This is a recurring series to introduce, celebrate, and elevate our amazing crew of volunteers.
In this installment of the Meet the Team series we talk to devoted and loooong-time Hippo reader Anthony J. Mohr (who also does the occasional book review). We know and love Tony from his writing, but he’s also had an incredible career. He served 27 years as a judge on the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles.
What made you volunteer to read for Hippocampus?
The content is always engaging, and I thought reading submissions would help me become a better writer.
Aside from Hippocampus (which is obviously the bee’s knees), what other literary mags and organizations rock your world?
AGNI, ZYZZYVA, Iowa Review, Superstition Review, The MacGuffin.
If you were a particular form of creative nonfiction (CNF) what would you be and why?
Memoir, because I enjoy history and this form of writing lights up aspects of the past — the author’s personal past and if well written, aspects of the world’s former days.
What have you written that you are most proud of, and why?
My debut memoir, Every Other Weekend: Coming of Age With Two Different Dads. I’m amazed that I could sit down and write a book, and I think the writing tells the story well—of spending my teens bouncing between two very different households.
What are you writing now that excites you, and why?
An essay collection about life as a judge.
What piece of creative nonfiction (whether book or short form) do you think everyone should read?
This Boy’s Life by Tobias Wolff.
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Thanks, Tony, for all you do for Hippocampus Magazine. Readers, stay tuned for more Meet the Team features here and, in abbreviated form, on Instagram. In the meantime, learn more about our all-volunteer staff here.
