Portman, Frank 1964-

(Dr. Frank)

PERSONAL: Born 1964; married. Education: Obtained degree.

ADDRESSES: Home— CA. E-mail— mail@frank portman.com.

CAREER: Musician and writer. Mr. T Experience, Berkeley, CA, founding member, singer, songwriter, guitarist, 1985—. Recordings include Everybody’s Entitled to Their Own Opinion, 1986, Night Shift at the Thrill Factory, 1987, Big Black Bugs Bleed Blue Blood, 1989, Making Things with Light, 1990, Milk, Milk, Lemonade, 1992, Gun Crazy, 1993, Our Bodies, Our Selves, 1994, The Mr. T Experience! . . . And the Women Who Love Them, 1995, Alternative Is Here to Stay, 1995, Love Is Dead, 1996, Revenge Is Sweet, and So Are You, 1997, Alcatraz, 1999, Show Business Is My Life, 1999.

WRITINGS

King Dork (young adult novel), Delacorte Press (New York, NY), 2006.

Author of blog Dr. Frank Web Log.

SIDELIGHTS: Frank Portman is a founding member of the punk rock band, Mr. T Experience. The band, formed in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1985, has rotated through many new members, but Portman remains its anchor, having been featured in nearly one dozen albums. Aside from writing lyrics for the band’s songs, Portman ventured into writing novels for the young adult genre. His debut book, King Dork, has already received wide attention and its movie rights have already been optioned by Will Ferrell. On making the switch from songwriter to book writer, Port-man said in an Entertainment Weekly interview that “writing a novel takes up your whole day for, like, two years. With music you roll out of bed and you play something, but [with a book] it’s like being back in school: You’ve got this homework project, and anytime you do anything else you think, ‘Man, I really should be working on that novel, otherwise I’m going to have to give the advance back!’”

King Dork is a story about high school as narrated by the lead character, Tom Henderson. Tom, an intelligent kid who loves rock music, has only one friend but many enemies at school. A subplot involving Tom finding his dead father’s copy of Catcher in the Rye full of secret codes in the margins gives the protagonist a chance to learn more about his father and the mystery surrounding his death.

Critics were pleased with Portman’s literary debut. Dave Housley, writing in a review on PopMatters.com, called the book “one of the funniest books of the year, maybe of any year.” Miranda Doyle’s review in School Library Journal found the book “original, heartfelt, and sparkling with wit and intelligence.” She called Tom’s character “engaging.” A reviewer in Publishers Weekly concluded that “the author’s biting humor and skillful connection of events will keep pages turning.”

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES

BOOKS

Contemporary Musicians, Volume 29, Thomson Gale (Detroit, MI), 2000.

PERIODICALS

Booklist, May 15, 2006, Cindy Dobrez, review of King Dork, p. 41.

Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, May, 2006, Deborah Stevenson, review of King Dork, p. 419.

Children’s Bookwatch, August, 2006, review of King Dork.

Entertainment Weekly, April 28, 2006, Jennifer Reese, review of King Dork, p. 138; May 15, 2006, Bob Cannon, “‘King’ of Rock.”

Kirkus Reviews, March 15, 2006, review of King Dork, p. 298.

Library Media Connection, March, 2006, Cynthia Schulz, review of King Dork, p. 69.

Publishers Weekly, March 13, 2006, review of King Dork, p. 68.

San Francisco Chronicle, April 27, 2006, Tony Du-Shane, “Out Loud He Pities the Fool,” p. H25.

School Library Journal, April, 2006, Miranda Doyle, review of King Dork, p. 146.

Teacher Librarian, December, 2006, review of King Dork, p. 24.

Voice of Youth Advocates, April, 2006, Kathie Fitch, review of King Dork, p. 50.

Washington Times, April 30, 2006, Clive Davis, review of King Dork.

ONLINE

Bookslut, http://www.bookslut.com/ (December 29, 2006), Michael Schaub, author interview.

Brink, http://www.brink.com/ (December 29, 2006), Chuck Prophet, author interview.

BuzzFeed, http://www.buzzfeed.com/ (December 29, 2006), author profile.

Frank Portman Home Page, http://www.frankportman.com (December 29, 2006), author biography. Frank Portman MySpace Profile, http://www.myspace.com/doctorfrank (December 29, 2006), author profile.

Metroactive, http://www.metroactive.com/ (May 27, 1999), Gina Arnold, author profile.

Pop Goes The Library, http://www.popgoesthelibrary.com/ (March 6, 2006), Sophie Brookover, author interview.

Pop Matters, http://www.popmatters.com/ (May 1, 2006), Dave Housley, review of King Dork.

TeenReads.com, http://www.teenreads.com/ (December 29, 2006), Brian Farrey, review of King Dork.