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==Biography==

==Biography==

Toole was the son of John Dewey Toole (1898-1972) and the former Thelma Ducoing (1901-1984).<ref name=findagrave/> He was educated at McDonough No. 14 Elementary School, Alcee Fortier Senior High School, and, under a National Merit Scholarship, [[Tulane University]], from which he graduated in 1958 with a Bachelor of Arts in English. At the age of sixteen, he wrote his first novel ''The Neon Bible,'' which was ultimately published in 1989 and made into a 1995 film.  In 1959, he obtained a [[Master of Arts]] under a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship in English literature at [[Columbia University]] in [[New York City]].<ref name=lahist>{{cite web|url=https://www.lahistory.org/resources/dictionary-louisiana-biography/dictionary-louisiana-biography-t/|title=Toole, John Kennedy|publisher=''A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography'': Louisiana Historical Association|accessdate=April 22, 2020}}</ref>

Toole was the son of John Dewey Toole, Jr. (1898-1972), and the former Thelma Ducoing (1901-1984).<ref name=findagrave/> He was educated at McDonough No. 14 Elementary School, Alcee Fortier Senior High School, and, under a National Merit Scholarship, [[Tulane University]], from which he graduated in 1958 with a Bachelor of Arts in English. At the age of sixteen, he wrote his first novel ''The Neon Bible,'' which was ultimately published in 1989 and made into a 1995 film.  In 1959, he obtained a [[Master of Arts]] under a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship in English literature at [[Columbia University]] in [[New York City]].<ref name=lahist>{{cite web|url=https://www.lahistory.org/resources/dictionary-louisiana-biography/dictionary-louisiana-biography-t/|title=Toole, John Kennedy|publisher=''A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography'': Louisiana Historical Association|accessdate=April 22, 2020}}</ref>

From 1959 to 1960, Toole taught English at the University of Louisiana at [[Lafayette]], then known as the University of Southwestern Louisiana. The next year, 1960 to 1961, he taught at Hunter College in New York City. He was then drafted into the [[United States Army]] and served in [[Puerto Rico]] as the supervisor of an English training program for recruits who spoke only [[Spanish]].  On returning from the military, Toole taught from 1963 to 1969 at the former St. Mary's Dominican College in New Orleans.<ref name=lahist/>

From 1959 to 1960, Toole taught English at the University of Louisiana at [[Lafayette]], then known as the University of Southwestern Louisiana. The next year, 1960 to 1961, he taught at Hunter College in New York City. He was then drafted into the [[United States Army]] and served in [[Puerto Rico]] as the supervisor of an English training program for recruits who spoke only [[Spanish]].  On returning from the military, Toole taught from 1963 to 1969 at the former St. Mary's Dominican College in New Orleans.<ref name=lahist/>