Thanks to Kathy Jacobs for bringing No Son of Mine by Jonathan Corcoran to my attention and for her review which highlights the struggle of rural folks who at once love their place while also seeing its flaws and sometimes being othered by it.
Category Archives: Guest Contributions
Rural America’s Lovely Intangibles | Kathleen M. Jacobs
It’s a New Year, and we’re starting with a new guest contribution from West Virginia author, Kathleen M. Jacobs. In this piece, Jacobs reflects on things that are hard to put your finger on but make rural living worthwhile. Thanks, Kathy, for helping Literacy In Place start the New Year off right! When I wasContinue reading “Rural America’s Lovely Intangibles | Kathleen M. Jacobs”
“What’s Your Favorite Tractor of All Time?”: Rural Literacies on TikTok | Layne Ilderton
As I relaxed on social media one evening, a video suddenly stopped my scroll. It was titled “WYFTOAT” (standing for “What’s your favorite tractor of all time?”) and showcased a multitude of young students at a Future Farmers of America convention, all detailing their favorite tractors rapid-interview style. As I watched and beamed, memories ofContinue reading ““What’s Your Favorite Tractor of All Time?”: Rural Literacies on TikTok | Layne Ilderton”
Harvesting the Seeds of Storytelling | Kathleen M. Jacobs
First a note from Chea: I met Kathleen Jacobs through my first foray into social media posting when I began Literacy In Place. She was an instant supporter of my work and I of hers. She has written a number of books for young people that reflect the experiences of rural young people and theirContinue reading “Harvesting the Seeds of Storytelling | Kathleen M. Jacobs”
Read Appalachia Collaboration | July Book Recommendations
Exciting new things are happening here at Literacy In Place! I’m beyond tickled to announce that I’m teaming up with Kendra Winchester at Read Appalachia! I have been a huge Read Appalachia and Kendra Winchester fan for a while now, and as I’ve followed her stellar work, I noticed that she never really ventured intoContinue reading “Read Appalachia Collaboration | July Book Recommendations”
Happy Second Anniversary, Literacy In Place!
Confession: I’m terrible at remembering anniversaries. I know that the stereotype would have you believe that because I’m a woman I get all bent out of shape when my husband forgets ours, but that’s just not the case. Every year Ravi and I both remember a week or so after the anniversary has passed, andContinue reading “Happy Second Anniversary, Literacy In Place!”
Reflections on Rural Author Visits | An Interview with Laura Parker
As part of Allison Strange’s win of the Rural Teen Writing Contest, her creative writing class, led by her teacher, Laura Parker, received an author visit from multiple award-winning author Jeff Zentner (The Serpent King, In the Wild Light). I was fortunate enough to get to sit in on that virtual visit and hear hisContinue reading “Reflections on Rural Author Visits | An Interview with Laura Parker”
In-Migrant by Ben Lathrop
On July 7, 2021, the day that two semis arrived at the ramshackle 1889 three-story home we’d purchased in Attica, Indiana (pop. 3,100), carrying all the belongings our family of seven had accumulated over the past 17 years, the family across the street—Randy, Ann, Susan, and Alex—showed up with a pan of homemade lasagna (allContinue reading “In-Migrant by Ben Lathrop”
Missing Clarissa | A Review by Heather Matthews
Title: Missing Clarissa Author: Ripley Jones Publisher: Wednesday Books (imprint of Macmillan) Publication date: March 7, 2023 Recent YAL trends have been following what seems to be a new and nontraditional American pastime of indulging in true crime podcasts. Novels like Sadie (Summers, 2018), I Hope You’re Listening (Ryan, 2020), and A Good Girl’s GuideContinue reading “Missing Clarissa | A Review by Heather Matthews”
“Fate for a Cat” by Allison Strange
2022 Winner | Rural Teen Writing Contest Of course, no one can promise that your leaves will stay green and the frost doesn’t devastate your harvest. Of course, this is only speculation; fate has a grip on us that even the heartiest sun cannot unshackle. Eden learned this fast when her strawberries met their endContinue reading ““Fate for a Cat” by Allison Strange”
“Heart Strings” by Kevin Evilsizer
Runner-Up | Rural Teen Writing Contest Looking out the window I see the faint light of the sun cresting the horizon. The lush green fields are ever so slightly kissed by the colorful mix of the morning sunrise. My father is already up and about feeding the animals out in the distance. I get upContinue reading ““Heart Strings” by Kevin Evilsizer”
