SewaneeLetters.com

At some point while driving between Sewanee and Signal Mountain, you may have witnessed a red and white blur on a bicycle. That would be Nick Nichols, 4th year MA candidate and cycling prodigy. A couple weeks ago he won the Tennessee State Championship in Category 4 Criterium. Congrats Nick!

Current home: Chattanooga, TN
Age: 28
Program: MA with a dash of F
Year in the program: 3.5

Fill us in on your background. Schools attended, work situation, etc.
After graduating from Sewanee as an undergrad, I went to Houston, TX, where I taught high school English for four years. There, I met my wife Ashley, and we moved to Chattanooga. We are currently living on campus as dorm parents at the McCallie School, where I teach sophomore and junior English and coach crew. Living and teaching at an all-male school is…well…interesting.

What led you to the School of Letters program?
I had wanted to start my graduate work for some time, and when the program began at Sewanee, the thought of being able to spend my summers on The Mountain was too much to ignore. No better place to be.

What writing/academic projects are you working on currently?
Currently, I pretty much read and grade papers, though I have plans to write something new and revise something old over the upcoming Christmas vacation. I am still questing for the perfect way to describe a Thickburger in words.

Favorite class so far at Sewanee:
Tough question. I can honestly say that I’ve enjoyed all of them for different reasons, but John Sullivan’s “Creative Nonfiction” class really pushed me in a direction I’d never previously gone. I look forward to further exploring creative writing in future summers.

What would be your fantasy class or workshop at Sewanee, and who would teach?
Anything involving Larry Brown.

What advice would you give to any prospective students?
1)    Stay away from Jimmy.
2)    Visit Shenanigan’s at least once a day.
3)    Meet my dog.
4)    Listen to Townes Van Zandt and/or Steve Earle with John Grammer and beer.
5)    See #1
6)    Find my anthology and return it to me.

What are you reading these days?
In the spirit of the election, I decided to read Obama’s first book, so I’m currently working on that, but mostly I read and re-read whatever I’m teaching, which at the moment would be Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead and Hemingway’s short fiction.

Nick and Ashley hosted an informal fiction workshop at the family lake house last weekend. I didn’t get many photos of the serious critique that took place, just the dockside shenanigans afterwards. (Like how I worked in that Sewanee reference?) Here’s Jason, Megan, Jimmy, Mr. and Mrs. Nichols and their entertaining lab, Tucker.

It was good to see some Sewanee faces beyond “the Domain,” and Jimmy, at least, got a decent workshopping. The next writer’s group is loosely planned for December 6th, in Atlanta. Where there is no magical lake and splendid fall foliage to distract us from our task.