Jules Siegel


Jules Siegel was a writer and graphic designer whose work appeared over the years in Playboy, Best American Short Stories, Library of America's Writing Los Angeles, and many other publications. He occasionally contributed book reviews to the San Francisco Chronicle, and he administered newsroom-l, an email discussion list for journalists. He died suddenly, of a heart attack, at age 77.
His articles about Brian Wilson, Bob Dylan, Thomas Pynchon and other prominent Americans were primary sources of information based on his personal acquaintance and extensive direct interviews with the subjects. "Goodbye Surfing, Hello God!" has been anthologized several times and is used as a primary source in every book about Brian Wilson's struggle to complete Smile, his "teenage symphony to God."
Siegel attended Cornell University with Pynchon during the 1953–54 term and graduated from Hunter College with a degree in English and philosophy in 1959. He was involved in politics, working for both the Nixon and Kennedy campaigns. He began working as a journalist in 1964. He lived and worked in Mexico, beginning in 1981, where he was a witness of the Hurricane Gilbert landfall. He was also active in the field of book art. Three of his works are in the Artists Books Collection of the Museum of Modern Art. His books and calligraphic journals were exhibited at Franklin Furnace in 1978.