Teachers as Arts Practitioners (TAPs) Project: Artist Spotlight | Rick Kirtland, Assistant Principal Inclusion and Welfare in the Primary school

Purnima Ruanglertbutr | TAPs Project Lead | Secondary English Teacher

The Teachers as Arts Practitioners (TAPs) Artist Spotlight

The Teachers as Arts Practitioners (TAPs) Artist Spotlight series offers a glimpse into the artistic journeys of staff participating in the TAPs Continued Professional Learning (CPL) programme.

In this edition, I speak with Rick Kirtland, Assistant Principal Inclusion and Welfare in the Primary school, and author of The Epic Adventures of Max & Uncle: The Prehistoric Problem. Rick shares his inspiration, creative process, and how his experiences as an educator influence his storytelling.

Rick will be reading extracts from his new book live at the TAPs exhibition launch party on Friday, 31st January, between 3:00–6:00 pm. Audiences can enjoy live performances and explore the artworks in the exhibition, Patana Canvases: Unveiling the Artistic Practices of Our Community, which will run from Wednesday, 29th January, to Friday, 7th February 2025. The exhibition features an inspiring showcase of works by over 30 academic and business staff members from across the school.

1. Tell us about your creative hobbies and passions outside of school.

In terms of creative hobbies and passions outside of school, it’s got to be writing really. Of course, I love reading, too. I’ll read pretty much anything (although I’m not a great fan of romance or dystopian drama). My favourite genres are probably thrillers or decent and authentic historical fiction.

2. You have recently published a new book, The Epic Adventures of Max & Uncle: The Prehistoric Problem. Could you tell us about the book and what inspired you to write it?

I’ve always been interested in art and in writing. As a kid, I was always drawing (on myself!) or writing something – usually just little excerpts from narratives or ideas that popped up in my mind. Only later, when I was at university, did I take writing more seriously, as I started writing lyrics for the band I was in. They were pretty terrible, to be honest! And the name of the band was no better: Man Bites Dog.

A few years later, while studying again at university, this time for my PGCE, we were asked to write the beginning of a story which involved a young protagonist – and that is when The Epic Adventures of Max & Uncle was actually born. However, I didn’t come back to it until decades later, when I rediscovered it and decided to write it out in full.

3. Max is a mischievous and kind-hearted character. How did you develop his personality, and why do you think readers will connect with him?

Well, Max is something of an archetype – the stereotypical mischievous boy who is always underperforming, always dancing on the edge of disaster, and usually just about wily enough to scrape through. Most children, and adults, can identify with this type of character, as most of us have been to school with someone similar. Perhaps we were a child like Max ourselves! (Not me, of course; I was always positively angelic.)

The book is written in the first person, from Max’s perspective, which helps to draw readers in and feel as if they are standing in Max’s shoes (although Max loses his shoes halfway through the book).

4. Several characters in your book draw inspiration from real life. How did your personal experiences shape these characters, and what do you hope readers will take away from them?

There are actually only a small number of characters in the book, Max and his uncle being the main ones. As we have already discussed Max, we can talk a little about his ‘mad’ Uncle Malcolm, who is loosely based on my own uncle.

There are various aspects of Uncle Malcolm’s home and character that resonate with my real-life experiences. For example, the constant half-light inside the house with the curtains half-drawn; the soggy sandwiches; the heating always turned up, even in summer, and the windows left open; the continual pipe smoking; the constant presence of cats… While my own uncle wasn’t a crazy inventor, he was… how does one put it politely? Bonkers.

5. What does your writing process look like, and how do you balance it with your role as an Assistant Principal? Do you have a specific routine or practice that helps you stay creative and motivated as a writer?

Well, I don’t really have a strategy or routine. Perhaps if I was writing full-time I would need to, but for now, I just write whenever I can. I always seem to be motivated to write children’s stories and never seem to have a problem creating the ideas. The issue is having enough time to write them all down properly given all the other competing demands in life! Let’s just say, I have more ideas for different books that I am hoping I will finally manage to manifest in the future.

6. What has been the most rewarding part of seeing your book come to life and sharing it with readers?

The most rewarding part is hearing how much children enjoy the story. Simple. It’s great when a child tells you their favourite part, and you think, Yes! So it DID work the way I wanted it to! I guess that’s very satisfying, as you never really know how well a story will land until you release it into the wild.

7. How has your professional background as an educator influenced your perspective on writing for children and the themes you explore?

I don’t really know, to be honest. The privilege of working with children certainly gives us incredible daily insights into how they perceive things, what they like, and what they find funny, which is important. I guess I’ve been teaching so long that I – like so many of us in this field – understand what makes children tick.

The Epic Adventures of Max & Uncle doesn’t even pretend to deal with any specific issues – it’s simply a rip-roaring roller coaster of a ride that’s designed to make children laugh.

8. You mentioned laying the groundwork for a potential second book. Could you share more about the next possible adventure for Max and Uncle, or other genres or story ideas you’d like to explore in the future?

The second book is currently in skeleton form. At present, I am not seriously marketing this first book at all, so I have no idea what the uptake will be. It all really depends on word-of-mouth. If it turns out that this first book is a great success, I’ll start penning the second and release it as soon as possible.

All I can say is the second installment will be set at a key point in the history of Ancient Rome where there will be plenty more silly shenanigans, hair-raising adventures, and a plethora of problems for the slightly dysfunctional duo to solve in an effort to get back to the present before they’re erased from history forever.

In terms of other projects: Yes, I have a couple of things in the pipeline. We may be speaking again in future!

If you’d like to purchase The Epic Adventures of Max & Uncle: The Prehistoric Problem, you can visit Amazon. If you do so, Rick will highly appreciate a review on Goodreads.

You can also borrow a copy from our Primary School library.

Happy reading!