“Roof Top Farmer” by Luke Urban
2022 Honorable Mention | Rural Teen Writing Contest Rain pellted against a glass window. “Another storm?” I mumbled. This meant another day wasted instead of working on rotating our crops and animals. How that works is, one season, we have the crops planted in an area and lets say chickens in another. The next season,Continue reading ““Roof Top Farmer” by Luke Urban”
New Year, New Feature | A Call for Rural YA/MG Book Reviews
Although I didn’t do a formal year in review this year (I’ll probably do one in June for the site’s anniversary), I’m always looking at what our guest contributors, YA authors, and I have been accomplishing through various Literacy In Place facets. Because I started this site with the intention of helping pre- and in-serviceContinue reading “New Year, New Feature | A Call for Rural YA/MG Book Reviews”
Guest Post | A rural out-migrant’s kinship with displaced people
By: Jennifer C. Mann I am so excited and grateful for this week’s guest post! I started this blog hoping it would be a place where folks would do the very thing Jennifer Mann is doing here–reflecting on how their rural upbringing and identity are intertwined with their identities as teachers (and/or students). I identifiedContinue reading “Guest Post | A rural out-migrant’s kinship with displaced people”
Preserving Rural History & Lifeways | Tipton County Library
In April of 2017, Mamaw gave me a book that contained a chapter written by her mom, my Granny (Garnet Pryor). I was still relatively young when my Granny died, and as is usually the case, hadn’t thought to ask her about her growin’ up years. Instead, I played with her homemade dolls, ate herContinue reading “Preserving Rural History & Lifeways | Tipton County Library”
Guest Post | Gretchen Schroeder
I’m so excited for this guest contribution! I’ve written on here quite a bit about my own efforts to work through and understand my identity as a rural person who is now an out-migrant. I’ve also discussed my analysis of the tensions in rural identity in Nora Shalaway Carpenter‘s short story “Close Enough”. Which reallyContinue reading “Guest Post | Gretchen Schroeder”
The Whippoorwill Book Award for Rural YA Literature
For those of you following along, you may know that I am ecstatic to have recently become a member of the Whippoorwill Book Award selection committee. When I saw this award come on the scene a few years ago, I was so excited that there was someone out there finding Rural YAL and taking itContinue reading “The Whippoorwill Book Award for Rural YA Literature”
Guest Post | How can rural libraries better serve young adult readers?
Novels like Jojo Moyes’s The Giver of Stars, Kathleen M. Jacobs’s Sophie and the Book Mobile, and Kim Michele Richardson’s The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek all highlight the importance of books to rural readers and the lengths folks have been willing to go, to make sure that there were books in rural spaces toContinue reading “Guest Post | How can rural libraries better serve young adult readers?”
Guest Post | What does it mean for higher education to be rural located and rural serving?
Recently, both The Chronicle of Higher Education and Inside Higher Education reported on research that is working to identify and define institutions of higher education that are rural located and rural serving. In this week’s blog, Dr. Casey T. Jakubowski responds to and offers critiques of these efforts, questioning who the work really serves. OfferingContinue reading “Guest Post | What does it mean for higher education to be rural located and rural serving?”
Our First Guest Contribution!
This week’s blog post is a special one: It’s LIP’s first GUEST CONTRIBUTION (!) and it’s from our volunteer-extraordinaire – Anna Grace. In it, she discusses and details her continued efforts to define what it means to be rural. After recalling a story from her high-school days, Anna walks us through her experiences as anContinue reading “Our First Guest Contribution!”
Tell Us Your Story
First, a story about stories Today, I talked to my dad. True to form he was in his car, parked at the local Moose Lodge, and smoking a cigarette. I suppose in that moment he seemed quite the rural hillbilly stereotype. As we talked, he told me stories of stories. In particular, he recounted oneContinue reading “Tell Us Your Story”
Dr. Parton's Literacy In Place 