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Geoff Edgers

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Geoff Edgers
Edgers at the 2010 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival
Edgers at the 2010 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival
Born1970
Boston, Massachusetts
OccupationJournalist, author, filmmaker
NationalityAmerican
SubjectArts, music, The Kinks
SpouseCarlene Hempel
ChildrenLila and Calvin Hempel-Edgers

Geoff Edgers (born 1970) is an American journalist and writer whose work includes reporting for the Washington Post and Boston Globe as well as producing and starring in the 2010 music documentary Do It Again. His articles have appeared in magazines such as GQ and Wired, and he has worked as a reporter for several newspapers including the Boston Phoenix, Raleigh News and Observer, the Boston Globe, and the Washington Post. Edgers has also published two children's books on Elvis and The Beatles and contributed to WBUR Boston. In 2013, he hosted a Travel Channel reality TV series called Edge of America, and in June 2013 he was awarded a New England Emmy for work on a video for the Boston Globe. Edgers joined the Washington Post in September 2014 as the paper's national arts reporter and currently hosts the military history series Secrets of the Arsenal on the American Heroes Channel.

Career

Edgers, now the national arts reporter for the Washington Post, attended Brookline High School in Brookline, Massachusetts[1] and graduated from Tufts University in 1992 with a degree in English.[2] Following his graduation he was employed as a reporter by several newspapers, including the Sudbury Town Crier, Waltham News-Tribune, Middlesex News, Boston Phoenix, and Raleigh News and Observer.[2] He worked as an arts reporter from 2002 to August 2014 for the Boston Globe. His work involved covering the Museum of Fine Arts, Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston Symphony Orchestra, and other arts-related organizations in the Boston area.[3]

Edgers has also freelanced for several magazines including GQ, Spin, Wired, and Salon.[3] Examples of this work include an article on Monkee Michael Nesmith's New Mexico symposiums (for Wired)[4] and a series of pieces for Salon, including one on Brian Wilson's 2000 Pet Sounds tour.[5] Edgers has written three children's books: The Midnight Hour: Bright Ideas for After Dark (Penguin, 1997) and two installments in the Grosset and Dunlap "Who Was...?" series, Who Were The Beatles? (2006) and Who Was Elvis? (2007). Edgers has contributed to Radio Boston, a show on public radio station WBUR.[6]

Geoff Edgers teamed up with director Robert Patton-Spruill in early 2008 to begin work on a film about his love of British Invasion band The Kinks, headed by the two feuding brothers Ray and Dave Davies. The documentary, entitled Do It Again follows Edgers throughout America and Britain on a quest to reunite the original members. Edgers meets with various personalities and Kinks fans to discuss the band, such as Sting, Paul Weller, Peter Buck, Zooey Deschanel, Clive Davis, Warren Zanes, Robyn Hitchcock, and Dave Davies himself. Do It Again premiered at the Rotterdam International Film Festival in January 2010,[7] and was met with positive reviews. It traveled the film festival circuit throughout the rest of 2010 (making stops at locations such as the Independent Film Festival of Boston and London International Documentary Festival)[7] and was broadcast on multiple PBS stations throughout late 2011 and early 2012.[8][9]

In 2013 the Travel Channel aired Edge of America, a TV series starring Edgers. The program, produced by Magilla Productions,[10] involved Edgers on a search for quintessentially American forms of entertainment and fun ("strange American things in scenic American places" according to the Boston Globe),[11] as well as "a quest to see what constitutes entertainment."[10] The Travel Channel showed strong initial confidence in the series.[10][11] But it failed to attract desirable demographics, and was not renewed.[12]

Edgers was awarded a New England Emmy in June 2013 for work on a video for the Boston Globe. He shared the award with producer Darren Durlach. The short, entitled "Behind the Curtain: Act One of Barbara Quintiliani's Story", is a ten minute documentary about the success and struggles of acclaimed Massachusetts-based opera singer Barbara Quintiliani.[13][14] In April 2014, he released another documentary, entitled 5 Runners. The 30 minute film, based on Edgers' April 2013 Boston Globe article "Chance Leaves Five Runners Forever Linked",[15] documents the lives of five runners leading up to, during, and directly after the attacks at the 2013 Boston Marathon. The five competitors, at the time all in the close vicinity of the explosion and directly affected by the trauma, share an ambition to run the race once more in order to achieve closure. Edgers wrote and narrated the film and shared directing duties with Darren Durlach.[15][16][17] 5 Runners premiered at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library on April 10, followed by a broadcast on April 14 at 9:30 p.m. on the New England Sports Network.[17]

