Nathan Feller: How long have you been teaching?

Karl Lehman: I’m in my twelfth year. It doesn’t seem like it’s been that long. Time flies when you’re having fun. 

Feller: How long have you been a professor at BHSU?

Lehman: Eleven years plus one semester. I started my teaching career here and I intend to retire from here, if they’ll let me keep going for another decade or so.  

Feller: What is your favorite thing about teaching at BHSU?

Lehman: I like the foamy soap and the hot water in the bathrooms. And my colleagues are amazing. And my students generally tolerate my quirks, which I appreciate.      

Feller: What kind of professor do you strive to be?

Lehman: Well, I’d like to be more original, challenging, calm, inspiring, funny, organized, kind, supportive, mysterious, knowledgeable, graceful, confounding, impactful, and intelligent, but there’s plenty of that around BHSU, so I just try to connect with students, say a few worthwhile things and be authentic.  

Feller: When and how did you know you wanted to teach English and Creative Writing? 

Lehman: I didn’t. I know now, but only because I have had the chance to do it and found I love it. Teaching these subjects goes hand-in-hand with writing, so it makes sense. I knew I wanted to write. I discovered that in a composition class, believe it or not. That professor was amazing. I even recall the day I made the decision to pursue writing above all else. We were watching an interview of Carlos Fuentes, who wrote “The Death of Artemio Cruz,” and the interviewer asked him why he set aside all other ambitions and opportunities to write. He said, “Because writing well is the most difficult thing I have ever tried to do.” I felt the same way. If I was going to dedicate my life and attention to one pursuit, I wanted it to be an inexhaustible, unsolvable puzzle. So far, it has been.     

Feller: What has been your favorite class to teach?

Lehman: Honestly, I love them all. I’m lucky that way. But I’m a little extra excited about the Advanced Creative Writing class because my writers will be collaborating with Casey Hibbert’s Introduction to Acting class to create a full-length play from scratch. 

Feller: What is your favorite non-work-related hobby? 

Lehman: I have two, games and music. I love complex strategy games and narrative roleplaying games. I love chess and recently worked my way up to #4 in the world rankings of a variant called Duck Chess. Musically, I have played guitar all my life and now am inspired by my son who is a jazz composer.  

Feller: If you could have any job other than the one you have now, what would it be? 

Lehman: I would be a full-time game designer. It’s something I’ve done in the past and enjoyed very much.

Feller: What is one piece of advice you would give to every student? 

Lehman: Go to every class and participate. Almost all of the difficulties I see students encounter arise from not doing that one simple thing.