Paul Lewis

Paul Lewis is a past president of the Poe Studies Association and a professor emeritus of English at Boston College where he taught courses on American literature, gothic fiction, literary Boston, and nonfiction writing. He brought a career-long interest in dark humor to the writing of "Quothing 'The Raven': The First Responses to America's Favorite Poem" (2026), “A Is for Asteroids, Z Is for Zombies: A Bedtime Book about the Coming Apocalypse” (2017), “Cracking Up: American Humor in a Time of Conflict” (2006), "Comic Effects: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Humor in Literature" (1989), and articles on gallows humor, political humor, and humor and terrorism. The neologist who coined the word “Frankenfood,” Lewis has also published op-ed, feature, and humor pieces in leading newspapers.