For over 65 years, Larry Gatlin has been able to call himself a singer-songwriter, a storyteller and a Grammy Award winner.
He’ll soon get to add professor to that list.
In the spring of 2023, Larry, the older sibling of the Gatlin Brothers (which includes Steve and Rudy), will teach at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin under the tile of Professor of Practice, which will be a new master class about storytelling.
The announcement was made during an event Tuesday at the UTPB Student Center.
Gatlin, who lives in Nashville, Tenn. was back in Odessa for the event where he took questions from UTPB President Sandra Woodley and played a few parts from his songs on stage.
“The great novelist Thomas Wolfe wrote a book called ‘You Can’t Go Home Again’ and I don’t think he was right,” Gatlin said. “He was wrong. But it’s a great novel by the way. It’s great to come home. Nashville is my home away from home. Odessa, since third grade has always been my home. The opportunity to come back here and work with Dr. Sandra and all these wonderful people to talk not to them but with them and share things. … I’m glad to be here. everyone’s treated me beautifully, like an old friend.”
Details about the class are still being worked out as Gatlin is expected to teach for a total of eight weeks of the semester.
“He’s going to start in the spring,” Woodley said. “We’re working on maybe an eight-week format and we’ll have those details out soon.”
The class will be open to anyone.
“We’re going to do the master class in such a way that anyone can take it,” Woodley said. “Students can take it if they’re trying to get a credit towards a degree but really anyone can take it. There will be eight evenings where he’ll come together and work on this master class for our community and anyone will be able to take it.”
The Gatlin Brothers grew up in Odessa where all three graduated from Odessa High with Larry graduating in 1966. He attended college at the University of Houston.
Larry talked about how his teachers at Odessa High made him a better storyteller and how it shaped his career.
“I had more great teachers at OHS than I had at the University of Houston,” Larry said. “That’s just the truth. A lot of teachers, your first two years in college are graduate assistants and they darn sure didn’t know as much as Ann Louis Jones, my senior English teacher at Odessa High. I’m grateful. My wife is a teacher, my mom was a teacher. Steve Gatlin my brother is a teacher. His wife Cynthia taught for 30 something years and has gone back full time due to the teaching shortage. I want to just pass along a little of the education that I received in school but the education that I got in the world.”
Woodley talked about how she got in touch with Larry to teach at the university.
“He went to high school here and one of our major friends at the university Lissa Wagner of the Wagner Noel Performing Arts Center said they were classmates in high school,” Woodley said. “He mentioned to Lissa that he was interested in doing some music at the Wagner Noel and she said ‘I know who to talk to’. Larry and I struck up a conversation a few months ago and have been fast friends ever since and we’re just really excited about this opportunity for him to get back into the classroom which is a lifelong dream of his to share his knowledge and expertise with our students and really just anyone who wants to learn about the creative, story-telling process.”
While details about the class schedule are still being worked out, Woodley said they are thrilled to have Larry teach.
“We couldn’t be more thrilled with the partnership with Larry Gatlin,” Woodley said. “He’s a hometown hero and a Grammy award winning singer songwriter and he has a desire to come back to Odessa and give back to this community. To help our students and community leaders understand what it’s like to be creative and what the creative writing process and how to tell a story. He has so much information and wealth of knowledge to share with our students and we’re really excited to welcome him as professor of practice at the university. We see a long partnership with Gatlin in our community to give back for all the success that he’s had in the music industry.”
