Exxperssive writing classrom and community

Free ebooks ==> www.ebook777.com www.ebook777.com Free ebooks ==> www.ebook777.com Praise for Expressive Writing: Classroom and Community “Expressive Writing: Classroom and Community offers practical advice in how to teach writing to people who struggle in their lives and with self-expression Expressive writing is exciting and transformative It calls for the best from us as teachers and as people We learn to listen, we find a way to make a difference, we have a way to care, and we learn to express ourselves But the world of teaching writing that is open and creative can be daunting Fortunately, these chapters offer a range of specific practices and important considerations, from how to use poetry in the special education classroom to the ethical issues in requesting personal writing from students and others Best of all, the authors of these chapters are people you want to learn from, and colleagues who you want by your side in this important work.” —Richard Gold, author of Writing with At-Risk Youth: The Pongo Teen Writing Method “Internationally acknowledged authority on the power of journaling, Kathleen Adams again shines the light of her passion for expressive writing to ‘bring peace to our hearts restore balance connect us to the parts of ourselves that have been lost, abandoned, neglected, forgotten or ignored Writing is the bridge.’ In this volume, Adams gathers together people from education and community activism to share innovative stories of using expressive writing with those who struggle with authentic self-expression Settings range from the classroom to prisons to intimate writing groups to hip-hop jams In each instance, there are lessons for the reader to learn and pass on to those we serve as we share the power of words In so doing, the vision of writing as a bridge to emotional intelligence is made manifest.” —Lizabeth Smith, LPC, Certified Journal Therapist “We live and teach in a time when public educators and their students face the juggling act of developing diverse, creative work while addressing state standards and common assessments Books such as the ones in the It’s Easy to W.R.I.T.E Expressive Writing series offer the means to bridge the gap between meeting such mandates and maintaining authentic expression This volume, Expressive Writing: Classroom and Community, offers a myriad of ideas that allow writers to express and celebrate life stories through the creation of poetry, Free ebooks ==> www.ebook777.com the explication of a photograph, the enactment of a short story Within these pages are imaginative and practical methods any teacher, of any grade level and curricula, can use to promote a safe learning community in which individuals write, speak, read, and listen with care and creativity Writers and teachers of writing often ask the questions, How I begin? How I start a lesson on poetry writing? How I begin to create a safe teaching environment for my writers? How I start a poem or a reflective journal entry? Each chapter author offers usable and inspirational answers to these questions—answers to help any instructor or writer start, persevere, and celebrate the wonder found in writing.” —Kathy Cocetti, MA, professor, University of Colorado-Denver; instructor, Teach for America “Kathleen Adams once again offers a vibrant combination of theory and applied practice This collection blends timeless wisdom with the realities of contemporary culture The chapter on ethics is a powerful and pragmatic reminder of our responsibilities when we offer expressive writing in or out of the classroom Within a series that makes a first-rate contribution, this volume is top-notch.” —Marta Hedde-Wood, MA, National Journalism Teacher of the Year Finalist www.ebook777.com Free ebooks ==> www.ebook777.com Expressive Writing Free ebooks ==> www.ebook777.com Editorial Review Board It’s Easy to W.R.I.T.E Expressive Writing Series Kathleen Adams MA, LPC Series Editor President/CEO, Center for Journal Therapy, Inc Denver, Colorado Peggy Osna Heller, Ph.D., LCSW, PTR Clinical poetry therapist and psychotherapist Potomac, Maryland Linda Barnes, MA, CAPF, CJT President, National Federation of Biblio/Poetry Therapy Retired college guidance counselor Medford, Oregon Kate Thompson, MA, CJT Registered psychotherapist and certified journal therapist Boulder, Colorado Also in the It’s Easy to W.R.I.T.E Expressive Writing Series Writing with At-Risk Youth: The Pongo Teen Writing Method Richard Gold Expressive Writing: Foundations of Practice Edited by Kathleen Adams The Flourishing Principal: Strategies for Self-Renewal Kathleen Adams and Rosemary Lohndorf The Teacher’s Journal: A Workbook for Self-Discovery Kathleen Adams and Marisé Barreiro www.ebook777.com