In August 2014 it was announced that Edgers would leave the Globe to join the Washington Post staff.[18] He began his new position as national arts reporter in September 2014. A press release from the Post stated that "[Edgers] will have a broad reach to write about arts, entertainment and cultural issues across the nation" and noted that he will remain based in Boston while still reporting to a senior editor in Washington and "appearing in the newsroom frequently."[19] Following on the heels of this appointment, in November 2014 a new television show hosted by Edgers was announced, entitled Secrets of the Arsenal. The series features Edgers exploring the stories and provenance behind military artifacts such a German pistol from World War II or weapons from the Mexican-American War. Beginning on December 16, the series will air each Tuesday at 10 PM Eastern on the American Heroes Channel for a total of six episodes.[20] The New York Times' Neil Genzlinger described Edgers' "genuine enthusiasm" for the memorabilia he investigates, stating that in the same "gung-ho" spirit of his work with Edge of America, "he applies that . . . passion to visiting museums and private collectors in search of artifacts with stories behind them."[20]

Personal life

Edgers is married to Carlene Hempel, a full-time lecturer at Northeastern University.[21] They live in Boston and have two children together, Lila and Calvin Hempel-Edgers.[22][23]

References

  1. ^ Applebaum, Teddy (September 15, 2011). "Tired of Waiting for You". wickedlocal.com. Retrieved June 24, 2012.
  2. ^ a b "Tufts University - Career Services ("Jobs in Media: Tips for Seniors")". tufts.edu/Tufts University. Retrieved June 24, 2012.
  3. ^ a b "Geoff Edgers - Boston Globe (BG bio)". bostonglobe.com/Boston Globe. Retrieved June 24, 2012.
  4. ^ Edgers, Geoff (December 2000). "Think Diffident". Wired.com. Wired magazine. Retrieved June 24, 2012. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  5. ^ Edgers, Geoff (August 2, 2000). "God Only Knows". Salon.com. Salon. Retrieved June 24, 2012.
  6. ^ Alpert, Jessica (with guest Geoff Edgers) (January 16, 2012). "Why Did Opera Boston Lower The Curtain For Good?". http://radioboston.wbur.org/WBUR. Retrieved June 28, 2012. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help)
  7. ^ a b "Screenings". doitagainthemovie.com. Retrieved June 24, 2012.
  8. ^ "Help bring "Do It Again" to TV". doitagainthemovie.com. Retrieved June 24, 2012.
  9. ^ "Learning to restart the DIA machine". doitagainthemovie.com. Retrieved June 24, 2012.
  10. ^ a b c "Travel Channel Picks Up Three Unscripted Series". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved September 15, 2012.
  11. ^ a b "Globe reporter gets Travel Channel gig". bostonglobe.com. Retrieved September 15, 2012.
  12. ^ "The Rise and Fall of a Reality TV Star. In Nine Days". esquire.com. Retrieved October 22, 2013.
  13. ^ "Globe wins four New England Emmys". boston.com. Retrieved June 3, 2013.
  14. ^ "Music is now a lifeline for ailing opera singer". boston.com. Retrieved June 3, 2013.
  15. ^ a b Edgers, Geoff. "Chance leaves five runners forever linked". boston.com. Retrieved April 8, 2014.
  16. ^ "5 Runners (TV Movie 2014)". imdb.com. Retrieved April 8, 2014.
  17. ^ a b "The Boston Globe Debuts Boston Marathon Documentary, 5 Runners". businesswire.com. Retrieved April 8, 2014.
  18. ^ Kennedy, Dan. "Geoff Edgers leaving Globe for Washington Post". dankennedy.net. Retrieved September 20, 2014.
  19. ^ WashPostPR. "Peggy McGlone and Geoff Edgers join Features staff". washingtonpost.com. Retrieved September 20, 2014.
  20. ^ a b Genzlinger, Neil. "Old Pieces With a Past". nytimes.com. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
  21. ^ "Carlene Hempel Bio". northeastern.edu. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
  22. ^ "Kickstarter profile of Geoff Edgers". Retrieved June 24, 2012.
  23. ^ Edgers, Geoff. "Arts Reporter Abroad (articles tagged Hempel-Edgers)". artsreporterabroad.wordpress.com. Retrieved June 24, 2012.

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