He received his Ph.D. from the University of UtahSpencer teaches literature and creative writing, and is currently the Stocker Professor in Creative Writing at Ohio University. He has been praised by Michael Chabon for "[possessing] a remarkable ear for the cadence of everyday speech," and by the New York Times Book Review for his "writing [which] crackles with freshness and lucidity, featuring characters who slide into one another in random encounters and relationships."