Steven Mentz

Short Biography

Steve Mentz’s current research explores shipwreck narratives and the culture of transoceanic exploration and travel from the 16th to the 18th centuries. His interest in the relationship between historical records and the ancient narrative tropes of romance emerges from his study of early modern English prose fiction, Romance for Sale in Early Modern England (Ashgate, 2006). He has explored the complicated overlap between fact and fiction in early modern texts in his edited collection of early modern criminal narratives, Rogues and Early Modern English Culture (Michigan, 2004). He has also authored articles for journals such as Studies in Philology, Studies in English Literature, Renaissance Drama, and TEXT, as well as several collections of essays. His work on maritime literature has received fellowship support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Folger Shakespeare Library, the Caird Library at the National Maritime Museum in London, and the John Carter Brown Library in Providence, RI. He teaches Shakespeare and English Renaissance literature at St. John’s University in New York City.