Free ebooks ==> www.ebook777.com Expressive Writing Classroom and Community EDITED BY KATHLEEN ADAMS ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD Lanham • Boulder • New York • London Free ebooks ==> www.ebook777.com Published by Rowman & Littlefield A wholly owned subsidiary of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc 4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706 www.rowman.com 16 Carlisle Street, London W1D 3BT, United Kingdom Copyright © 2014 by Kathleen Adams “The Devil’s Attic Haunted House” in chapter is reprinted by permission of the student and parent Chapter in-text poems are reprinted by permission of The LAB Poetry Anthology series, Volumes I–IX Figures 3.1–3.5, “Uphill All the Time,” “Friendship,” “Having Fun,” “It’s About Passion,” and “What Is Your Name” are reprinted by permission of the students (and parents) in the Photovoice project Chapter excerpts are reprinted by permission of the students (and parents) in Dr Allerdyce’s and Ms Keller’s Language Arts class at Toussaint L’Ouverture High School for Arts & Social Justice who submitted work from their Personal Odyssey project Chapter 10 in-text quotations are reprinted by permission of Speak Out! journal “Their Hands in the Wounds” in chapter 11 is reprinted by permission of Diane Solis All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Available ISBN 978-1-4758-1217-6 (cloth : alk paper)—ISBN 978-1-4758-1218-3 (pbk : alk paper)—ISBN 978-1-4758-1219-0 (electronic) ™ The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992 Printed in the United States of America www.ebook777.com Free ebooks ==> www.ebook777.com Dedicated to Robb Jackson, PhD, CJF, CAPF 1952–2013 You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands Isaiah 55:12, NIV Free ebooks ==> www.ebook777.com www.ebook777.com Free ebooks ==> www.ebook777.com Contents Series Overview: About the It’s Easy to W.R.I.T.E Expressive Writing Series ix Foreword xiii John F Evans Preface xvii Kathleen Adams Section 1:  Classroom 1  Stories and Storytelling: Good for the Heart and Mind Mary Hynes-Berry 2  “ Recipe for Me”: Using Poetry to Support the Social-Emotional Health of Youth in Special Education Mary Tinucci 27  hrough Students’ Eyes: Using “Photovoice” to Help Youth T Make Sense of School Kristien Zenkov and Jim Harmon 53 3  vii Free ebooks ==> www.ebook777.com 226 CHAPTER 11 Honors Commitment This benefit naturally follows the first By showing up regularly and becoming a member of the group, participants honor their commitment to their writing and in so doing strengthen self-esteem, in turn making it easier to continue to honor the commitment And so it goes, one beautiful cycle following the other Helps Writers Find Their Voice We find our writing voice by writing—a lot Like any other muscle that becomes stiff from inactivity, our writing muscles need a regular workout When used infrequently, the words don’t flow easily, and images are elusive or simply absent We may have forgotten our natural language and write stilted, dull sentences or revert to the “correct” language of English papers or thesis compositions But by writing regularly and within community where we forget the rules (for now) and let words and images flow unfettered through our pens, our natural voice emerges on the page (Where did that come from?) The more we write in this manner, the more we discover our particular rhythm, our unique vocabulary, and diction and our true and authentic voice Invokes Imagination and Evokes Self-Expression Some subtle something happens over the course of our formal education Too often we’re told by well-meaning teachers or parents that cows aren’t really purple or there’s no such word as “delumptious,” or stay inside the lines Stories get graded and prizes awarded, and the tenuous writer or artist may tuck her imagination away and begin a learning career of pleasing her teachers But follow any three- or four-year-old around, and you’ll hear imaginative descriptions, delightful metaphors, and similes as colorful as rainbows and as natural as rain In her book PoemCrazy, Susan Wooldridge (1996) tells of when she came upon her three-year-old son shaking a lilac bush and asked him what he was doing “I’m stirring the sky, Mama,” he said (132) When she brought his new baby sister home, bundled snugly in swaddling clothes, he said, “She yooks yike a hot dog” (30) Working within a community of writers where “forget about the rules” is part of the directive, imagination is invited into the room New-to-thegroup writers witness the wildly creative pieces written by others and begin www.ebook777.com Free ebooks ==> www.ebook777.com THE MUSE WORKS A CROWD 227 to loosen up themselves Alligators rescue kittens tossed from passing cars, a 