Education Allen obtained his degree in English and art at
Hamilton College He was a stationed in
Vietnam in the mid-1960s as a
U.S. Marine. As a staff writer for the Style section, he worked at
The Washington Post for 39 years. He left
The Washington Post in 2009 after an altercation with a fellow staffer (although he had already announced his resignation and was planning on leaving a few weeks later). Allen then began teaching courses in cultural analysis in the
University of Maryland honors program. Allen had solo shows in June 2009 at the Mansion at
Strathmore (Maryland) and in August 2012 at the
Chebeague Island Library. ==Awards and honors==