Tyler S.

Originally from Colorado, I graduated cum laude from Williams College with bachelor degrees in Philosophy and Political Science. After stints as a volunteer in Tanzania, East Africa, and a fly-fishing bum in Montana, I received MFA in Fiction Writing from the University of Iowa Writers’ workshop, where I was a Maytag Fellow. My fiction and essays have appeared in The Times Literary Supplement, The New England Review, Electric Literature’s Recommended Reading, Story Quarterly, The Common, The L.A. Review of Books, Film International, Jump Cut, and many other places; I’m also the book critic at the Santa Barbara News-Press. My book on William Klein’s 1969 cult classic film Mr. Freedom coming out in 2019 from Auteur Press in the U.K.

In addition to tutoring students of all ages, I have extensive experience teaching at the high school and college level. This includes classes in Literature, Composition, Environmental Writing, Communications, Fiction and Poetry at places like Western State Colorado University, Southern Connecticut State University, and Santa Barbara City College. This work has given me a deep understanding of the rigors of the many kinds of academic environments, and of the long-term preparation students need in order to succeed in them.

I believe it’s possible to match a friendly approach towards the student with a rigorous approach to the material. The best way to succeed in any subject or on any test is to feel as though learning is an exploration rather than an onerous task, and this is the experience I try to pass on to my students.