Kevin Allardice: Author’s Journey
- Ben Xin
- Jul 29, 2024
- 6 min read
Everyone had at least one dream job at their young age; in fact, no matter when, there are always people pushing their hardest limit for that dream. Sometimes, that dream might change with time. For example, the dream job of a child from elementary school might be artist, but it might turn into a musician after they get into high school. As a result, they might end up being a doctor. Like artists and musicians, these jobs alway grab the curiosity of young people and attract them to learn more about it. However, little did they know that people who ended up with those attractive romantic jobs many times did not even think about that in the beginning at all. Kevin Allardice, author of Family Genus Species and Any Resemblance to Actual Persons, will share his story: begin as an actor, turn into author, and eventually become a teacher.
Allardice was born in Oakland, California, 1982. The first ten years of Allardice’s life was mainly spent in the San Francisco Bay Area. Allardice was a typical middle-class child.
Allardice’s mother was a teacher, and his father was an university administrator, which built a solid base for his path of an educator in the future. At that time, Allardice’s dream job was an actor, which was inspired by his grandfather who had participated in screenwriting.
Allardice and his family later had to move to Colorado because his parents changed jobs.Although Colorado “…was a little different culturally,” Allardice said, but different does not mean bad. Allardice attended high school in Colorado. During his time in high school, Allardice found himself interested in acting and theater. Allardice had a group of friends that were all interested in filmmaking; in fact, they were planning to make a movie together. However, “…I had a small role in that; to be honest, it wasn’t a very good movie,” Allardice said. Even so, he still credited the value of experience that came along. It was when he found out he was interested in writing.
Before completing high school, Allardice also attended some college classes at the University of Colorado. By the end of his high school career, Allardice moved back to California. However, this time, the reason was not only because of his mother’s change in job, but also his pursuit as an actor. Reflecting on Allardice’s acting career and later transition to writing, he noted that he did not lose interest in acting, but found a stronger passion for writing. “Worked as an actor for a few years, and then just eventually just kind of got, not bored with it, just less interested in it,” Allardice said.
After the experience of being an actor, Allardice began to develop a stronger interest in writing. Combining his experience from high school, Allardice realized that his true passion lay not just in performing, but also storytelling. “And around that time I started taking writing a bit more seriously,” Allardice said. During his high school time, Allardice was interested in screenwriting, but then he even actually found fiction writing to be more satisfying. The
reason was simple, Allardice could create and complete works more independently.
After knowing what he wanted, Allardice chose UCLA for his undergraduate studies, primarily due to its convenience, allowing him to continue working without having to uproot his life significantly. During his time in UCLA, Allardice found a supportive community with creative writing workshops. “There was a series of creative writing workshops where I really found professors and fellow students that I really connected with and was introduced to…” Allardice said.
As Allardice finished his journey in UCLA, he was looking for a change and new experiences; therefore, with the interest in storytelling and writing, he decided to pursue a Master of Fine Art (MFA) degree from the University of Virginia.”I was really just looking for something different. I think when I was, you know, younger, the idea of convenience and sort of not having to uproot my life seemed appealing. But then by the time I got a little older, I was really actually looking to uproot my life,” Allardice said. The MFA program introduced Allardice to a new community with similar minds and ambitions, which was crucial for his growth as a writer. This idea did not only inspire Allardice during his time in UCLA, but also throughout his entire life. Staying alive is the basics of the basics for human beings, but that is not the only thing that makes up a meaningful life. No matter if your goal is pursuing a degree or something else, you always need to take a step forward from where you are.
During Allardice’s time pursuing his MFA, he also began teaching. Instead of paying tuition normally, the program required each accepted student to teach a class as a way to pay their tuition. “I just really, really liked it. And I found sort of social aspect of being in the classroom, sort of thinking through ideas and sort of thinking about how to structure things to help other people engage with those ideas…” Allardice said.
Allardice had not only taught in college, but also high school. Each environment offered different challenges and rewards. Allardice described teaching high school as “immersive” due to the constant interaction with students, which it could be both exhausting and rewarding. On the other hand, teaching at college was less immersive but required better use of time due to the less interaction outside of class. “…But in college, it’s like I said: less immersive, but you really have to make that time in the classroom count,” Allardice said.
For the desire of writing, Allardice had by now published five books, and enjoyed the process. In the books Any Resemblance to Actual Person and Family Genus Species both involved the theme “family.” Writing and publishing books allowed Allardice to delve into these themes in depth and share his unique perspective with readers. “I like seeing how a story can wrestle with a familiar problem, and you know that’s one of those subjects that is sort of familiar to everyone…” Allardice said.
Of course, there is no writer in this world who can write with no obstacles, and that applies the same for Allardice. One of the main challenges Allardice encountered was finding sufficient time to write. As both a teacher and an author, Allardice had a difficult time balancing different roles. However, Allardice opened the window when the door was closed. When he was in a grocery store waiting in line, “I remember how revelatory it was when I figured out that I can have Google Docs on my phone and what I’m working on at home can instantly be on my phone…” Allardice said. With the help of technology, Allardice fully overcame those difficulties.
Allardice’s and his wife had met each other since childhood; in fact, they lived next door to each other a children in California before Allardice moved to Colorado. They reconnected years later when Allardice moved back. Allardice’s wife is also involved in creative writing, and she is a professor at the University of Iowa.
Out of that many titles, Allardice likes being called as an “author” the most. “…it’s kind of what sustains me, sort of the thing that occupies my mind most of the time,” Allardice said. When giving suggestions to other writers, Allardice suggested that you should always maintain a constant writing practice, and many times it would not be physical, which means that “…make your writing just occupy a constant space in your brain,” Allardice said. Although sometimes when writing you will subconsciously use other people’s ideas, Allardice encourages writers to enjoy the process of trying to emulate works they admire. This will eventually lead to your own unique voice.
Allardice also acknowledged that there are multiple paths to become an author, and the path he walked—MFA—was just one of them. As mentioned, during Allardice’s time pursuing MFA, he entered a community with lots of people that have similar thoughts with him. He appreciated the opportunity and web, and learned a lot from them. Not only that, experience of pursuing MFA also helped Allardice gain many skills such as knowing how important it is to finish what you start with. “…golfing to a graduate program, there’s like deadlines and due dates,” Allardice said. “…I think they were very helpful for me at the time because they taught me how to finish something.”
Allardice places importance on finding joy in the present, small, and everyday moments. He values the process of creating and small joys it brings, regardless of the long-term outcome. “Even if what I’m working on or all of this doesn’t go anywhere, it doesn’t wind up,” Allardice said. Allardice also believes people should find new meaning when old structures fall away.
Although many people encourage others to try their best to get their dream job when they want to do something else, how can we know that job is for sure the wrong one for that person? Allardice’s story told us that switching your goal sometimes is not a bad decision, but what is important is what are you going to do after you switch it.
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