Paul Goodman (1911-1972) was an American writer, teacher, and social critic. Born in New York, his formal education was in philosophy and literature. He taught English, sociology, and city planning at the University of Chicago (where he obtained his Ph.D.), New York University, and the University of Wisconsin; at Sarah Lawrence College, in Bronxville, NY; at the experimental college of Black Mountain; and at the "free university" organized by students of San Francisco State College. The author of books on social themes (including People or Personnel, Compulsory Mis-Education, Utopian Essays and Practical Proposals, The Society I Live Is Mine, The Politics of Being Queer, and Growing Up Absurb), he was also co-author of Communitas, a work on community planning. He also wrote literary criticism (The Structure of Literature, Kafka's Prayer), novels (including Empire City and Making Do), numerous short stories, plays, and several books on poetry.