Change the World… Everyone has a reason to live 13 Jun 201513 Jun 2015 Jacques Lusseyran went blind at age 8. When he was twice as old, in 1941, he founded one of the key organizations of the French Resistance. His memoir, And There…
Caring… Hamlet in Prison 12 Jul 201111 Jul 2011 Jack Hitt's hour-long report for This American Life on Hamlet performed by prisoners, originally broadcast in 2002, has inspired me all week with its deep insights about Hamlet and encouragement for…
Blogging… Publishing as Independence 4 Jul 201116 May 2017 "Are you published?" It's the first question an industry outsider will ask, while a fellow writer will get to it eventually, however tactfully. "So tell me about your work!" But…
Baby Boomers… Beginning Again? 18 Jun 201118 Jun 2011 Does it feel as though you're always starting over? I'm beginning new projects, new rounds of old projects, new teaching quarter. Therefore, clients and students are doing the same; some…
Caring… Dead Grandmothers 9 Jun 20119 Jun 2011 We've been known to joke about it in faculty meetings: how many grandparents some students can lose in a single year. (And yes, we do name names.) Here's one professor's concerns…
College… College Endeavor 1 Jun 20111 Jun 2011 With the final landing of Endeavor, this shuttle chapter of space exploration will be closing soon. At the moment, I'm closing a college quarter and identifying with NASA. I have…
Academic Writing… My Favorite Kind of Payday 31 May 2011 In my introductory college skills class this quarter, a student told me about repeatedly sabotaging his final Naval promotion because at that level, he'd be required to write reports galore. Writing…
Courage… Friday Flick: “If I Should Have a Daughter” 25 Mar 201125 Mar 2011 Between sharing two of her own polished pieces, poet Sarah Kay shares her own creative emergence and that of her students. She suggests listing ten things you know to be true.…
Change the World… Tell Your Story, Inspire World Peace 12 Mar 201112 Mar 2011 "Peace comes about when one party recognizes the narrative of an antagonistic party and sees its point. Peace presumes the capacity of one party to enter in some way into…
Change the World… Friday Flick: Decide to Launch 25 Feb 201125 Feb 2011 In my childhood, I saw Neil Armstrong walk on the moon. In my young adulthood, I heard the Challenger explosion by radio. Now I'm raising a rocket scientist. I will…
Change the World… Not Without Encouragement 24 Feb 201125 Feb 2011 An Egyptian explained why he was helping donate food and medical supplies to protesting Libyans: because people can live without food, without medicine, but not without encouragement.1 Survivors fresh from…
Brain… Writing into the Darkness 22 Feb 201125 Feb 2011 Author and herb farmer Tom DeBaggio died yesterday. He put us on notice over a decade ago, describing his early onset Alzheimer's as "the closest thing to being eaten alive." …
