Reading with Style discussion

20.1 Back to School:
Time to head back to school. Read a book written by an author who is or has been a teacher or professor.

Please post questions or suggestions regarding Task 20.1 here.

Any level of teacher or professor from elementary school to graduate school is acceptable here. We will also accept authors who have worked at one time or another as adjunct professors.

I've been wanting to read (again!) something by

Wallace Stegner

Color me excited for this task!

Danilo Kiš: "He then took up a position as a lector at the University of Strasbourg"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danilo_...

Thomas Mann: "The Manns moved to Princeton, New Jersey, where they lived on 65 Stockton Street and he began to teach at Princeton University."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_...

James Joyce: "Joyce moved to Trieste in March 1905 aged 23. He taught English at the Berlitz school."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_J...

Will Self: "Self is currently Professor of Modern Thought at Brunel University London, where he teaches psychogeography."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Self (first paragraph)

Nathan Dylan Goodwin: "Whilst writing these books I trained as a teacher and worked for several years in two lovely primary schools."
https://uk.linkedin.com/in/nathandyla...

Elif Shafak

"Shafak holds a PhD in political science and she has taught at various universities in Turkey, the US and the UK, including St Anne's College, Oxford University, where she is an honorary fellow. "

Emma Viskic
https://wordmothers.com/2015/11/20/in...

Emily Tesh
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emily_Tesh

Stella Riley
https://www.bragmedallion.com/self-pu...

Diana Abu-Jaber

Diana teaches writing and literature at Portland State University and divides her time between South Florida and Portland, Oregon.
http://www.dianaabujaber.com/about/

Here are those I have on my list:

Wallace Stegner: Stegner taught at the University of Wisconsin and Harvard University. Eventually he settled at Stanford University, where he founded the creative writing program.

Donna Leon: Leon was a lecturer in English literature for the University of Maryland University College – Europe (UMUC-Europe)[5] in Venice, and taught English from 1981 to 1990 at an American military base in Italy.

Erich Maria Remarque : After the war he continued his teacher training and worked from 1 August 1919 as a primary-school teacher in Lohne, at that time in the county of Lingen, now in the county of Bentheim.

Jared Diamond: After graduation from Cambridge, Diamond returned to Harvard as a Junior Fellow until 1965, and, in 1968, became a professor of physiology at UCLA Medical School.

Guy Vanderhaeghe: From 1975 to 1977 he was a freelance writer and editor and in 1978 and 1979 taught English and history at Herbert High School in Herbert, Saskatchewan.

Frank Tallis: After he left school he initially lived an unsteady life, teaching piano and playing in a rock band.

Jeffrey Archer: Archer left school with O-levels in English literature, art, and history. He then spent a few years in a variety of jobs, including training with the army and a short period with the Metropolitan Police. He later worked as a physical education teacher, first at Vicar's Hill, a preparatory school in Hampshire, and later at Dover College in Kent.

James Carlos Blake: He has worked as a snake-catcher, Volkswagen mechanic, swimming pool maintenance man, and county jail properties officer, but his primary occupation has been as a college instructor.

Martha Grimes: Grimes has taught at the University of Iowa, Frostburg State University, and Montgomery College (Takoma Park).

William Trevor: Trevor worked as a sculptor under the name Trevor Cox after he graduated from Trinity College, supplementing his income by teaching.

Helen Dunmore: (from her author page) During the 1980s and early 1990s I taught poetry and creative writing, tutored residential writing courses for the Arvon Foundation

J.M. Coetzee: In 1968, Coetzee began teaching English literature at the State University of New York at Buffalo, where he stayed until 1971.

David Leavitt: Leavitt is a graduate of Yale University and a professor at the University of Florida, where he is the co-director of the creative writing program.

Peter Godfrey-Smith: I am currently Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at the Graduate Center, CUNY (City University of New York), and Professor of History and Philosophy of Science (half-time) at the University of Sydney.

Sebastian Barry: Barry's academic posts have included Honorary Fellow in Writing at the University of Iowa (1984), Heimbold Visiting Professor at Villanova University (2006) and Writer Fellow at Trinity College, Dublin (1995–1996).

For Greg Bear:
The wikipedia page (see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_Bear ) says
"At the university, he was a teaching assistant to Elizabeth Chater in her course on science fiction writing, and in later years her friend."
Does that qualify as "teacher" for 20.1?? Thanks

Mona Awad

as per GR profile, "She currently teaches creative writing at Syracuse University and lives in Boston."

from Wikipedia for: Milan Kundera

'He lectured for a few years at the University of Rennes.'

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milan_K...

from Wikipedia for Ann Napolitano:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ann_Nap...

"She taught fiction writing at Brooklyn College, New York University, and Gotham Writers Workshop."