350-word story meanders through a neighborhood without the use of a single period, a one-legged transsexual hosts a ball where the Duke of Upper Wisteria and a chorus of a thousand albino dwarves sip champagne from golden cups Because there’s no critique or feedback on the work, writers experience what may be a long-abandoned freedom of expression Doors and windows of imagination that have been closed for years are opened and let in the light Encourages Spontaneity Because most of the writing-in-community groups I facilitate use timed, focused freewriting to a prompt, writers don’t come with preconceived ideas of what they want to write or self-imposed assignments Instead, they open themselves to whatever images or memories the prompt may evoke, then grab hold of any passing detail and begin writing Working within a time limit creates an intensity of focus, and the tension created by a directive to keep the hand moving means writers don’t stop to think or consider or measure or judge or evaluate or analyze—all those things the left side of the brain wants to Instead, they access the right side of the brain, and spontaneity is the happy result Enhances Creativity With imaginative self-expression and freewheeling spontaneity, any writer’s creativity is bound to be amplified (Where did that come from?) I love the surprises, and so the writers who experience them Ellen Yaffa spoke of how writing with a group “primes the pump, and then delights when you discover how diverse a selection of stories is spun by a group of writers using the same prompt.” Produces Fresh Material I’ve mentioned my storage unit of boxes and bins crammed with tattered notebooks and messy journals, and I’m not the only one who has collected stacks of work completed over years of writing in community Many of my writing cohorts confess to notebooks in cardboard boxes under their beds, lining shelves in closets, or heaped beneath windows and in old toy boxes shoved away in dusty attics Free ebooks ==> www.ebook777.com 228 CHAPTER 11 Not all this fresh material grows stale within the confines of our notebooks or forgotten files on our laptops When we find something worthy, we transport it from notebook to computer, shape it, revise it, add to it, edit it, revise it again The result may be a published story or essay or poem, the thickening of a novel, or the start of something that we continue to work on until it finds its end Supports Risk-Taking The very act of writing itself means taking risks, but there’s something about writing within a group of supportive others that makes such risktaking less, well, risky When we witness other writers heading off into the dark forest or stepping onto that shaky suspension bridge and then see them come out safely on the other side, we’re emboldened to set off toward our own cliff edges “I more risk taking in groups than I alone,” said poet and educator Karen Swank Banishes Fear There’s a reason “paralyzed by fear” has become a cliché Fear keeps us stuck in our tracks like no Super Glue ever could We close our notebooks, we skip our writing practice, we make excuses to ourselves and others Whether a writer is afraid of starting something new, going deeper into a story or character or memory, finishing a project, or the very act of writing itself, some of this anxiety can be overcome by simply showing up at writing group, taking our place at the communal table, and being willing to put one word after the other On another, deeper level, when we’re given the prompt and we set to with our pens or on our keyboards, for the next twelve or fourteen or seventeen minutes, if we are truly present in the process, fear simply doesn’t exist It’s only when we resurface from the depths and begin to “think” again that the doubts and concerns may reappear But during the actual writing, when we surrender to the process and the page, we are fearless 10 Offers Opportunities for Explorations Because the writing is spontaneous and because we’re reminded not to worry about beginnings, middles, or ends and our guidelines tell us to let the writing find its own form, we’re free to become explorers of ideas, spe- www.ebook777.com Free ebooks ==> www.ebook777.com THE MUSE WORKS A CROWD 229 lunkers of images, courageous travelers into the wilds of our imaginations Who knows what riches we might come upon? And if we fail to hit pay dirt, if we follow a rushing stream that eventually runs dry, so what? There’s always next Thursday Writers or another brown-bag session This is one of the reasons writers return week after week—they relish the opportunity to explore the unknown within the safe confines of the group and the fear-free zone of writing in community “Writing in community for me is like having a potluck dinner with friends,” said Madaline Pike “You don’t necessarily know what they will bring to the table until they arrive and unwrap it Every now and again you or the others will experiment with a new dish; sometimes it is fantastic and sometimes it’s a flop What I love most is that I learn what I like, what I don’t, and taste things I might never have tasted before, [and] I always leave with a full spirit.” 