When it’s time to pick classes for next semester, most of us go to the ratemyprofessor.com to check out potential teachers. As students, we want to make sure we pick classes with professors who are relatively cool, relatable, who will make the class as interesting as possible. Though English professor Brian Oliu fits into all these categories, Rate My Professor doesn’t even begin to describe Oliu’s amazingness. And trust me he’s amazing. (Rumor has it that extra credit on the American Lit II midterm he gave this year was, “Who is in the finals of Wrestlemaina?”)
Students in Oliu’s classes describe him as “the best teacher ever” and “interesting as well as funny”. Even though I’ve never taken one of Oliu’s classes, I had the chance to sit down and chat with him about his life as an Alabama English teacher. I was expecting to meet a regular, serious, much older person – basically your typical English professor. To my surprise, I met a cool, laid back guy that I could have easily mistaken for just an undergrad student. It turns out that Oliu graduated with an MFA not too long ago and now teaches creative writing here at the University. Students in his classes rave about his easygoing personality and take full advantage of his writing experience. If you are wondering how a new English professor has so much writing experience, know that Oliu has already published three novels. One of which is about video games. Yes, video games! Oliu took his inspiration to write Levels End from his obvious love of video games. Video games aren’t the only thing Oliu writes about.
After witnessing the damage and destruction of the April 27th tornado, Oliu wanted to take part in helping the community. He decided to help the city he loved by doing something he loved. Oliu and other writers got together and wrote different pieces about Tuscaloosa and the horrible tragedy. The result was Tuscaloosa Runs This, and that terrible event is what brings this novel to life. Oliu released the book online allowing for donations for tornado relief to be made on the site. The novel has also been recently released in paperback. It’s available for purchase on the site as well as locally at Egan’s Bar on the Strip and Oz Music.
If I could describe Oliu’s attitude about life from just the one conversation we had, it would be to enjoy life and do what you love. It seems that he lives life one day at a time and enjoys every second of it. He’s involved with many things here at the University of Alabama, as well as the community of Tuscaloosa. One thing I did take from our conversation is that Oliu has to constantly be doing something or working on a certain project. He has what feels like millions of projects that he’s working on, and is currently touring the country giving readings. Though he says it’s a lot of work, he wouldn’t want to be doing anything else.
Just as he has done in his classes and in his books, Oliu has the gift of being able to share his thoughts on paper in a way that we as the audience can relate to. His young soul, outgoing personality, and talent have and will always make him very successful in life. If teaching creative writing and the publishing three books is just the beginning of his career, I can’t wait to see what the future holds for Brian Oliu. Even if it means there’s a native of New Jersey running around campus in a track jacket!
Images courtesy of Brian Oliu, www.brianoliu.com