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!
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 his…
Allison Strange | Author Talk
In this episode, I sit down to talk with the winner of the Literacy In Place Rural Teen Writing Contest, Allison Strange, about her winning story, “Fate for a Cat.” We talk about how her rural background has inspired her as a writer, her writing process, and she gives some sage advice to would-be submitters…
I wrote a book (!)…
It doesn’t seem real, and probably won’t until I actually have a physical copy in my hands, but I wrote a book, y’all! Country Teachers in City Schools: The Challenge of Negotiating Identity and Place will be published by Lexington, an imprint of Rowman & Littlefield in May of 2023. It is based on my…
Fate for a Cat by Allison Strange | Ep. 2 Teaching Ideas
In this episode, I talk about how I would use Allison Strange’s Rural Teen Writing Contest story, “Fate for a Cat” in my classroom. In connection, I discuss writing worshop and give a big shout-out to Deb Kelt and the Heart of Texas Writing Project that changed my whole life as a writer, teacher of…
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 (all…
Fate for a Cat by Allison Strange | Ep. 1 Summary & Analysis
In this episode, I talk about Allison Strange’s winning story, Fate for a Cat. I read a bit from the beginning, give a summary, and then give a brief analysis of how place and rurality function in the story and how/why I connected it to it. Learn more about why I started the Rural Teen…
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 Guide…
Rural Teen Writing Contest Series | Episode 0
I’m so excited to be kicking off the series where I talk about this year’s winner of the Literacy In Place Rural Teen Writing Contest! Before I get to talking about Allison Strange’s story “Fate for a Cat” I wanted to do a special episode where I talk about why this thing even exists -…
The Gone Away Place by Christopher Barzak | Review
This book is so beautiful and interesting. I loved it! Aside from understanding and feeling at home in the book’s setting of rural Ohio – both the landscape and cultural norms featured in the text, the way that Barzak depicts the collective trauma of a rural town pulled at something that I haven’t engaged with…
Shannon Dittemore | Author Talk
In this episode, I sit down with Shannon Dittemore, author of WINTER WHITE AND WICKED to talk about how the story came to be, her connections to rural places, what she wants to set the record straight about rural people and living, and drop a couple hints about what *might* be my latest project. To…
Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt | Review
It was almost dawn when we went outside, Joseph and me. The peaks to the west were lit up and spilling some of the light down their sides onto our fields, all harvested and turned and ready for the long winter. You could smell the cold air and the wood smoke…Everywhere in the gray yard,…
Winter, White and Wicked by Shannon Dittemore | Teaching Ideas
In this episode, I outline two ways that I would invite students to engage with WINTER WHITE AND WICKED. One way is through connections between the fantasy world of the novel and our own, and the other is through the world building and histories of the novel and our own. For sample questions for teaching…
Hurricane Child by Kacen Callender | Review
Water Island is supposed to be part of the United States Virgin Islands, but we were never sainted like Saint Thomas or Saint John or Saint Croix, and so everyone forgets we exist. People have forgotten about Water Island since the days when there were slaves. Since no one remembered Water Island was right there…
Muted by Tami Charles | Review
Back in Brooklyn,/the Lafleurs were inseparable./Me, Ma, Gwen, and you, Papi./We had a big family,/tons of friends,/music in every bodega,/every corner,/ya know,/actual civilization.//But then y’all got scared…/of them city streets,/of the cost of living.//But the cost of living/was much higher here./For me.//In those mountains,/with the three of you always gone… Denver’s family left Brooklyn for…
“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 end…
Loading…
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 