Elena Passarello

Originally from Charleston, South Carolina, Elena Passarello studied nonfiction at the University of Pittsburgh and The Nonfiction Writing Program at the University of Iowa. Her essays about popular culture have been published in national literary journals such as Creative Nonfiction, Gulf Coast, Slate, Iowa Review, and Ninth Letter. As an actor, she has played roles in Christopher Durang's Mrs. Bob Cratchit's Wild Christmas Binge and David Turkel's Wild Signs and Holler. Passarello has also done voice-over acting.

Her first essay collection, Let Me Clear My Throat, was published by Sarabande in 2012. In the book, Passarello writes about famous (and sometimes infamous) voices from cultural history, including the 18th c. castrato Farinelli, punk rock crows, impressionists, the rebel yell, the Wilhelm Scream, the Howard "Dean Scream," Pittsburgh sportscaster Myron Cope's "Yoy!", and Marlon Brando's "Stella!" from A Streetcar Named Desire. Passarello was the first woman to win the Stella Screaming Contest in New Orleans in 2011. The book's title comes from DJ Kool's 1996 hip-hop song, "Let Me Clear My Throat."

Passarello's second collection, Animals Strike Curious Poses (Sarabande 2017), is a bestiary of celebrity animals. From Jeoffry the Cat to Koko the Gorilla to Dürer’s rhinoceros, these essays are as much about the animals as the humans who named and interact with them. The book's title comes from Prince's 1984 single "When Doves Cry." The book received favorable reviews from The New York Times, Publisher's Weekly, and Booklist.

Passarello currently teaches creative writing at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon.

• 2015 Whiting Award recipient
• 2014 Oregon Book Award finalist
• 2013 Gold Medal for Nonfiction, Independent Publisher Awards
• 2013 Gold Medal, IPPY Awards
• 2011 Fellowship, Macdowell Colony
• 2010 Fellowship, Hambidge Center