{{Short description|American journalist (1954–2023)}} {{Distinguish|James Jordan (disambiguation)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=October 2023}} {{infobox writer |name = James Jorden |birth_name = James Glenn Jorden |birth_date = {{birth date|1954|8|6}} |birth_place = Opelousas, Louisiana, U.S. |death_date = {{death date and age|2023|10|2|1954|8|6}} |death_place = Sunnyside, Queens, New York, U.S. |occupation = {{hlist|Blogger|journalist|editor}} |subjects = Opera |alma_mater = Louisiana State University }}
'''James Glenn Jorden''' (August 6, 1954 – October 2, 2023) was an American blogger, journalist and music critic who wrote about opera. He was known for founding and editing the zine ''Parterre Box''.
==Background== James Glenn Jorden was born on August 6, 1954,<ref name=ZW>{{cite news|last = Woolfe|first = Zachary|authorlink = Zachary Woolfe|title=The Bewitching Art of 'La Cieca'|url=https://observer.com/2009/07/the-bewitching-art-of-la-cieca/|accessdate=April 7, 2022|newspaper=The New York Observer|date=July 8, 2009}}</ref> in Opelousas, Louisiana, and developed an interest in opera from an early age. He attended Louisiana State University.<ref name = Woolfe>{{cite news|url = https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/04/arts/music/james-jorden-dead.html|title = James Jorden, Creator of an Essential Opera Blog, Dies at 69|last = Woolfe|first = Zachary|authorlink = Zachary Woolfe|date = October 4, 2023|accessdate = October 4, 2023|newspaper = The New York Times|url-access = limited}}</ref>
==Career== Some time after graduating college, Jorden moved to New York and sought work in the theater, including acting, directing, and teaching.<ref name = Woolfe/> In 1993, he founded ''Parterre Box'', a zine which covers the topic of opera from a queer perspective; in 1996, he began publishing it online.<ref name = Woolfe/> Jorden's work with ''parterre box'' also includes a podcast, ''Unnatural Acts of Opera''. ''Parterre Box'' and Jorden have been featured in numerous media publications, including ''Opera News'' magazine, ''The Advocate'', and ''The New York Times''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/13/arts/music/parterre-box-25th-anniversary.html|title=How an Underground Queer Zine Became the Best Blog in Opera|author=Joshua Barone|work=The New York Times|date=December 13, 2018}}</ref> He also worked for a time as a web producer for Fox News.<ref>{{cite news|title=The Parterre Posse|url=http://observer.com/2001/01/the-parterre-posse/|accessdate=October 21, 2012|newspaper=The New York Observer|date=January 29, 2001}}</ref> Until 2013, he was employed full-time as a legal secretary.<ref name=ZW />
After 10 years as a reviewer for ''Gay City News'', Jorden became opera critic for the ''New York Post'' in March 2009, succeeding Clive Barnes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.metoperafamily.org/operanews/issue/article.aspx?id=5278&issueID=336|title=Voice of the Opposition|author=Brian Kellow|author-link=Brian Kellow|work=Opera News|date=July 2009|volume=74|issue=1}}</ref><ref>"Ruffling the Met's feathers – ''Parterre Box'', a gay opera magazine". ''The Advocate'', November 25, 1997 . Accessed via subscription January 18, 2008.</ref><ref>[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE3DC113EF934A15757C0A961958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=print "You Go Diva!"], ''The New York Times'', April 27, 1997. Accessed January 18, 2008.</ref> In the fall of 2014, Jorden left the ''Post'' to write about opera for ''The New York Observer''.<ref>[http://observer.com/about/ About – Contributing Writers], ''The New York Observer.''</ref> He also served as a commentator on the WQXR program Operavore.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wqxr.org/#!/programs/operavore/about|title=WQXR – New York's Classical Music Radio Station|website=WQXR}}</ref>
==Death== Jorden died at his home in Sunnyside, Queens, at the age of 69.<ref name = Woolfe/><ref>[https://edwarddlynchfuneralhome.com/tribute/details/1794/James-Jorden/obituary.html#tribute-start James Glenn Jorden]</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * [http://www.parterre.com/ ''Parterre Box'']
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jorden, James}} Category:1954 births Category:2023 deaths Category:20th-century American journalists Category:21st-century American journalists Category:American LGBTQ journalists Category:American bloggers Category:American gay writers Category:American male bloggers Category:20th-century American male journalists Category:American music critics Category:Fox News people Category:Journalists from Louisiana Category:LGBTQ people from Louisiana Category:Louisiana State University alumni Category:New York Post people Category:Opera critics Category:People from Opelousas, Louisiana Category:People from Sunnyside, Queens Category:The New York Observer people Category:Writers from Queens, New York Category:21st-century American male journalists