Who: Tom Montgomery Fate.
Where: Chicago, Illinois, United States.
What: Tom’s a graduate of the Nonfiction Writing Program at the University of Iowa and Chicago Theological Seminary. He’s a professor of English at College of DuPage, in Chicago, where he also lives with his wife Carol and their 3 children.
Tom has written 5 books of nonfiction: Beyond the White Noise, a collection of essays, Steady and Trembling, a spiritual memoir, and Cabin Fever, a nature memoir that just came out this year.
His essays have appeared in The Chicago Tribune, The Boston Globe, The Baltimore Sun, Orion, Iowa Review, Fourth Genre, Riverteeth, Sojourners, Christian Century, and many other journals and anthologies; and they regularly air on National Public Radio and Chicago Public Radio.
In their Words:
What do you consider most valuable about your time at La Muse?
The focused time to write in a lovely setting with wonderful artist-comrades. John and Kerry are wonderful hosts, and being artists/writers themselves, they know how to create an environment where both creativity and generosity can flourish.
Tell us, in a sentence or two, about the project you were focused on while at La Muse.
I was working on a nature memoir, for which I’ve since received a book contract (Beacon Press).
What advice would you give future residents?
Get to know the town and the building and the garden and the little river and the mountain. You don’t have to go anywhere. I didn’t have a car and seldom left, but was very happy—even in February.
Describe the best meal you ate while at La Muse.
We had a short story writer chef who was a wonderful cook—Robert. He prepared many, many wonderful meals.
We’re delighted that Cabin Fever, the nature memoir Tom was working on at La Muse just came out at the beginning of June. You can check it out here on Amazon, or read an excerpt from the book on his publisher’s blog.
