Featured Interview With Matthew Rockwood
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I’m a native New Yorker – born and raised on the Upper West Side of Manhattan where I continue to reside along with my wife and two sons. After a brief career as an attorney, I realized the profession wasn’t for me, so I decided to change careers and become a teacher while also pursuing my passion for writing. My novel SCHOOLED! is based, in part, on my real-life experiences teaching in an inner-city public high school. I am a graduate of the Writing Seminars program at Johns Hopkins University and I received my JD from Boston University School of Law. I am also an avid swimmer and a poker enthusiast.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I’ve always enjoyed reading. When I was a kid, I gravitated toward science fiction (Ray Bradbury, Issac Asimov, Michael Crichton) and books that explored social issues (Richard Wright, Ralph Ellison, Harper Lee). I started writing seriously in college where I was lucky to be a part of the Writing Seminars program at Johns Hopkins – but I would say that as great as that program was, the most important thing for aspiring writers is to live life and have experiences that take them outside their comfort zone. It is really important to study people and to expose oneself to persons from all walks of life, all political persuasions, and from as many different cultures as possible. Otherwise, I think it would be difficult to create interesting characters or to see life from more than just one perspective which would be very limiting as a writer.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I think it is important that writers – and all artists – are people who think about the human condition and who have something to say about it. I think all great art is compelling on many different levels. In writing, one level is that the story you are telling is interesting, well-paced, and well structured. Another is that the characters you have created are authentic and likable – even if they are scoundrels. But without more, you have an enjoyable read you will forget in a week. I think the best writers take their works to another level – one that says something important about the human condition – something the reader will take with them long after they put down the book.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
SCHOOLED! is a fast-paced novel that shines a light on the often hidden underbelly of a divided New York City Public School system and is based on a true story. I originally considered writing a memoir but realized that, apart from having some ethical concerns about including actual students and teachers in a published work, I wanted to write a story that said more about American values and American society than I could in a memoir. I have always admired writers who tell compelling stories while also making their readers think. SCHOOLED! is best categorized as autobiographical fiction (or possibly social issues fiction) in the tradition of books like The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, The Things They Carried, and David Copperfield.
Although fictionalized, nearly all of the events in the book are events that happened to me personally. A few are events that I am aware happened to other teachers in the program or at other schools around the country, and a few, particularly to do with the main character’s arc, are fictionalized to make for a better story. All of the characters, without exception, are completely fictionalized. The students are composite characters made up from pieces of the characters of many students I’ve taught over the years – which helps create an authentic experience for the reader – but which also serves to protect student privacy.
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