To the races!

Yesterday evening we attended the opening general session. After a lot of introductions and award presentations they introduced the keynote speaker, Natasha Trethewey. You can read a quick bio and some of her poems here .

For lack of a better term for the genre, she is something of a historical poet, taking events from the public record (Katrina, Civil War, etc.) and her personal record (her parents experience as a mixed race couple, her school experience in Mississippi, etc.) and using poetry to make sense and tell a story in a new way. After speaking briefly on her goals as a poet and educator (summary: to foster awareness about public versus personal historical record and the intersection of personal and public histories) she read many of her poems.

Afterwards over some sushi and sake we agreed that, while her work was thought provoking and a definite embodiment of the term "language art" we wished she and NCTE had directed the opening session more towards the path and the teachers (intentional or no) who influenced her growth as a writer along the way. That is why we are here: we are a captive, teachable audience who is eager to become more able to teach.

Wireless access is costly and sometimes limited, many of us will be posting in the evening. Please check back. In the meantime...we leave you with this amusing photo from the Blackstone Hotel. Time to TASTE!



- Jackie, Lynne, Morgan, Maddie, & Colleen