FORMER KHS STUDENT MATTHEW NOLAN FEATURED ON PBS TELEVISION SERIES ROADTRIP NATION

Nationwide series spotlights how the author defined his own road in life. The life, dreams, and writing career of Matthew Nolan are explored.

Matthew Nolan grew up in Springfield and attended Kickapoo his freshman year (1988). Matthew, poet and author of Crumpled Paper Dolls and Exhuming Juliet, is being featured on the nationwide PBS television documentary series Roadtrip Nation alongside actor Malcolm McDowell, who starred in Stanley Kubrick�s A Clockwork Orange.

Matthew holds his years in Springfield very close to his heart. He would love to have this exciting news shared with his hometown. Although he only attended Kickapoo for one year, he considers it home because he attended with all the friends he grew up with from Cherokee Elementary and Middle School. Matthew is very proud to have attended Kickapoo High School. He credits his hard work ethic and drive to persevere to his time on the football field as a Kickapoo Chief. Some memories are more light-hearted. He remembers going to his first formal dance held in the Kickapoo cafeteria. His date ignored him all night, wouldn�t dance with him and didn�t tell him about the piece of dried shrimp on his tie left over from dinner. Matthew is grateful to the teachers, faculty and coaches who helped and influenced him on his journey.

Roadtrip Nation chronicles Nolan�s journey as a top college student, with all the potential to start a conventional career path, but instead pursuing the road less traveled. In 2003, Nolan moved to New Orleans to live the life of a bohemian artist. He struggled to survive in order to achieve his dream of writing his first book. Members of the Roadtrip Nation team traveled to New Orleans to spend the afternoon with Nolan and to hear his inspirational story. The visit had a significant impact on one team member, Autumn, a recent college graduate, who wants to be a writer.

Nolan wrote his first book Crumpled Paper Dolls: A New Orleans Poet, a book of poetry, prose, and journals. With perseverance, Nolan achieved his dream when he printed up one hundred books to sell out of his bicycle basket in the French Quarter. Soon thereafter, Nolan got an unexpected break from a major bookstore chain, placing his first book between Pablo Neruda and Sylvia Plath on bookstore shelves across the country. His second book, Exhuming Juliet: A New Orleans Poet, a book of poetry, love letters, and journals, is Nolan�s latest contribution to the literary world.

Episodes of Roadtrip Nation air weekly on PBS. Nolan�s episode (Episode Seven) will begin airing in a couple weeks and will rerun thereafter. Airdates and times vary across the country. To find airtimes, check your local PBS listings. Nolan�s episode will be available to view online on October 31, 2010