“Meet the Teacher” offers a quick introduction to the talented writers who teach for The Porch. Today we welcome Nathan Spoon, an utistic poet and author of The Importance of Being Feeble-Minded (Nine Mile Books, 2025). His poems and essays have appeared in American Poetry Review, Gulf Coast, Poetry, Poetry Daily, The Southern Review, swamp pink, and elsewhere. Nathan currently lives in Nashville, Tennessee.

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Tell us about a book you've recently read and enjoyed. 

‍Novice by Nida Sophasarun. This is a debut collection that has the feeling of gathering poems written over many years, as I believe they were.

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What’s one book or essay you return to again and again to help you think about writing, get inspired, etc.?

Emily Dickinson’s Poems: As She Preserved Them, edited by Cristanne Miller.

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What is your favorite writing rule to break?

Whichever rule I find myself wondering if I can break at the moment.

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Music while writing: Y/N? 

No. With music on, I would feel tempted to give it some degree of attention when I need to give all my attention to writing.

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What do you love most about teaching writing?

I love seeing others surprise themselves by doing things they didn’t know they could.

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For you, why does creative writing matter? 

I believe creative writing connects us to each other and to the world while providing opportunities to grow.

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Tell us why you pitched your upcoming class or classes. 

As a multiply-neurodivergent poet and artist, I love building community for neurodivergent creatives. I pitched this class as a way of exploring this passion and of seeing the magic of neurodivergent space.

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Share something that has inspired your creativity lately.

I get a lot of inspiration from nature and the change of seasons. I especially love fall, and am currently obsessed with a massive pumpkin vine growing in our front yard. This thing is ridiculously all over the place. I love it because I love seeing things get out of hand in good ways.

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Thanks, Nathan! On Saturday, Nov.. 1, 2025, Nathan Spoon will teach "Sparking Creativity for Neurodivergent Writers."