From Wikipedia for Mary Stewart:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_St...

"Stewart held a variety of posts during World War II, including primary school teaching, teaching at secondary level at a girls' boarding school, and working part-time at the sixth form of Durham School.[4] Between 1941 and 1956, she was an assistant lecturer (1941–5) and part-time lecturer (1948–56) in English literature, mostly Anglo-Saxon, at Durham University."

In her author bio, Laura Wood, it states: '... the University of Warkwick, where she taught about nineteenth-century literature, feminism, and children's literature.'

She is listed on the University of Warwick's page of award winning teachers:

https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/cross_fac/a...

Percival Everett

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perci...

Percival Leonard Everett II (born December 22, 1956)[1] is an American writer[2] and Distinguished Professor of English at the University of Southern California.

Because I need to find ways to include the books I randomly pick up EVERY time I go near a library ...

Art Spiegelman

"He taught courses in the history and aesthetics of comics at schools such as the School of Visual Arts in New York.[36]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_Spi...

Margaret Atwood

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margare...

"While continuing to write, Atwood was a lecturer in English at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, from 1964 to 1965, Instructor in English at the Sir George Williams University in Montreal from 1967 to 1968, and taught at the University of Alberta from 1969 to 1970.[28]"

Many more teaching positions are listed for subsequent decades.

For Claire Keegan

"She returned to Ireland in 1992, and later lived for a year in Cardiff, Wales,[citation needed] where she undertook an MA in creative writing and taught undergraduates at the University of Wales. "

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claire_...

Philip Roth: "Roth was a longtime faculty member at the University of Pennsylvania, where he taught comparative literature until retiring from teaching in 1991."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_... under Academic Career

J.G. Farrell from his bio on wikipedia: 'After leaving Rossall, he taught in Dublin..."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._G._F...

Elizabeth Strout

Three teaching positions listed on Wikipedia:

“While teaching part-time at Borough of Manhattan Community College…“

“Strout was a National Endowment for the Humanities lecturer at Colgate University during the fall semester of 2007, where she taught creative writing at both the introductory and advanced levels.”

“…on the faculty of the master of fine arts (MFA) program at Queens University of Charlotte in Charlotte, North Carolina“

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabe...

Charlotte Wood "has also taught writing at all levels, from community classes to postgraduate students. ."

http://www.ozarts.com.au/artists/char...

Barb Johnson, author of More of This World or Maybe Another, teaches fiction writing in the MFA program at the University of New Orleans.

https://barb-johnson.com/bio/

Lena Andrews is an Associate Research Professor at University of Maryland. https://spp.umd.edu/our-community/fac...
I don’t know enough about academia to know if an Associate Research Professor teaches.
Does anyone know?

Kathleen (itpdx) wrote: "Lena Andrews is an Associate Research Professor at University of Maryland. https://spp.umd.edu/our-community/fac...
I don’t know enough about academia to know..."

The task just says a teacher or professor.

https://spp.umd.edu/news/conversation...

In this interview, under the section “What projects are you currently working on?” in the second paragraph she states:

“I am also teaching an intelligence policy course for undergraduates in the Fall of 2024. I am excited about the exposure to UMD undergraduates and to be back in the classroom. I have learned that some of the best research questions come from engaging with students, and I am excited to build a collaborative learning environment in the classroom.”

Pearl S. Buck

"During the following year, she met her husband and moved to Nanjing, where she taught English literature in the universities based in the city. In 1924, Buck and her husband took a year off from teaching to return to the United States."

https://www.womenshistory.org/educati...

Kathleen (itpdx) wrote: "Lena Andrews is an Associate Research Professor at University of Maryland. https://spp.umd.edu/our-community/fac...
I don’t know enough about academia to know..."

Yes, we will accept any type of professor or teacher.

Chaim Potok

Per GR profile, he was on the faculty of the Teachers' Institute of the Jewish Theological Seminary.

Shirley Ann Grau

“In 1965, Grau was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for The Keepers of the House. Afterward, Grau taught creative writing at the University of New Orleans for one year and then returned to writing full time, remaining in New Orleans.”

https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/art...
Next to last paragraph

Jeff VanderMeer

"VanderMeer has been involved in teaching creative writing. One of the projects he is involved with is Shared Worlds, an annual two-week program that aims to teach creative writing to teenagers.[37] VanderMeer has also taught at the Clarion Workshop[38] and at Trinity Prep School."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Va...

Paul Harding

“ has taught writing at Harvard University and the University of Iowa.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Ha...

Marc Reisner

“For a time, Reisner was a distinguished visiting professor at the University of California at Davis, lecturing on the relationship between urbanization and environmental concerns.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Re...

Cathy Ace

from Google books:
"Cathy then relocated to British Columbia, where she has taught on the MBA course at the University of British Columbia. She has also taught at various Lower Mainland universities, and is currently lecturing at Simon Fraser University."

