Contends that the ancient Babylonian epic poem "Gilgamesh" makes room for elements that call into question the very nature of heroic. Notes that the opening passage of the poem informs readers that it is going to foster elements contrary to expectations. Provides examples of such surprises. (PM)

Explains the Literacies for All Summer Institute which incorporates research perspectives, innovative classroom practices, and opportunities for interaction among participants. Interviews the keynote speakers for the conference: poet, author, and teacher David Bouchard and literary researcher Randy Bomer. Discusses writing inspiration,…

Describes the author's experience in keeping a reading-writing journal. Notes how her journal began as an academic journal, but her personal life crept into it. Notes that her students experienced the same thing. (SG)

Considers conversation one of the most useful tools in the author's teacher's toolbox. Features a sample sequence, complete with the handout he uses in class to achieve productive conversations. Outlines conversation guidelines. (SG)

Makes a case for the inclusion of the personal in the academy, particularly in the ways tertiary students learn to become writers. Examines the relevance of the personal in academic classrooms on writing; defines the "personal" and charts its historical development in academia; and considers arguments for and against this approach. Recommends…

Describes the author's experience when a staff developer helped her teach writing. Concludes that she has experienced firsthand how writing every day, writing about the things she knows, talking about her writing, and sharing her writing with trusted colleagues has helped her improve as both a writer and a teacher. (SG)

Outlines a weekend residential program that uses creative writing to raise environmental awareness through a polemical engagement with a specific local environmental issue. Notes that poetry, narrative, discursive writing, interview, and group presentations were all used in what became an introduction to environmental politics. Proposes that a…

Presents the story of Rumpelstiltskin and discusses many lessons that it presents for poets. Makes analogies of Rumpelstiltskin for writers. Considers how "the straw of quirks and earnest mistakes, of stubbornness" are living gold. (SG)

Suggests that drawing allows students time to think, spaces in which to look at the world more deeply, and ways into words. Lists eight ways teachers can encourage students to use drawing in language arts classrooms. (SG)

Reflects on what the author has learned about university teaching from her experience being a novice student of karate. Asserts the value for even seasoned teachers to maintain a beginner's mind that is "free of the habits of the expert, ready to accept, to doubt, and to open to all the possibilities." Concludes that from this new…

Discusses the complexity of naming nonfiction as a class of written works. Struggles with many different possible definitions of nonfiction and considers the problems with many of the definitions. Suggests the use of the term "creative nonfiction" as an umbrella to cover the widest range of nonfiction literary production. Argues that…

Describes how the author's habit of fabrications and stories as a 10-year-old became a source for writing fiction. Notes how he pursued journalism as a profession, but was frustrated by its limitations. Considers how as a professional field, composition continues to contemplate and struggle with issues of power and representation in research and…

Describes three approaches with which grammar may be welcomed back into the composition classroom. Considers how the teaching of grammar is making a comeback, with scholars acknowledging that the objections raised by process theories were valid but also investigating how to use grammar in writing classrooms, how to answer old process objections,…

Notes that writing centers have defined their goals and unique approaches and that they have gained a sense of permanence and a level of professionalism that has established writing centers as integral parts of writing instruction. Argues that writing centers have experienced growth and expansion but no major swings, shifts, or redefinitions of…

Explores what advanced student writers could be told about audience based on current principles of reading theory. Discusses reasons why teachers may not want to introduce students to these reading-based concepts of audience. (RS)