It’s not every day one gets to know his or her professor/instructor. Either time does not permit, there is no desire to learn more about the individual at the front of the room, or the moment never comes to ask the proverbial “What do you do in your spare time?”

Well, this is the time to get to know a professor.

“Joe Bonomo is a classic: one to experience over and over again and appreciate – an indispensable personality and mind,” said Kelly Retz, a literature and film masters candidate.

English professor Keith Gandal is equally impressed.

“When I hear him read, it’s completely gripping,” Gandal said.

The popular instructor kicked back with the Northern Star to talk about his passion for creative writing and the one thing that is never absent from class.

Northern Star: So what are you writing your book about?

Joe Bonomo: It’s about the Fleshtones, a garage rock ‘n’ roll band out of New York. They debuted at CBGB’s in May of 1976. They’re the only band that I know that debuted at the club that year and have never had a single inactive stretch since then. No one has ever heard of them. They were on a big label, IRS Records, in the 1980s. The Go-Gos were on there, and REM. But [the Fleshtones] didn’t sell records, so [they] were dropped. A lot of bands would have given up or gone on to another couple of years with headaches and then just stopped. They’ve never given it up, and that’s what I think is so interesting.

NS: You teach a creative writing class as well, right?

JB: I teach writing creative non-fiction, where students write personal essays, memoirs and familiar essays about their own lives. You don’t lie; it’s all from your life. You just shape it in entertaining ways and look backwards on your life and see what events in your life have been significant or which stories you think are worth telling.

NS: Alongside that, you also teach a film and literature class. What does that focus on?

JB: It’s not strictly a literature class where you’re just reading books. We look at the films that have been adapted from stories. We talk about the strengths and limitations of fiction and the strengths and limitations of film. It brings up issues of how you represent the world, how you perceive the world, and how film might represent and show to people the world in more successful ways than literary prose can do.

NS: One last thing – I heard you can’t go a class without a Lipton Iced Tea.

JB: Yes, that’s true. I don’t know where the heck that started, but I use it for the kick. That’s probably where that started in the beginning. I have enough nervous energy when I teach that I probably don’t need it. It just became a habit. I would feel naked if I didn’t have my can of Lipton Iced Tea. My students always tease me, that I should just buy them by the case. Even going to the machine, pacing to the machine before class is all part of the process, all part of the ritual.

Do you have an interesting professor/instructor you would like to learn more about? Maybe someone who goes above and beyond what is expected of them? Contact us at [email protected] and we’ll check them out.