11 Expands Critical Abilities Listening to other writers read their work in the nonjudgmental setting of a community writing group, participants become students without even knowing it They hear other writers’ word choices, sentence structure, and story and character development and how the use of specific detail brings work alive They come to know what engages them as listeners and when they get bumped out of a piece; they begin to recognize the elements that make compelling writing and why other writing sounds stiff or boring Then, as if by osmosis, they may find themselves using some of the techniques in their own writing and beginning to read their work and the work of others with a more discerning eye 12 Builds Self-Confidence It’s not unusual for writers new to writing in community to enter the room hesitantly, to demur when asked if they would like to read their work aloud, or to read in a trembling voice But if writers are warmly welcomed and the experience is good and if they begin to participate regularly in the group, filling page after page in a notebook or logging computer file after file, writers’ confidence in their abilities grows Reading their work aloud to a group of supportive others again and again strengthens their voice and their belief in themselves as writers It follows that the more self-confidence a writer has, the Free ebooks ==> www.ebook777.com 230 CHAPTER 11 greater his writerly self-esteem, which can lead him to challenge himself or for her to take more risks—all of which leads not only to better, more authentic writing but to greater joy in the creative process as well 13 Fosters Friendships and Deepens Connections Friendships are built on common grounds, and it’s only natural that, as writers, we seek our own kind Who else can we talk to about the elusiveness of language, characters that won’t leave us alone, the fear of starting (or finishing) a poem, a chapter, a memoir? “I think community is necessary to a bunch of people who spend all day thinking about characters who, in the minds of other people, don’t even exist,” said Portland writer Liz Prato But friendship with other writers is more than talking shop or comparing notes “We keep each other sane,” she said Call it a psychic connection, something tribal or spiritual; the kinship that springs from this deeper place is something that, when we find it and nurture it, can feel like home 14 Engenders Tolerance, Patience, Compassion Writing in community, we have the freedom to write anything we want, and because we write unfettered by critique or censorship, anything can and does get written, sometimes even to our own surprise (Where did that come from?) Memories of childhood abuse; recounted bouts of bad behavior (by ourselves or our characters); incidents of explicit sex or violence, fictional or otherwise; sloppy writing; boring stories—all this and more can make an appearance during a writing session and be given voice both on the page and spoken aloud during the readings In such groups, writers write their most intimate thoughts, their deepest fears, their unbearable longings Sometimes we say our groups are like a Quaker meeting; we bear silent witness to the process of others As a result, writers learn to be tolerant and patient and to have compassion not only for others but also for themselves 15 Develops Trust When we know we are free to write anything that wants to be written, we begin to trust our writing and ourselves And when we write what wants to be written and read it aloud and others in the group listen silently, we begin to trust them, too With trust comes courage to open our minds and our hearts, www.ebook777.com Free ebooks ==> www.ebook777.com THE MUSE WORKS A CROWD 231 and soon our pens free-flow with stories that have been kept secret for years; we find voice for flights of imagination in a language we didn’t know we could speak We give ourselves over to our writing and delight in the surprises or experience the pain or grieve the hurt or shake our heads and celebrate the wacky goofiness of whatever shows up on the page When we trust ourselves and our writing and our writing companions, we discover anything is possible, in writing and in life 16 Sustains Spirit I’m of the belief that every person is a creative being born with a gift that, when expressed with a generous and open heart, can lift