boston.
In recent years, Euchner has published a series of books on writing and civil rights. His books on writing — including The Elements of Writing, Keep It Short, Reading and Writing the Essay, Writing About Place, and How to Write a Book — offer a complete system for all genres. He is also author of In Cold Type, a breakdown of the narrative techniques of Truman Capote’s classic In Cold Blood, and Mad Men’s Guide to Persuasion, about the popular TV drama “Mad Men.”
Euchner’s Nobody Turn Me Around (Beacon Press, 2010) offers an intimate account of the 1963 March on Washington. Based on more than 100 interviews and thousands of pages of archival materials, Nobody Turn Me Around offers the only complete study of the only moment when all of the factions of the civil right’s movement gathered in one place, a day capped by Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” oration.
Career Highlights
- Currently: Special Projects Editor at the Washington-based think tank New America.
- Independent researcher: As a one-year fellow at the Center for an Urban Future and a consultant for the New York City Economic Development Corporation, Euchner produced major reports on middle-class jobs in New York City.
- Case writer and editor: Yale School of Management.
- College teaching: Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation; Yale University; University of Pennsylvania; Holy Cross College; Northeastern University; St. Mary’s College; and SUNY-Purchase.
- Consulting and seminars: One- and two-day seminars on writing and communication with major consulting and business firms, as well as op[en public forums.
- Seminars and speaking: Seminars on writing across the U.S. Speaking gigs on baseball, the sports industry, the media, writing, public policy, and management. Also a frequent commenter on public affairs on TV and radio.
- University leadership and management: Executive director of the Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston at Harvard University and associate director of the Center for Urban and Regional Policy at Northeastern University.
- Public Service: Coordinator of the comprehensive planning process for the City of Boston.
- Author: On public policy, politics, baseball, civil rights, and more.
- Magazine writer: Hundreds of articles in major newspapers and magazines.
- Education: B.A. at Vanderbilt University, M.A. and Ph.D. at the Johns Hopkins University.