Writers go to college

Like most academics, he is fascinated by childish, unprofessional behavior.

Richard Russo, Straight Man

Richard Russo

I've noticed that several of the novels I have read this year feature college professors as characters, usually main characters. These include the recently reviewed Straight Man by Richard Russo, in which an English professor heads his department during threatened staff reductions; Nobody's Fool, also by Russo, in which the son of the main character is a professor; Ethan Canin's A Doubter's Almanac, about a mathematics professor who, because of age and careless living, has lost his brilliance at mathematics; Professor Chandra Follows His Bliss by Rajeev Balasubramanyam, about an economics professor who takes a leave to try to restore a happy family life; and David Lodge's Changing Places about two professors, one from Great Britain and one from the United States, who participate in a professor exchange program and find themselves leading the other fellow's life.

These books were written over a period of years, so perhaps they do not reflect a trend. I may have just happened to read these particular novels this year, yet I suspect there are enough other college-based novels and short stories (such as Mark Winegardner's "The Visiting Poet" and "The Untenured Lecturer," also read this year) to reflect at least a mini-trend.

If so, the reason is probably because so many of today's novelists and poets (and a few non-fiction writers, such as Les Staniford) are based at colleges and universities. As writers in residence they can teach a few classes, usually creative writing, and still have lots of time to write. Because most books make little money, the teaching jobs give them income to support their families. Their academic surroundings also give them material for their literary work. Even the best writers tend to write what they know.

Winegardner, according to the cover of his book of short stories, That's True of Everybody, is director of creative writing at Florida State. Balasubramanyam taught at Hong Kong University, among other places. Canin is on the faculty at the Iowa Writers' Workshop. David Lodge taught at the University of Birmingham. I don't know about Russo, but Straight Man certainly reads as if the author knows something about colleges and, in particular, English departments.

Many of the works mentioned above have certain themes in common, especially the fascination with "childish, unprofessional behavior" referred to in Russo's novel. The professors in these tales tend to drink too much, sleep with the wives of other professors and with their students, and worry constantly about departmental politics. Occam's Razor (stated simply: the simplest answer is more often the correct one) features in two or three of the novels. The narrator in Straight Man even names his dog Occam.

In the spirit of Occam's Razor, I conclude that putting writers in university faculties leads to novels about university faculties.