Jason Molesky writes about American literature and the environmental humanities at Princeton University.

Born

Princeton, West Virginia

hometown

Scenery Hill, Pennsylvania

current Residence

Lawrenceville, New Jersey

Jason’s research and teaching span all periods of American literature, with a focus on twentieth and twenty-first century narratives about fossil energy extraction. His interests include the modern metropolis, immigrant and ethnic literatures, proletarian fiction, disaster and environmental writing, critical race theory, and the relationship between affect, toxicity, and literary form.

As a creative writer working in fiction and nonfiction, Jason takes inspiration from his family’s experiences in the coal camps and steel towns of northern Appalachia, including his own previous career as a fourth-generation underground coal miner. His most recent work deals with extreme energy extraction, particularly the cultural, environmental, and public health implications of hydrofracturing (fracking).