Thomas H. Landess taught literature and creative writing in colleges and universities for twenty-four years--Vanderbilt University, Converse College, Furman University, and the University of Dallas--where he was a full professor and also served as Academic Dean. During this period, he published three books and over 100 articles, poems, and reviews for such scholarly publications as the Sewanee Review, the Southern Review, and the Georgia Review. He has a B.A., an M.A. and a Ph.D.
Dr. Landess's philosophical approach to literature is evidenced by his 1979 essay James Joyce and Aesthetic Gnosticism.
One of his mentors was Andrew Lytle, an educator and well-known champion of the "Agrarian movement" of the 1930's. Thomas Landess wrote a moving eulogy about Lytle's long and illustrious career titled simply, "Andrew Lytle, RIP."
In 1982, he left academia, and moved his family to Edisto Island in South Carolina to devote his full energies to writing. He remained on Edisto Island for five years, then moved to northern Virginia, where he continued to write and publish books, articles, and op-ed pieces.
While living in the Washington, D.C. area, he began to serve as a ghost writer for major political figures and organizations. Since then, he has ghost-written over twenty books. One was a national best seller, three more were book-club selections, and the others were published by commercial publishing houses. In addition to political topics, he has written first-person accounts of the Vietnam War, World War II, the civil rights movement, the inner workings of the FBI, forensic medicine, life in a prison for women, and aviation. During a single week, two of his works were discussed on CNN's Crossfire.
Dr. Landess receives more requests for ghost-writing than he has time to write. All come to him by referral, and he chooses the ones that seem most interesting or most likely to appeal to a broad readership. He now lives in Columbia, South Carolina, where he continues his work as a ghost writer and is working on a novel. He has been married for thirty-nine years and has three children and one grandchild.
Thomas H. Landess taught literature and creative writing in colleges and universities for twenty-four years--Vanderbilt University, Converse College, Furman University, and the University of Dallas--where he was a full professor and also served as Academic Dean. During this period, he published three books and over 100 articles, poems, and reviews for such scholarly publications as the Sewanee Review, the Southern Review, and the Georgia Review. He has a B.A., an M.A. and a Ph.D.