In the Fall of 2015, I was lucky enough to teach a class on nonfiction storytelling at the University of Montana School of Journalism as a visiting professor. It was a wonderful experience, one that I will always cherish, simply because, twice a week, I got to sit in a beautiful classroom with a window that looked up at the mountains and talk about some of my favorite writing with smart students.
I wrestled, at times throughout the year, with whether I was truly qualified to teach writing at such a high level. I’ve written a lot of stories in…
T. Anthony Pollner Lecture, October 19, 2015.
Thank you, everyone, for that warm reception.
It’s an honor to be here in more ways that most of you will ever understand.
I’m hopeful, though, that Alice will understand. And I’m hopeful, across the ocean, that Ben will understand. If I can do one thing right tonight, it’s helping the Pollners and Thorpes and all people who loved Anthony deeply understand how much it means to me to be here tonight, on this stage, 15 years after I left this university a outwardly cocky, internally scared kid.
My presence on this stage…
I’m teaching a storytelling class this fall at the University of Montana, and at the start of every class, I like to play music that I think might be relevant to the readings we’re doing, or helpful in understanding why certain narrative techniques resonate, and how they paint a picture with so few words. Songwriters aren’t often dealing with nonfiction, which is the kind of storytelling I’m teaching, but the details they chose (and the stuff they choose to leave out) can really help you understand what to look for in your reporting. One of my favorite examples of this…
Kevin Van Valkenburg
Senior Writer @ESPN & @ESPNMag. Born & raised in Montana, adopted by Baltimore. Golf nerd. T. Anthony Pollner Professor, 2015. kevin.t.vanvalkenburg@espn.com
