He enrolled at Harvard University in 1962, but dropped out in the middle of his senior year as his writing career advanced.

"[3] Strong's first novel, Tike and Five Short Stories (1968),[4] won the American Academy of Arts and Letters' Rosenthal Award.

In 1970, Strong's short story "Patients," published in The Atlantic Monthly, won another O. Henry Award.

[7] Strong's next six novels were published with Zoland Books; Secret Words (1993),[8] Companion Pieces (1993),[9] An Untold Tale (1993),[10] Offspring (1995),[11] The Old World (1997),[12] and A Circle Around Her (2000).

[14] His more recent works, all with small presses, include Drawn from Life (2008),[15] Consolation (2010),[16] More Light (2011),[17] Hawkweed and Indian Paintbrush (2013),[18] The Judge's House (2015),[19] Quit the Race (2017),[20] and Four Last Songs (2020).