Category Archives: 8th graders

2012 / 365 / 8th graders / A festival of photos / A manifesto of sorts / A teacher's education / Academia / Alice B. Toklas (feline version) / Amazing discoveries and wondrous visions / Another summer in a winter town / Art and life and love and The Big Stuff / bad behavior in public places / Bad girls and good girls gone bad / books / bright shining spots in the very much dark / classroom / Corrections / creative nonfiction / creative writing pedagogy / definitions / drafts / DUENDE / education / edumacation / Emma hits a wall / Emma is very lucky / Emma's Awkward Adolescence / Emma's dsyfunctional relationship with Diet Coke / Failure Schmailure / Fear and how to face it / Film / flickr / Free to Be You and Me / Friendship Is Magic / Gertrude Stein (feline version) / Going to eleven / gratuitous photos of whatnot / Happy accidents / I really did go to a school called Our Lady of Sorrows / inspiration / instagram / It is ON 2012 / learning / learning patience slowly / Lorrie Moore / love / mullings and ramblings / My meowing roommates / My nerves are bad tonight. Yes bad. / no words / nonfiction / Photo for the day / Photography / Probably quite a bit TMI / random musings / re-purposing / reading / readings / Recharging the mental batteries / Resolutions / Retrospectitating / Retrospective / revision / Scenes from my childhood / stalled / Tangents that should be entires on their own / teaching / teaching writing / That Was The Week That Was / The evolution of Emma / The grind / The latest medical anomaly / The Summer of Lorrie Moore / The Year of Projects / thought for the day / Thoughts of a Nonfiction Fan Girl / What Emma is up to / wonders and apparitions / writing life

That Was The Week That Was: Week Twenty-Six

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In which Emma does some heavy thinking and then shows some pictures. Continue reading »

2011 / 8th graders / Alabama School of Fine Arts / bad behavior in public places / Bad girls and good girls gone bad / Chchchchanges / Dad / edumacation / Emma's Awkward Adolescence / family / Fight the power! / grunge music / I really did go to a school called Our Lady of Sorrows / influences / inspiration / learning / Mission to Make Emma Cool / music / Nevermind / Nirvana / Pearl Jam / perfection is boring. period. / Rock Screams / Scenes from my childhood / Smells Like Teen Spirit / The evolution of Emma / the heft of cathedral tunes / where are you going where have you been / You gotta have friends

I’m Worst at What I Do Best and for This Gift I Feel Blessed

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In which Emma eats some angstcakes. Continue reading »

8th graders / A brief break from the poetry / Alice B. Toklas (feline version) / Art and life and love and The Big Stuff / balance / book reviews / books / Chchchchanges / COLLECT! / education / edumacation / Emma miraculously survives another holiday / flickr / Gertrude Stein (feline version) / gratuitous photos of whatnot / hopes and dreams / It is ON 2011 / it is ON. / learning / learning patience slowly / literary cartoons / MacBook / Movin' on / mullings and ramblings / plans / re-purposing / readings / Recharging the mental batteries / The big move / The evolution of Emma / where are you going where have you been / won't you please please help me / writing and not writing / Writing Anew / writing life

We’ll tak a cup o’kindness yet …

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In which Emma looks forward to change and changes the way she thinks about new year’s resolutions. Continue reading »

8th graders / A festival of linkage / A teacher's education / announcements / awesome kids we should all keep an eye out for / creative nonfiction / Emma is very lucky / Emma's dsyfunctional relationship with Diet Coke / Losing courage and other freakouts / Power to the People / publishing (or not publishing / teaching / Verbally and Methematically Precocious Youth / Very Excellent News / where are you going where have you been / witches in stitches / wonders and apparitions / writing life / zuihitsu

Brief Updating, Good News, and Emma’s Whereabouts (Or Something Whereabout There)

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In which Emma shares some Very Good News and a photograph of her teenage self wearing far too much lipstick. Continue reading »

8th graders / A festival of linkage / appearances / awesome kids we should all keep an eye out for / awesome presses / Groups Who Do Good Work / inspiration / outreach / poetry superheroes / readings / teaching / The Art of Writing Program / the three jobs / wonders and apparitions

The Art of Writing Extravaganza!

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My co-teacher, the lovely and talented Whitney Reed, sent me these photographs today, which reminded me of something truly terrible — I have yet to post about the Sharing the Spotlight reading, the culminating event of the Art of Writing Program Whitney and I taught this spring!  The program, incidentally, was made possible by grants … Continue reading »

8th graders / appearances / awesome kids we should all keep an eye out for / Brief Updating / Corrections / Emily Dickinson = The Ultimate / Errata / outreach / poetry superheroes / summations / teaching / The Thoughts of a Poetry Fan Girl / the three jobs

“It’s All I Have to Bring Today.”

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This, and my heart besides, and these brief updates: Brief Update The First: Regular visitors to the blog will know that I do not often post photographs, especially if they happen to include myself.  But, if I’ve been photographed with my Ultimate Poetry Hero and Idol, surely this is means for an exception! Okay, so, … Continue reading »

8th graders / awesome kids we should all keep an eye out for / bad behavior in public places / NaPoWriMo / outreach / poem challenge / teaching / The Art of Writing Program / the poem factory / the three jobs / this is the end beautiful friend / writing life

Ride the Snake, Ride the Snake

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To NaPoWriMo, or not to NaPoWriMo? Much of my time in the last few weeks has been spent in queasy contemplation of this question. Every few hours, I felt the familiar vise of fear and terror and joyous expectation that accompanies any contemplation of a plan to dedicate myself to writing a poem a day … Continue reading »

8th graders / awesome kids we should all keep an eye out for / Emily Dickinson = The Ultimate / mullings and ramblings / outreach / poem for the day / poetry superheroes / random musings / ranting and raving / teaching / The Art of Writing Program / thought for the day / Uncle Walt

Will you speak before I am gone? will you prove already too late?

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When reading Whitman and Dickinson, it seems, the one unavoidable topic is loneliness.  This is, of course, self-evident in Dickinson.  It isn’t as obvious in Whitman, but the more that I read Song of Myself, the more I see loneliness, and the desperation it causes.  The whole of the poem seems to be a frenzy … Continue reading »

8th graders / awesome presses / chapbooks / cool/not cool / mariners and the seas etc. / mullings and ramblings / random musings / readings / teaching / the mariner poems / the three jobs

“What will you say tonight, poor solitary soul?”

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(Having just taught Baudelaire on Thursday, I had to give this a title from Fleurs du mal. Though his work is often gruesome and certainly not the kind of thing you want to put in a Valentine’s day card, I’ve always loved Baudelaire, and continue to love him more each time I read/teach him.) Apologies … Continue reading »