Sabbatical
Lives on the Boundary
The last book on my sabbatical reading list was Mike Rose’s Lives on the Boundary. Part memoir, part rhetorical theory, part public policy polemic, and always engaging, re-reading it was well worth my time. I’d forgotten that CCCC ‘93 in San Diego, he’d autographed my copy. “Best Wishes. Mike Rose.... more »
Writing Partnerships: Service-Learning in Composition
Thomas Deans is one of only a few SL/Composition gurus that’s publishing, and Writing Partnerships is a great resource for instructors like me at two-year institutions like Lake Superior College. The book is both theoretical and practical, and Deans uses three case studies that exemplify the paradigm that he develops. Deans begins by setting the... more »
(De)Constructing 4C(s) (Con)ference T(it)les: Attending CCCC again for the first time
And now for the personal challenge. Sarah threw down the gauntlet in regard to my claim that I could write a poem completely from Postmodern CCCC 2008 conference titles. (Yes, in one broad sweep I’m lumping Postmodern and Deconstructionist et al thought into one binary basket. Mercy!) In truth, I think such titles are... more »
CCCC 2008 New Orleans
One of the great perks of my sabbatical is that I got to attend the Conference on College Composition and Communication in New Orleans a few weeks ago. The knock against CCCC in community college circles is this; it’s a bunch of grad students and windy PhDs just reading papers with post-modern... more »
In line with the Bayou Steppers
While visiting with Rachel and Abram of the Neighborhood Story Project in New Orleans Saturday (April 5), Sherry and I found out that there would be a Second Line Parade noon the next day starting at some obscure street intersection that meant nothing to us touristas. I had a slight notion what this... more »
New Orleans: a quick tour 30 months post-Katrina
First, an apology. My photography here is pathetic. My kids (on a school trip) had the digital camera, and in an effort to travel light, neither Sherry nor I brought our good 35mm with us to New Orleans, so I ended up buying a disposable camera. Ugh! I’ve never been... more »
Getting out of the French Quarter
Last week I went to the CCCC convention in New Orleans. It was a great conference, but the best part of it happened afterwards when Sherry and I got out of the Quarter and adjacent hotel district and into the real city. Since my sabbatical focus is Service Learning and Civic Engagement, I went... more »
Sabbatical Notes From Underground: Writing with Power
Part of my sabbatical plan was also to read Peter Elbow’s cookbook, which my brother Karl told me years ago was the best book about writing he ever read. Granted, it may have been the only book about writing he ever read, but he was an English major before he went to seminary,... more »
Flight
Sherman Alexie is probably most famous for writing the screenplay to Smoke Signals back in 1998. Since then, he’s been doing some other things, like competing in the World Heavyweight Poetry Bout and doing stand up comedy. But 2007 saw a novel burst. He published both Flight and The Absolutely True... more »
Sabbatical Notes From Underground: Mina P. Shaughnessy: Her Life and Work
Jane Maher’s biography of Shaughnessy is my second sabbatical read (one academic book of the month club), and I finished it right on schedule yesterday (thank heavens for leap day!). Back when I was planning my sabbatical over a year ago, I wanted to reconnect with the passion of my graduate school... more »