About Phil Luing
Chicago, Illinois, USA
Phil Luing began creative writing by composing short stories during the grammar school years of his childhood, which was spent in rural, northern Minnesota. He was the editor of both his high school yearbook and student newspaper. He attended Cornell College in Mt. Vernon, Iowa, where he earned a B.A. with a double major in Philosophy and Theater. While in college he served as the news editor and editor-in-chief of the student newspaper. In college he discovered a talent for drawing and, at the invitation of the Art faculty, presented a senior thesis show. He has remained active as a visual artist ever since, concentrating on expressionistic abstract and figurative drawing. After college he moved to Chicago, Illinois and joined the NewTown Writers, a writing group. He was an active member of the group for over twenty years and served as an editor or contributor for ten volumes of their bi-annual journal, Off The Rocks. His cantata for synchronized speaking voices, “Elements of Love”, was produced by NewTown Writers in 1992 and was named one of the best theater events of the year by a critic for the Chicago Tribune newspaper. In June, 2000 he earned a Master’s degree in Interdisciplinary Arts from Columbia College of Chicago. For his thesis, he produced a volume of his writings entitled from Particles and Disputations as well as an exhibition of his drawings, a video, and a live performance. For over twenty years he has worked in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Northwestern University’s Medical School, where he currently serves as the Grants and Contracts Administrator. At home he collaborates with his domestic partner, singer/songwriter Charles Stephen Hughes, on writing lyrics and maintaining their home. You may visit Charles' website at
charlesstephenhughes.com.