the whole of our species to a higher plane For those of us given the gift of “writer,” writing in community with others like ourselves can lift and sustain our spirit and allow us to give back to the world in ways we might otherwise have never discovered or perhaps even imagined Where and How to Find a Writing-in-Community Group (or Start One of Your Own) The internet is your friend when it comes to finding a writing group that uses some of the same techniques for writing in community I’ve described Start with a general Google search using key words such as “writing practice groups,” “timed writing groups,” “spontaneous writing groups,” “generative writing groups,” and “freewrite groups.” (Be sure to use one word for “freewrite,” or you’ll wind up with pages and pages of listings for free writing groups, which, come to think of it, might not be a bad thing either.) A few Facebook pages for such groups turned up as I browsed the internet using these phrases and a Yahoo! group or two Meetup.com is also a good resource for locating groups or for getting the word out if you decide to start one of your own In my research, I was prompted to websites and blog posts that describe how to organize and run such groups; several books on the subject also appeared Free ebooks ==> www.ebook777.com 232 CHAPTER 11 in my searches In my book Writing Alone, Writing Together (Reeves 2002), I devote a chapter to writing practice groups—how to start one, how to run one, and how to keep one going A few cities are home to writing organizations that may sponsor writingin-community groups, such as the Loft in Minneapolis; Grub Street in Boston; the Writer’s Center in Bethesda; Lighthouse Writers in Denver; San Diego Writers, Ink, in San Diego; Hugo House in Seattle; and the Writing Salon in San Francisco, among others The Loft offers a state-by-state listing of literary organizations on its website at https://www.loft.org/resources/ digital_writers_resources/literary_organizations Can’t find a group? Why not start one of your own? I’ll confess that, though I had a few years’ experience of writing with others, when I started the Brown Bag Writing Group in San Diego in 1993, I didn’t have a blueprint to go by I just knew I wanted a time and place to show up every week for writing practice and that writing with others was a lot more fun (and I’d be more likely to it) than going it alone So, first thing: time and place and a commitment to hold the space I figured consistency was key, and I was right Even though after the initial gathering a few weeks went by when I was the only one present, I continued to show up I had the Guidelines for Writing Practice, and I had a prompt, my timer, and my notebook Then slowly, over time, others started appearing with their notebooks and their willingness to let the Muse have her way with them We began just as I have described at the beginning of this chapter We introduced ourselves by first name only, then read the guidelines, gave the prompt and the amount of time for the writing, and off we’d go After time is up, everyone is invited (and encouraged) to read their work aloud, without comments or feedback Around the room we go until everyone has a chance to read if they want Sometimes a little encouragement will help change the mind of a reluctant-to-read writer, but no one is ever required to read Twenty years later, the format for this group and others spawned by it remains the same, and the notebooks continue to be filled, even if, these days, a few laptops have replaced the pen to paper (I still prefer and encourage writing by hand for these groups.) Consistency in time and place and structure, evocative prompts, a safe circle, acceptance, and encouragement—these are the basic ingredients for a successful, nourishing group Get the word out to others Who knows what magic can www.ebook777.com Free ebooks ==> www.ebook777.com THE MUSE WORKS A CROWD 233 happen when two or more people sit down together to write? Who can imagine what new and spontaneous creations will be brought into the world? References Breton, Andre 1924 Manifesto of surrealism Virtual version 1999 http://www.tcf ua.edu/Classes/Jbutler/T340/SurManifesto/ManifestoOfSurrealism.htm (accessed December 17, 2013) Goldberg, Natalie 1990 Wild mind: Living the writer’s life New York: Bantam Books Kunitz, Stanley 2000 Associated Press interview cited in Today.com article, May 15, 2005 Noted poet Stanley Kunitz dead at 100 http://www.today.com/ id/12801949/ns/today-today_books/t/noted-poet-stanley-kunitz-dead/#.UrBJX -JdCX0 (accessed December 17, 2013) Reeves, Judy 1999 A Writer’s Book of Days Novato, CA: New World Library ——— 2002 Writing Alone, Writing Together Novato, CA: New World Library Vanier, Jean 1989 Community and