W.K. Lawrence
William K. Lawrence was born in Bay Shore, New York and was raised on Long Island. He has also lived in Oregon, Virginia, Rhode Island, Florida, & North Carolina.
His fiction is published as Billy, as he’s known to his family and closest friends. The Punk and the Professor (2017) is his third written but first published novel. 89 Days (2019) is an exploration of the novel containing excerpts, outtakes, and essays. Highway Zero (2023) is the sequel. A third book in the series is currently in progress.
As WK, his poetry has been published in a growing list of national and international literary journals. He is the author of a trilogy of chapbooks in the 2000s, and three full collections of poems State of Love and Trust (2005), Punk Poetry (2016), and Revolution (2018).
Lawrence has worked in education for the past twenty-three years. He has written and lectured about issues that affect at-risk and first-generation college students. His doctorate is from Northeastern University, and he holds Masters degrees from George Washington University, SUNY Stony Brook, and Long Island University. His undergrad studies focused on literature and the history of Rock 'N Roll at Portland State University in Oregon. He currently lives in NC and teaches at NC State University.
Read some of his essays at MEDIUM.
The Punk and the Professor
Set in the suburban shadows of New York City as the 1980s crash into the ‘90s, The Punk and the Professor brings us into the troubled world of a young introvert. Jack Tortis is an underdog branded as a punk in a place where sameness is celebrated. Destined to be a dropout laborer like his estranged father, he clings to hope and fights against a tide of dysfunction as obstacles spring up around him. In a battle for survival, Jack is faced with three options—fall into the street life, join the world of service labor, or fight his way through school.
89 Days
Like his character Jack Tortis in the novel The Punk and the Professor, author Billy Lawrence dropped out of high school for 89 days. This book provides reflection on both the novel and the author’s real life experiences as a dropout, a returning student, and then later as a teacher. 89 Days continues the novel’s examination of family, school, and community. This collection also serves as a great introduction to the novel for those who haven’t yet read the book. Included are two nonfiction essays, three new chapter outtakes cut from the final novel, five story excerpts from the novel in revised formats, and a preview chapter from the sequel.
Punk Poetry
This 71 poem collection explores the personal and the political. Part I (People We Knew) focuses on the past and pain of being a misunderstood youth, and touches on characters from the novel The Punk and the Professor. Part II (War Poems From the Back of the Ambulance) and Part III (The American Dream) both explore the dysfunction of American policy. Part IV (More Punk Protests) continues to explore the death penalty, exploitation of animals and nature, & other themes.