Michael Petracca

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Michael Petracca (born 1947) is an American novelist. He teaches general composition and creative nonfiction in the writing program at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

His two novels, Doctor Syntax and Captain Zzyzx, both feature Harmon Nails III as a protagonist. In Doctor Syntax (set in the Los Angeles area), Nails is a graduate student struggling to finish his dissertation. In Captain Zzyzx (set in the fictional "Fiesta City", in Southern California), Nails has rejected academia and plays in a rhythm and blues band while searching for love.

[edit] Bibliography

Doctor Syntax (1989)
Captain Zzyzx (1992)
The Graceful Lie: A Method for Making Fiction (1999)
Academic Communities/Disciplinary Conventions (with Bonnie Beedles) (2001)
Common Culture: Reading and Writing About American Popular Culture (with Madeleine Sorapure) (2004)