growth Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press Wooldridge, Susan 1996 Poemcrazy New York: Clarkson Potter Free ebooks ==> www.ebook777.com www.ebook777.com Free ebooks ==> www.ebook777.com About the Editor and Contributors About the Editor Kathleen Adams, MA, LPC, is the founding director and chief executive officer of the Center for Journal Therapy, Inc., and its professional training division, the fully online Therapeutic Writing Institute, both headquartered in Denver, Colorado She has been a pioneer, visionary, and guide in the field of therapeutic writing since 1985 This is her tenth book About the Contributors Lauren Alessi is an MA candidate in sociology at Colorado State University, where she currently works as assistant director of the Community Literacy Center Her research focuses on prison writing, correctional programming, rehabilitation, and treatment Since 2012, she has participated in creative writing workshops with men and women at the local jail.  Diane Allerdyce, PhD, is the cofounder and chief academic officer of Toussaint L’Ouverture High School for Arts and Social Justice in Delray Beach, 235 Free ebooks ==> www.ebook777.com 236 ABOUT THE EDITOR AND CONTRIBUTORS Florida She is a professor in the Humanities and Culture track of the PhD program in Interdisciplinary Studies at Union Institute and University Her publications include Anaïs Nin and the Remaking of Self: Gender, Modernism and Narrative Identity (1998); a chapbook, Whatever It Is I Was Giving Up (2007); and House of Aching Beauty (2012) Marisé Barreiro is from the province of Pontevedra in Spain and is a Gestalt therapist specializing in creativity with twenty years of experience as a middle and high school English teacher She has defended her Gestalt thesis on expressive writing and will soon graduate as a certified journal therapist from the Therapeutic Writing Institute She currently leads workshops on self-discovery through writing in Galicia and Madrid One of her dearest professional dreams is taking the benefits of expressive writing to the world of education Jim Harmon, PhD, teaches English in Euclid, Ohio, and is a lecturer at Baldwin Wallace University near Cleveland He recently served as editor of the journal School-University Partnerships of the National Association for Professional Development Schools He received his BFA from the Rochester Institute of Technology and his MEd from Cleveland State University He has published and presented much of his extensive work on professional development schools involving the “Through Students’ Eyes” project as well as his teacher research on technology’s impact on urban literacy Mary Hynes-Berry, PhD, has spent her lifetime sharing stories, especially oral storytelling in classrooms, where she believes that stories are the most powerful tools we have to promote deep learning She is on the faculty of the Erikson Institute, Chicago She is the author of Don’t Leave the Story in the Book (2011) and coauthor of Biblio/Poetry Therapy: The Interactive Process (3rd ed., 2012) Robb Jackson, PhD, was, at the time of his death in 2013, Regents Professor and professor of English at Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi He worked extensively with addicts and alcoholics in a court-ordered residential rehabilitation program where he taught poetry and journal techniques as part of recovery He was credentialed in both poetry therapy and journal therapy www.ebook777.com Free ebooks ==> www.ebook777.com ABOUT THE EDITOR AND CONTRIBUTORS 237 and was one of the founding faculty of the Therapeutic Writing Institute His most recent book of poetry, Crane Creek, Two Voices, coauthored with his wife, Dr Vanessa Furse Jackson, was published in 2011 Tobi Jacobi, PhD, is an associate professor of composition and rhetoric and the director of the Community Literacy Center in the Department of English at Colorado State University Her research focuses on community literacies and the experiences of incarcerated writers and is informed by composition theory, critical literacy, and feminist studies She facilitates the weekly SpeakOut! writing workshop with women at the Larimer County Detention Center and supervises the biannual publication of the SpeakOut! Journal She is coeditor of Women, Writing, and Prison: Scholars, Activists, and Writers Speak Out (R&L Education, 2014) Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg, PhD, is the 2009–2013 Poet Laureate of Kansas and the author or editor of sixteen books, including a novel, The Divorce Girl; The Sky Begins at Your Feet: A Memoir on Cancer, Community and Coming Home to the Body; and four poetry collections Founder of the Transformative Language Arts MA at Goddard College, where she teaches, she also leads writing