“Blaze Union and the Puddin’ Head Schools” follows a daring teen who challenges the stifling norms of society, using intellect and courage to question authority and shed light on the absurdity of education practices. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

First, so as not to confuse the readers, I’m speaking as W.T. Kosmos, the alter ego of a lifetime educator (going on almost 30 years now) who emerges particularly in the face of absurdity. Given the increased book bans, diversity & equity bans, and polarized us-versus-them, my-side-is-always-right culture wars, I’m afraid I’ll be around for a long while. As someone who has been a teacher and school administrator, there are times for students to listen to authority and there are times to question it skillfully. In general, we need to do a much better job of listening to students. And we need to teach them how to learn and talk with people from different backgrounds and different and even opposing viewpoints. As I narrated in Blaze Union, the book bans and seahorse protests really got to me, especially when students were negatively impacted. Who protests seahorses? So I wrote a book about it. And I wear a hat with a seahorse. Sometimes a shirt with a seahorse, too.

You’ve used satire to critique education policies. Why did you choose this genre, and how did it influence the way you communicated your message?

I had an ethnocentric socialization growing up in rural USA with a surface-level understanding of the outside world and a limited ability to appreciate absurdity, although I am told my sarcastic powers were strong even as a three-year-old. Sometimes, too strong. When I went to college, I discovered the Onion and Comedy Central about the same time I began to understand other cultures (wow, mine isn’t the only one!) and learned to think for myself. I thought Greg Kinear was the funniest person alive. Then Jon Stewart blew my socks off because he connected humor and social critique. SNL was even more hilarious now that I “got it” but my feet were cold because I had no socks. I read Vonnegut, Heller, etc. but Trevor Noah is my all time favorite and has taken political satire/comedy to another level. He is genius and I would very much like to shake his hand or arm or thumb wrestle him. However, the latter two events would be unfair because obviously I would crush him as I am a fiction author, who are the most powerful people in the world, except for teachers, and I am both. These role models and many other authors, comedians, and very funny colleagues taught me that humor can break down walls and offer new perspectives in ways other approaches cannot, even with serious topics involving climate change, discrimination, etc. Although sarcasm doesn’t always work so well as a starting point in conversation, or ever with my partner, or with angry people, or with people who don’t appreciate sarcasm. You saw that conversation with me and the seahorse protester. Didn’t go as planned. But if it wasn’t for that knucklehead, I wouldn’t have met Blaze.

What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?

This book is a political satire about culture wars that are grounded in misinformation, fueled by animosity and willful ignorance, and are antithetical to a functioning democracy. I’m still astonished by citizens who don’t understand other perspectives, who avoid understanding them, and/or assume they have the only correct one – even when it’s to their own detriment. Or when their side does the exact same thing that they just lambasted the other side for doing. The other related theme is the social construction of prejudice and discrimination, which typically falls along racial, gender, cultural, sexual orientation, and other social identity lines. On Puddin’ Head Island, I was shocked to learn they discriminated based on hand size, which as you see in the book had an absurd historical origin. So I wanted to explore these themes, in part, by asking a question: How ridiculous do the consequences of absurd beliefs and actions need to be, in education and the world, before people realize they are indeed absurd? The movie Don’t Look Up explored a similar question. My book also has a subtle existential theme, with the question here being, What is the meaning of life in an absurd world? I won’t give spoilers, but it is an ongoing question I’m still asking myself.

What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?

I have spin off books I’m drafting. But educating takes priority over writing, so I don’t have a timeline. Enjoying the journey as they say. Blogging is a possibility, but right now I’m excited to see readers’ responses to Blaze Union and the Puddin’ Head Schools.

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