Professorial changes this semester are not abnormal, but it is not often that a professor is replaced with an Emmy-Award winning television writer and producer.
After the Creative Writing Program Director, Richard Pelster-Wiebe went on sabbatical for personal reasons, Matt Goldman became the new professor for the Creative Writing class Special Topics: Screenwriting.
“I made the decision to not teach my fall classes and try to find a replacement,” Pelster-Wiebe said. “Immediately, without hesitation, the first and only person, quite frankly, that came to mind was Matt.”
Goldman had previously taken a class in the Creative Writing departments MFA program during the pandemic, where Pelster-Wiebe was his professor. From the get-go, Goldman had stood out amongst the crowd.  “Immediately, it was obvious that this was someone who was incredibly, you know, humble and thoughtful for someone that has his accomplishments and stature to be like, ‘hey I want to go back to school and take more classes,’” Pelster-Wiebe said.
Not only has Goldman written and produced on a variety of big name shows, such as “Seinfield” , Dirk Gently’s “Holistic Detective Agency” and a childhood classic, “Wizards of Waverly Place”, but he is also a New York Times bestselling author. His novel “A Good Family” is the latest in his collection of published works.
Although this is Goldman’s first time teaching a class at Hamline, he has already made his mark on the department. Not only will his experience benefit his students, but his passion for screenwriting and learning will further the lessons learned.
“I really want the students to learn what it’s like to be a working writer. And this is a screenwriting class, so it’s about screenwriting, but a lot of it is about writing in general,” Goldman said, “There are a million books and websites and lectures out there that teach you about screenwriting, but very few of them are taught by people who actually do it.”
One of Goldman’s main goals for this semester is to give his students real life experiences and to really see what it is like to be in this field. He is even going out of his way to provide the most accurate experience he can for his students within a classroom setting.
“It’s possible, but I haven’t reached out to them yet, but I would love to get some of the theater people to come in and do a table read of one of the scripts,” Goldman said. “[Then] the students can get a feeling of what it’s like to hear their word read and hear what works and doesn’t then go into a revision process.”
Not only is Goldman giving his students real-world skills within the screenwriting and writing profession, he is showing his students the important reality of writers in a modern age.
“Matt is someone who, you know, worked his way up through the industry as a writer, writing for television, then he started writing novels,” Pelster-Wiebe said. “I think that is the kind of thing that is really important: to show our students that practicing writers like Matt, he perfectly exemplifies that they can be shapeshifters.”
Despite being a well known name within the writing community, Goldman is not finished learning. There is something remarkable about a person who goes back to take classes even after working in a field for over thirty years.
“This is someone who is really on a quest, a journey to think about the complexities and nuances of the human condition of artmaking,” Pelster-Wiebe said.
Outside of the content of the class itself, Goldman is open about the importance of the strikes happening in Hollywood. He has been a part of three strikes throughout his career, starting in the late 90s, to the mid 2000s, and now in 2023.
“So it’s really important the strike that’s going on, and I think it’ll be a long one,” Goldman said. “ I think one of the advantages for the classes is that there are writers in town who wouldn’t normally be here and because of the strike they are, and hopefully they’ll be able to come in and talk to students.”
With Goldman’s experience in the field and his genuine interest in helping out student writers, he’s gained a lot of respect amongst creative writing students.
“He’s able to give us lots of good insight about not only the craft of writing itself, but also the business around screenwriting,” senior Creative Writing major Ethan McClanahan said. “I suppose pitching and what not. Mostly in terms of how we format our screenplays or organize them to be gripping right from the start.”
Despite Goldman having a particular niche within the writing field, it is clear that he supports all students and their writings, no matter the genre or style. However, for McClanahan, Goldman’s particular experience writing for Seinfeld will benefit him in the end, as Goldman has direct experience in the style of screenplay McClanahan is focusing on.
Although writing as a whole is difficult, Goldman wants to provide a space for students to really explore the field and try everything and anything without a fear of judgment.
“I just want it to be a safe space for people to come in with their ideas and explore their ideas and get encouraging feedback because writing is hard for everyone. It’s hard in the beginning, it’s hard as you get older,’ Goldman said.