Leonard Moss

Leonard Moss attended three state universities (Oklahoma, Indiana, and California), then taught American and European literature at a fourth (SUNY at Geneseo), where he directed a program in comparative studies until his retirement. The best part of teaching, he felt, was swapping ideas with his students; he learned as much as they did from the lively give-and-take of guided discussions. As a Fulbright professor he chaired the English Department at the University of Athens in 1976-77, and...See more

Leonard Moss attended three state universities (Oklahoma, Indiana, and California), then taught American and European literature at a fourth (SUNY at Geneseo), where he directed a program in comparative studies until his retirement. The best part of teaching, he felt, was swapping ideas with his students; he learned as much as they did from the lively give-and-take of guided discussions. As a Fulbright professor he chaired the English Department at the University of Athens in 1976-77, and taught graduate English majors at the Foreign Studies University in Beijing in 1985-87 and again in 1993-94. In Beijing he met and married, after surmounting formidable bureaucratic obstacles, Shaoping Wu, a spirited English teacher. Recalling their courtship, travels, and dealings with difficult officials, they co-authored a memoir entitled China Was Paradise, China Was Hell! They also co-authored a son, now a bio-tech craftsman in Boston. Professor Moss has written books on Arthur Miller, Joseph Conrad, literature and evolution, and tragedy and philosophy. He edited the journal of the Rhode Island Jewish Historical Association in Providence from 1998 to 2004. Now he lives in happy retirement with his wife in Walnut Creek, California (lenmoss@gmail.com). See less