As Long As You Can See the Clock, You’re Okay: South Brooklyn in the 1950s

Grace Zolla Protano is a retired English teacher who lives on Long Island, New York, with her husband Nick. Born and raised in Brooklyn, she incorporates into many of her short stories and poetry the nuances privy to a native of that great borough. Long Island has been Grace’s home for thirty-five years. Her experiences with teaching teenagers for most of that time, raising three teenage daughters, and being a teenager herself in Brooklyn, provide a look into the heart of a kid--with its conflicts, its sadness, and its unbridled silliness. Protano is also the author of ABSENT FROM CLASS and its sequel WHATEVER YOU SAY, CECI, both dealing with teacher burnout.