Brian Platzer, author of ‘The Optimists,’ reveals his novel’s inspiration

Brian Platzer is a middle-school teacher and author of “The Optimists,” among other books. He was the education columnist for The Atlantic, and his writing has appeared in The New York Times, The New Yorker, and New York Magazine.

Q. Please tell readers about your new book.

“The Optimists” is narrated by Mr. Keating, a retired eighth-grade English teacher who spent his career perfecting a grammar exam, telling knock-knock jokes, and rooting for the Yankees. He’s trying to tell the story of Clara...