MARK CASSELLO is an Assistant Professor of English at Calumet College of St. Joseph in Whiting, Indiana. He is completing a Ph.D. in American Literature from Indiana University where his research focuses on Chicago history and literature connected to social and labor movements. He is a contributor to the Huffington Post and a regular guest on the nationally syndicated talk radio show Beyond the Beltway with Bruce DuMont on WLS 890 AM in Chicago. He is passionate about social justice and not afraid of the label “radical.” He regularly reports on the evolving social movements within Chicago and also provides analysis of local and national politics.

OBJECTIVE: Love Notes from the Indignant Left is your home for empathic journalism. Empathic journalism uses the genre of creative non-fiction to render the pressing issues of today palpable. This site offers thoughtful analysis of American politics and culture that abandons the worn and counterproductive divisions of left, right, independent, and fanatic that rule today’s discourse.

NAME: During a Twitter feud with the late Andrew Breitbart, he pithily tweeted,  ”@markcassello I am glad you are using my platform to spew your leftist DROOL!” Breitbart was referring to his role as co-founder of The Huffington Post , to which I am a regular contributor. Although I seldom, if ever, agreed with Breitbart’s means or his ends, I did admire his ability to fiercely engage those with whom he disagreed (albeit not always constructively). In that spirit, every entry on this site is, in a way, a love note to those who would choose to label individuals “indignant leftists” rather than engage in a constructive dialogue.