Writing

Gwydion Suilebhan is a cultural critic, journalist, and playwright.

With co-author Steven Gimbel, he writes about comedy, politics, and philosophy for Salon, Moment, 3 Quarks Daily, and JewTh!nk, among other publications. Together, they are currently working on a social history of Jewish American comedy. Suilebhan has also written extensively about theater and technology for HowlRound.

As a playwright, Suilebhan’s writing has been noted for its “dexterous theatricality and unexpected pleasure” (Washington Post). His work has been commissioned, developed, and produced by Centerstage, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Gulfshore Playhouse, Workshop Theater, Forum Theatre, Theater J, and Theater Alliance, among others. His plays include The Butcher, Reals, Abstract Nude, Let X, and the Helen Hayes Award-nominated Transmission, among others.

Two of his plays—Abstract Nude and Cracked—have been published by Original Works. His short play Vertical Constellation with Bomb was anthologized in the Best American Short Plays 2014-15. Suilebhan is also the author of Anthem, a short film directed by Hal Hartley.

Suilebhan has received two Individual Artist Fellowships from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, three from the Montgomery County Arts Council, and one from the Maryland State Arts Council. He was also the recipient of a Larry Neal Writers Award from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities.

Earlier in his career, Suilebhan primarily wrote poetry. He served as the poetry editor of Barrelhouse from 2004 to 2006 and taught writing as an adjunct member of the faculty of the Maryland Institute, College of Art. Suilebhan earned a Master of Arts in poetry in 1993 from the Writing Seminars at Johns Hopkins University, where he studied with Allen Grossman and Peter Sacks. In 1990, he earned his Bachelor of Arts in poetry from Northwestern University, where he studied with essayist Joseph Epstein and poets Mary Kinzie and Alan Shapiro.