Professor Randoms: Kevin Grauke, Assistant Professor of English

By Jen Colletta
Collegian Reporter
March 22, 2006

     Photo taken by Sara Allen

Full name and title: Kevin Grauke, Assistant Professor of English

How long have you been at La Salle? Grauke has been teaching at La Salle since the fall of 2004.

What is your educational background? Grauke received his B.A. in English from the University of Texas at Austin, his M.F.A. in Creative Writing at Texas State University-San Marcos and his Ph.D. in English at State University of New York at Buffalo.

What brought you to La Salle? “When I came for my campus interview, I really liked, and was impressed by, both the faculty and the students I met,” Grauke said. “La Salle seemed like an excellent fit for me, so when I was offered the position, I took it.”

What was the hardest thing about transitioning from college to the “real world”? “One of the great things about being a professor is that it doesn’t really feel like the ‘real world’ to me.” Grauke said.  “Maybe that’s because there’s nothing I’d rather be doing with my life.”

What is your proudest accomplishment? Grauke is most proud of his wife and “two wonderful children.”

What is your favorite movie?  “I don’t like to pick favorites of anything, but it might be Peter Bogdanovich’s The Last Picture Show,” Grauke said.  

What is your favorite quote? “Here’s where I’m supposed to offer some wise saying that has led me through life, but instead I’m going to go with something attributed to Tom Waits: ‘I’d rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy,’” Grauke said.

What is your favorite book? As an English professor, Grauke is an avid reader. A few of his favorite fiction writers are Steven Millhauser, Stuart Dybek, Jhumpa Lahiri, Dan Chaon, Lydia Davis, William Trevor and Ron Carlson.

If you could design one course to teach, what would it be? “I think I’m already teaching it—Advanced Fiction Workshop (ENG 405),” Grauke said.

If you could have your students graduate having learned only one lesson, what would it be? “That education should be understood to be a pleasurable, lifelong experience,” Grauke said.

If you could have one superpower, what would it be? “I’d like to be able to stop time so that I could get a few more things done in a day,” he said.

collettaj1@lasalle.edu