×

A teacher who does

Andrei Codrescu has said of him, “If Flannery O’Connor had been a bad boy living in the French Quarter, she’d have been James Nolan.” Maurice Ruffin, a former student of his, likens Nolan to John Kennedy Toole, saying, “He can do more in a short story than most writers in a novel.”

In addition to being a fiction writer—his newest work You Don’t Know Me: New and Selected Stories is out this month from UL Press—Nolan is also a poet, literary critic, essayist, translator and a teacher of creative writing through the Arts Council of New Orleans.

His writing workshops have become a must for many burgeoning Louisiana writers. Two of his students published debut novels this year: Amy Conner’s The Right Thing in May and Laura Lane McNeal’s Dollbaby in July. “I workshopped the first 100 pages of Dollbaby in his class and I wouldn’t have gotten there without James,” McNeal says. At right, we catch up with each about their books, their writing workshops and what they’re working on next.

How did your newest book of stories come about?
Nolan:
Perpetual Care, my first collection of stories, was much in demand but hard to find, so I decided to combine 10 of its stories along with 10 new ones into a New Orleans-themed collection. The stories are united by a distinct sense of place, dark humor and interrelated characters and challenge the stereotypes people have about my native city and its residents. This spring, a new collection of my poems, Drunk on Salt, also came out with Willow Springs Editions in Spokane. It’s been a busy year.

What do you think has made your writing workshops so successful?
Nolan:
Would-be writers can spin their wheels for years until they master the devilishly tricky essentials of the craft. Once they learn that, their writing often leaps forward. My workshops also provide structure, deadlines, guided readings and a receptive but discerning audience. I enjoy working with no-nonsense adults who aren’t looking for a grade or credits, people who can take the discipline and dedication of their professions and apply them to writing. Sixteen books of fiction and nonfiction have already come out of these workshops, plus scores of magazine and anthology publications. This has been gratifying to me as a teacher and means I’m not wasting my own or anybody else’s time.

What are you working on now?
Nolan:
I’m finishing a book-length memoir, which over the years I’ve been publishing chapter-by-chapter in Boulevard, among other magazines and anthologies. And a new collection of short stories is taking shape, one of mind-bending speculative fiction set in other places I’ve lived.

James Nolan and Laura Lane McNeal are in the lineup of participants for the Louisiana Book Festival in downtown Baton Rouge Nov. 1. louisianabookfestival.org

Two of James Nolan’s students and published authors tease upcoming projects.

Amy Connor
Author of The Right Thing
“It’s a book told from the perspective of a 17-year-old. The first book was pretty easy to write because I knew those characters pretty well. This is more challenging.”

Laura Lane McNeal
Author of Dollbaby
“A novel that starts on the day of the Great Flood of 1927 and encompasses a lot of historical events. It includes family history as well.”