workshops and, with singer Kelley Hunt, writing and singing retreats Catherine Quick, PhD, is associate professor of English at Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi, with teaching and research interests in rhetoric and composition, literacy studies, English education, and young adult literature She is the founder and director of the Coastal Bend Writing Project, an organization working with local K–16 teachers to celebrate writing and improve its instruction in local schools Judy Reeves is a writer, teacher, and writing practice provocateur who has published four books on writing, including the award-winning A Writer’s Book of Days and Writing Alone, Writing Together Her work has also appeared in the San Diego Reader, Personal Journaling magazine, The Frozen Moment, A Year in Ink (vols and 4), and other anthologies She teaches at the University of California, San Diego, Extension and San Diego Writers, Ink, which she cofounded Free ebooks ==> www.ebook777.com 238 ABOUT THE EDITOR AND CONTRIBUTORS David Shanks and Randy Tonge, best friends and business partners, met while attending Temple University in Philadelphia They quickly discovered a mutual love for hip-hop, comedy, and Caribbean cuisine and eventually cofounded 623 Entertainment as an independent means to launch their artistic endeavors Randy is a talented writer and stand-up comedian who has performed throughout the Northeast, and David is a published writer and hip-hop artist who records and performs under the name Traum Diggs Mary Tinucci, MSW, LICSW, has been a school social worker in the St Paul Public Schools since 1991, working with youth in special education and foster care and with gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender youth She fell in love with spoken-word poetry in 1998 and merged her skills and love of group work, poetry, and writing for emotional health to create The Poetry LAB She also teaches clinical group work at the University of St Thomas/St Catherine University School of Social Work Kristien Zenkov, PhD, is an associate professor of education at George Mason University He is the author and editor of more than 100 articles and book chapters and five books, focusing on teacher education, literacy pedagogy and curricula, social justice education, and professional development schools He codirects “Through Students’ Eyes,” a project based in Cleveland, Ohio; northern Virginia; Haiti; and Iraq through which youth document with photographs and writings what they believe about school www.ebook777.com Free ebooks ==> www.ebook777.com Acknowledgments The book began in grief and ends in beauty Six weeks after its original editor, Dr Robb Jackson, began conceptualizing the flow of the book and reaching out to chapter authors, he died of cardiac arrest Robb was one of my closest collaborators and advisers as well as one of my closest friends, and his death was devastating for me The book ends in beauty thanks to a remarkable set of chapter authors, for whom I have enormous respect and gratitude Thanks for your unwavering commitment to education and writing and activism for youth and our communities Thanks for your compassion and patience when I stepped in as editor And thanks for great chapters! Mary Reynolds Thompson, my weekly accountability partner, and Leia Francisco, my business coach, provided ongoing support, wisdom, feedback, and cheer They kept me anchored during stormy seas I am grateful The team at R&L—my editor, Nancy Evans, and associate editor, Carlie Wall; designer Maria Kauffman; marketing manager Dean Roxanis; and all the good folks in art, design, and production—are consummate professionals Thanks for taking such good care of this book As always, I give thanks for my family, the core of my being, and particularly for my sweet and funny mother, Theda Adams At ninety-one, she’s a blessing every day 239 Free ebooks ==> www.ebook777.com 240 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I give constant thanks to God for giving me wonderful work to and for always guiding me to the next unlocked door Kathleen Adams, Editor June 2014 www.ebook777.com ... for Expressive Writing: Classroom and Community “Expressive Writing: Classroom and Community offers practical advice in how to teach writing to people who struggle in their lives and with self-expression... by Dr Evans Writing Transactions: Writing for Here and How, College and Beyond Wellness & Writing Connections: Writing for Better Physical, Emotional, and Spiritual Health Expressive Writing: Words... and Practice Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg 157  9  Hip-Hop: Pen of the People David Shanks and Randy Tonge 175 10   he Limits of (Critical) Expressive Writing in Prisons and Jails T Lauren Alessi and