Nearly twenty years ago, I was lucky enough to sign up for Larry Weller’s short story class at John Abbott College. These were the days before internet and sites like “Rate Your Teacher.” I had no idea what I was in for. Larry showed up wearing a funny hat, insisting that he wasn’t really Tom Cruise, and could we just stop asking for his autograph. The wise cracks and one-liners continued for the rest of the hour. It was like watching a stand-up comedian and getting credit for it! I thought, I might not learn anything in this class, but at least it will be interesting.

Well, I was right on the interesting, wrong on the learning. He may be a wisecracker, but Larry’s tough. No one gets a free ride in his class, but they get all the extra help they need to succeed. Read his ratings from students and you’ll see that theme repeated over and over.

Larry’s class opened up a whole new world for me. I learned to love great literature and soon to aspire to write it. Most of my stories and poems are a direct or indirect result of  something Larry said, a joke, a story he told me, a book he read. My story “Naked” came from a conversation I had with Larry over lunch. I’ve never been able to go into a gym locker-room again.  Likewise, this month’s New Poetry “Untitled, Like Me” is a Larry inspiration. “Larry’s Shrine,” my story coming soon from Albedo One, is about a strange call Larry once received from an old student after fifteen years. Strange how they keep popping up in his life. The experience of Larry never quite leaves one’s psyche, and at the oddest moments one thinks “I wonder where Larry is.” Truly, it is amazing how he keeps in touch with students from thirty-five years of teaching. He is forever a fountain of inspiration. But don’t take my word for it; read some of the anecdotes from his friends, and comments left by his students.

So let the bells ring out loud. Larry Weller is retiring after a long and impassioned career. The thought saddens me in a way. Larry is a rare gem in the teaching world. But I look forward to what retirement brings. Hopefully, Larry will turn his attention to his own writing. We’ve already seen some of his poetry in these pages, but I’m sure he’s got a novel or two in there, if we ask him nicely.

And do you think it’s a coincidence that Larry looks so much like William Shakespeare, or is it karma?