Writing who we are – as connected to the places we’re from and where we are now
This space is a place for rural and (non)rural teachers (really, teachers from anywhere) to process and re-story their place-connected personal and professional identities through writing and art.
As a rural teacher, and as a rural person in general, I’ve always felt like no one really cares about my story. Or that my story didn’t matter very much. But the more I work with rural teachers and rural out-migrant teachers, the more I come to realize just how untrue that is. So, I’ve made this space for us to tell our stories and explore how we’re all connected to place(s).
I’d love to hear your story, so please reach out if you’d like to contribute!
Lariat by Rohan Mahapatra | Honorable Mention 2025 Rural Teen Writing Contest
Salt stubbornly clung to the air, even through the flames. Its pungency folded into smoke, filling frayed edges of my memory. Amongst brackish clouds of rubble whipping around me, a metal tang lurked, ambushing my tongue. Sweat climbed my back warily, as if even it feared the ominous column of heat. The farm house Grandpop…
The Last Well-Reader by Lleyton Michael Kane | Runner-Up 2025 Rural Teen Writing Contest
By the second week without rain, the ground had begun to show its seams. Hairline cracks at first, then wider ones that caught the edges of boot soles and held them a moment too long. Livestock gathered at the troughs earlier each morning, standing with the uneasy patience of creatures that know more than the…
soul river, bone dry by Maxwell Harris | Winner 2025 Rural Teen Writing Contest
it isn’t supposed to be so hot this far into september, but still i stand outside the neighborhood grocery, my hands too full of swollen paper bags to wipe at the oil-sweat-dirt compound smeared across my forehead. instead my glands soak through my soles and into the asphalt underfoot, and i return a part of…
Rachel Bird by Becky Citra | Author Talk
Today’s episode is brought to you by…the snow day! It’s been another long while since I posted an episode of my podcast. Being back in the secondary classroom has left me still trying to find my groove. But! Today’s snow day seemed like the perfect opportunity to edit and post another episode. Thanks, Snow! It…
Book Review: NO SON OF MINE by Jonathan Corcoran | Kathleen M. Jacobs
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.
Golden Boys by Phil Stamper | Author Talk
Celebrating PRIDE in rural places with Phil Stamper with my first episode in a while. Hope you’ll join us.
Spinning Toward the Sun Donates 100% of Profits to Rebuild Asheville After Hurricane Helene
Spinning Toward the Sun: Essays on Writing, Resilience, and the Creative Life is a new collection of essays curated by editor, Nora Shalaway Carpenter. A diverse range of celebrated authors, including yours truly, have contributed essays on writing, resilience, and the power of community when facing hardship. Contributing authors offer everything from personal stories to practical…
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 was…
Announcing the 2024 Winners of the Whippoorwill Award for Rural Young Adult and Middle Grade Literature
This is the fourth cycle of the Whippoorwill Award for Rural Young Adult and Middle Grade Literature, and it has been an eventful one. The Award has recently moved to be housed by The Rural Assembly on English Language and Literacy Education (TRAELLE, pronounced “trail”). TRAELLE is an assembly of educators through the National Council…
Vicious Is My Middle Name by Kevin Dunn | Author Talk
In this episode, Whippoorwill Award winner Kevin Dunn and I talk about the importance of rural voices in publishing, the impact that transactions of place have on identity, and the connection between DIY punk and rural culture. To learn more about Kevin Dunn: https://www.kcdunn.com/ For more info on the Whippoorwill Award for Rural YA and…
TRAELLE & WHIPPOORWILL TO JOIN FORCES
If you’ve been following along on this little journey of mine, you likely already know that I (with the help of Rebekah Buchanan and other amazing colleagues) started The Rural Assembly of English Language and Literacy Education through the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) as a home for rural ELA teachers and teacher…
Vicious Is My Middle Name by Kevin Dunn | Book Talk
In this episode, I sit down with my buddy, Brian Brady, to talk about the Whippoorwill Award winning Vicious Is My Middle Name by Kevin Dunn which is about Sydney Vicious Talcott and her efforts to derail the construction of an asphalt plant in her new home in Appalachia. Here’s the jacket copy summary: With…
Rural Teen Writing Contest Portal is Open: Middle Schoolers Welcome!
When I began The Rural Teen Writing Contest, I wasn’t sure how it would go, so I began by opening the contest to only high school students in grades 9-12. Well, this year, that’s changing! The Literacy In Place Rural Teen Writing Contest is officially open to rural writers in grades 6 – 12! This…
Finding My Unicorn
Welp, it’s been a minute or two since I posted a blog or published a podcast episode, and there’s a really good reason for that. You’re looking at the new middle school language and humanities teacher of Oak Farm Montessori School. I’ve been back in the classroom and finishing out my contract with Purdue and…
Read Appalachia Collaboration | March 2024 Book Recommendations
I’ve recently been working on a memoir in verse about my time pollinating corn in the Indiana corn fields as a teenager. It started as a way to say goodbye to my Papaw who passed away in February of 2022, and writing felt like thievery. I have three young kids, my Literacy In Place website,…
Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.
Get new content delivered directly to your inbox.
Dr. Parton's Literacy In Place 