Memoirs, photo essays, and features that explore relationships—with people, fashion, and secondhand things.
My writing explores personal history and the significance of objects in shaping our sense of self. I’m drawn to how material things—clothing, books, homes—carry meaning and reflect and amplify who we are—or who we believe ourselves to be. I use these details as entry points into larger conversations about memory, belonging, and identity.
I’ve talked to The New York Times about unusual holiday traditions, written about yard sales for The Sun, and analyzed Italian fashion and same-sex love in 1990s New York for The Gay & Lesbian Review. My work blends personal experience with cultural analysis, drawing connections between the intimate and the universal.
I talked to The New York Times’ Amelia Pisapia about my love for Beat poet Diane di Prima.
A ceiling collapse causes a vintage collector to reconsider what really matters (“Readers Write” in The Sun)
Italian fashion meets same-sex love in 1990s New York (“My Story” in The Gay & Lesbian Review)
“Boo”
Struggling to find the right way to mourn a dead ex-boyfriend (Finalist for the 2021 Brooklyn Film & Arts Nonfiction Prize)
Storytellers’ True Stories About Love, Volume Two, edited by Judi Lee Goshen and Anne E. Beall, PhD
My contribution to this anthology began as a performance piece at New York City’s legendary experimental theater Dixon Place. Learn more.
I grew up shopping at thrift stores and church rummage sales, cultivating an eye for beautiful old things. These two books feature my vintage collections and my thoughts about them:
Design*Sponge
Sneak Peek
"This glimpse into Michael Quinn's Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn apartment showcases a true generosity of spirit."
—Amy Azzarito, Editor
Zandl Slant
"A day in the life of Master Michael Quinn—artist/event designer extraordinaire!"
—Irma Zandl, editor
I worked for a mannequin company for ten years—seven of them in a Brooklyn factory! Depesha, a now-defunct Russian fashion magazine, asked me to share what I learned.
For “the lit mag of the moment” (The New York Times), I offered a brief analysis of the costumes from the 1988 film, Mystic Pizza: One t-shirt, three ways.