Editor’s Note: This is the first of a series of Pitt professor profiles. Students who would… Editor’s Note: This is the first of a series of Pitt professor profiles. Students who would like to see certain professors featured are encouraged to call or e-mail the news desk at (412) 648-7983 or [email protected].

In an otherwise unassuming coffee shop in Shadyside, Lee Gutkind sat in a brown chair in the middle of the store. He certainly wasn’t relaxing. He sat, discussing one of a multitude of his projects with Tiki, a woman from his “Creative Nonfiction” journal, which is regarded in the writing community as the first and now most distinguished literary magazine devoted to creative nonfiction.

“You can find Lee there often,” said friend and colleague Bruce Dobler. “He always stays to his schedule.”

Lee wakes up at 4:30 a.m. every day and begins writing. “I’m always working on something,” he said. “Maybe it’s a sequel to ‘Forever Fat [Essays by the Godfather],’ or the immersion into robotics I’m working on at [Carnegie Mellon University], or even just a personal essay.” Gutkind also claims to be the first one to get coffee at Starbucks, which opens at 6 a.m.

At 7 a.m., he takes a break from his strict regimen to wake his son, Ben. From there, they head to Ritter’s Diner at about 7:30 a.m. and have breakfast before Ben goes to school.

After that, break time is over. Gutkind continues to write until about 11 a.m., at which point he usually focuses on the “Creative Nonfiction Journal.” After that, he might move on to any of a number of activities.

“One thing about Lee is that he is modest. He could be just back from Geneva, [Switzerland,] and you would never know,” Dobler said. “I wouldn’t have known of half of his accomplishments if they weren’t listed on his Web site.”

Gutkind maintains a Web site for his journal at creativenonfiction.org.

When he’s not creating and maintaining a whole new genre of writing, Gutkind works for his Alma Mater, Pitt. As the former director of the writing program and current professor, Gutkind keeps himself involved in many aspects of writing. “There isn’t anything else in the world that made me happy.”

“When I was editor of The Pitt News, Lee [Gutkind] did a lot to help keep the paper independent,” said Cris Hoel, who, among other things, is an attorney who represents The Pitt News. “He didn’t need three Ivy League degrees to make a difference. Lee is more accomplishments, not pedigree.”

In fact, Lee grew up in Pittsburgh, in the neighborhoods of Greenfield and Squirrel Hill. As a kid, he was picked on for being overweight. “For my bar mitzvah, I had to get a size 44 wool suit,” Gutkind recalled. “I realized I was bigger than all of the elders, and they were five times my age.”

Gutkind left for the National Guard in Atlantic City, N.J., not long after high school – which he “left at 230 pounds.” In his book, “Forever Fat,” he recounted the abuse one black compatriot received from a racist drill sergeant, and how that inspired him to overcome his own struggles.

“I came slim with a flat-top hair cut,” Gutkind said. “I could never get my hair to stick up before. I was a new man.”

After his term of service, Gutkind chose to follow his dream of riding around the country on a motorcycle. Soon after, he turned that experience into a book, titled “Bike Fever, An Examination of the Motorcycle Subculture.”

Gutkind received his bachelor’s degree in general studies from Pitt and has been a teacher here since 1970. Throughout his career, he has written several books, including “The Art of Creative Nonfiction,” “The Best Seat in Baseball, But You Have to Stand!” and “The People of Penn’s Woods West.” He also has a Web site, www.leegutkind.com.

But there was one moment that really stands out in his career. “It changed my life in many ways,” he said.

In 1996, on an otherwise normal day, Gutkind received a call from a friend, who directed him to the latest copy of Vanity Fair. In this magazine, writer James Wolcott declared Gutkind to be the “godfather behind creative nonfiction” as part of a rant Wolcott wrote about his distaste for modern forms of writing.

“I was embarrassed. I mean, he was attacking me; I think he even called me a human octopus,” Gutkind recalled. “I had been writing for years, but this was a wake-up call for me. I went from being a writer whose work no one reads to the godfather. I also learned that, while good publicity is good, bad publicity is also good.”

After that, there was nowhere to go but up. Gutkind has given speeches and workshops in Paris, Australia and Geneva, and at Harvard. He has even appeared on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”

“If you want a role model as a writer, this is him,” Dobler said. “He’s a pro.”

As a teacher at Pitt, Gutkind is involved in all aspects of the curriculum, building the largest and most competitive masters of the fine arts, MFA, for creative nonfiction in the country. “He’s a very serious and demanding teacher because it’s a serious and demanding world,” Dobler said. “He means it [writing] to be a lifestyle.”

Gutkind had such an impact on people that a Pittsburgh city council member got a resolution passed making the week of Nov. 2 “Creative Nonfiction Week” because he had enjoyed Gutkind’s book “Forever Fat.”

“I started out wanting to write fiction,” Gutkind said, “but I didn’t think I had experienced life enough to do it well, so I wanted to spend time in the world.”

Dobler elaborated on Gutkind’s ability by discussing an experience Gutkind had while writing “Many Sleepless Nights: the World of Organ Transplantation,” a look into the world of organ donors.

“When Lee [Glutkind] was working on that book, he did everything with the doctor,” he said. “He was in scrubs, he was even handed a clamp once. He gave it back, I believe, but it just goes to show you how well he blended in. He was a perfect ‘fly on the wall.'”