Stewart O'Nan

“… he taught at the University of Central Oklahoma and the University of New Mexico.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stewart...

Ta-Nehisi Coates

https://ta-nehisicoates.com/about/

Currently chair of the English department at Howard University.

Will acting as a tutor (as in 19th c upper class England) work? Or does it need to be in an educational institution?

E M Forster

He then sought a post in Germany, to learn the language, and spent several months in the summer of 1905 in Nassenheide, Pomerania (now the Polish village of Rzędziny), as a tutor to the children of the writer Elizabeth von Arnim. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._M._F...

Would James Alan Gardner count? His bio says:
Gardner is also an educator and technical writer. His book Learning UNIX is used as a textbook in some Canadian universities.
Note that it doesn't explicitly say that HE teaches.

Also, for Greg Bear, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_Bear, it says:
"At the university, he was a teaching assistant to Elizabeth Chater in her course on science fiction writing, and in later years her friend."
Which sounds like he was a teaching assistant, which is teaching????

Patrick Dacey

"he teaches undergraduate creative writing classes at the College of William and Mary, but spends most of his time writing."

https://www.styleweekly.com/interview...

George Monbiot was/is a visiting fellow at Green College, Oxford. From his Wikipedia bio “ Sir Crispin Tickell, a former United Nations diplomat, who was then Warden at Green College, Oxford, made the young protester a Visiting Fellow.”

“A visiting fellow is a scholar who visits a university to teach, lecture, or perform research. They are usually invited or hired to teach one or more courses for a limited period of time, such as a few weeks to a year”

But I don’t find anywhere that specifically says he teaches.

Mary wrote: "Will acting as a tutor (as in 19th c upper class England) work? Or does it need to be in an educational institution?

E M Forster

He then sought a post in Germany, to learn the l..."

Yes, that will work.

Deedee wrote: "Would James Alan Gardner count? His bio says:
Gardner is also an educator and technical writer. His book Learning UNIX is used as a textbook in some Canadian universities.
Note that it doesn't explicitly say that HE teaches.

I don't think this works unless you find somewhere that he actually teaches in some capacity.

Also, for Greg Bear, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_Bear, it says:
"At the university, he was a teaching assistant to Elizabeth Chater in her course on science fiction writing, and in later years her friend."
Which sounds like he was a teaching assistant, which is teaching????"

Yes, that will work.

Richard Ford

“He obtained a teaching appointment at Bowdoin College during 2005 but kept the job for only one semester.[20] During 2008 Ford was an adjunct professor of the Oscar Wilde Centre with the School of English at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, teaching in the Masters programme in creative writing.[21] Starting December 29, 2010, Ford assumed the job of senior fiction professor at the University of Mississippi during the autumn of 2011, replacing Barry Hannah, who died during March 2010. During the autumn of 2012, he became the Emmanuel Roman and Barrie Sardoff Roman Professor of the Humanities and Professor of Writing at the Columbia University School of the Arts.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard...

James Alan Gardner from his wordpress page:

https://jamesalangardner.wordpress.co...

I'm an award-winning writer, editor and teacher of science fiction and fantasy. I've published nine novels and a host of short stories in leading SF&F outlets. In addition to writing, I'm strongly interested in math and geology. In my spare time, I teach kung fu to kids and (unsuccessfully) to my rabbit.

Peter Swanson

“Prior to being a full time writer I was a bookseller, a teacher, a bartender, a bookseller, and a blogger.“

https://civilianreader.com/2018/03/31...

Kathleen (itpdx) wrote: "George Monbiot was/is a visiting fellow at Green College, Oxford. From his Wikipedia bio “ Sir Crispin Tickell, a former United Nations diplomat, who was then Warden at Green Colleg..."

I met George Monbiot once at a dinner in Oxford in the 1990s. I'm sure he was teaching. I hadn't heard of him at the time, and I don't remember many people I met like that at college dinners (I administered a summer school for a few years), but he stood out, I think because he was such an impassioned person.

Iain Reid

“I was arriving with some experience. The role of teacher wasn’t completely new. I’d taught a few workshops before, given talks and lectures. But this was going to be the most extensive teaching I’d ever done. To prepare I consulted friends and colleagues, both teachers and writers. I made outlines and picked reading material. I called my dad, an academic and teacher, and asked about pacing and timing.”

https://nationalpost.com/entertainmen...

Thank you, Rosemary. His passion definitely comes through in the book!

Rosemary wrote: "Kathleen (itpdx) wrote: "George Monbiot was/is a visiting fellow at Green College, Oxford. From his Wikipedia bio “ Sir Crispin Tickell, a former United Nations diplomat, who was th..."

We'll take it.