Ryan Placchetti, WEbooker of the WEek, Does Not Fight Bears

If you’ve been paying close attention to WEbook in the past few weeks, you may have noticed this guy, Ryan_Placchetti, going around writing about how to fight a bear. Well, it turns out that Ryan has never actually fought a bear. He says so right here in the first sentence of his submission to 101 Things Every Man Should Know How to Do: “I'm going to preface this article by pointing out that I have never actually fought a bear.” That’s right. Ryan is not a superhuman bear-wrestling machine. I’m not sure he’s even ever seen a bear. Sorry to disappoint you.

That’s the bad news. The good news is that Ryan writes a mean sentence, an even meaner paragraph, and a downright vicious article. His poetry isn’t too cuddly, either. I first noticed Ryan over at 101 Things Every Man Should Know How to Do. He also has his own project, a collection of 20-29 poems from writers ages 20-29ish, and you’ll find him all over WEbook, helping other writers refine their work with his insightful feedback.

“Wait a second, Melissa. You’re saying he’s never fought a bear, and he’s a poet – and now he’s insightful, too?”

Yep, that’s what I’m saying. But don’t jump to conclusions. Ryan is no ivory tower lightweight. He just completed a six-year stint in the Army as a signals intelligence analyst, including 12 months in Baghdad.  He’s 24 years old, and he’s about to head off to West Chester University, where he’ll study English and creative writing.

As of today, Ryan is the first recipient of the soon-to-be-heralded title:  WEbooker of the WEek. Props and benefits include a new WEbook T-shirt, future public recognition and esteem, and crazy bragging rights. If you find yourself in Philly, keep your eyes peeled for a prodigiously talented young writer wearing a WEbook T-shirt, and give that man a pat on the back.

In addition to his work on WEbook, Ryan has a blog, Perish The Reason, and he’s writing the second draft of a novel about a schizophrenic Army Private, which he started when he was in Iraq. On the 101 Things Facebook Group, he’s posted dozens of things every man should know how to do after learning how to fight a bear. We’re looking forward to his next WEbook submissions with anticipation.

-- Melissa

Comments

[Tahrasep]

A WEbook T-shirt! Serious? Cool.
The bookstore should sell coffee mugs to go along with Pandora.

I'm sure that if he ever met a bear, he'd win!

[Ryan Placchetti]

I appreciate your good faith estimate of my masculine prowess.