An Exciting Summer

August 2, 2017March 3, 2019 / Katie Winkler / Leave a comment

Submissions are closed for the premiere edition of Teach. Write. Thanks to all who submitted. I will be getting in touch with contributors as the month progresses. Tomorrow I will begin putting together the journal of poetry, prose and essays that will launch on September 1, 2017.

It has been a busy summer, and although I did not complete my two major writing goals, I have made progress on both and am looking forward to continuing that work while I begin teaching. The teaching will always come first, of course, but I am determined that I will use my time wisely and work on my writing projects each day. I want my students to be disciplined writers, so I need to make every attempt to be disciplined in my craft as well.

By the end of November, I will have completed the rough draft of my novel, Flood, a mystery/thriller set in Alabama during the early days of Obama’s first presidential run. The idea for the novel started as a short story for my unpublished novel Mordecai Tales, but on the advice of some of my writer friends, I decided to turn the idea into a novel. Portions of the book were workshopped at two different conferences this summer, and the feedback I received from fellow writers as well as two excellent instructors, Jane Smiley and Sheryl Monks, has encouraged me to complete the work.

I also will have completed several drafts of my new play, an adaptation of Robert Browning’s The Ring and the Book. I have spent many hours this summer re-reading and studying the The Ring and the Book, which has re-kindled my interest in this novel-length poem that is considered Browning’s crowning achievement but is little read today.

To prepare for writing the play, I also read Dared and Done: The Marriage of Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning, which includes fascinating biographical sketches of both writers as well as excerpts from their vast correspondence that is extremely helpful as I write the play. A third helpful source I completed reading early in the summer is Derek Parker’s non-fiction book Roman Murder Mystery: The True Story of Pompilia, an informative re-telling of the factual details surrounding the 17th Century Italian murder case on which Browning’s magnum opus is based.

I am excited to complete both of these very different works and am truly enjoying the process of writing, something I hope to pass on to my students this semester.

My other big writing event was the publication of a short story “I Have Not Yet Returned” in the anthology Unbroken Circle: Stories of Cultural Diversity in the South published by Bottom Dog Press as part of their Appalachian series. You can purchase a copy of the book with its 26 stories and essays about the modern South through the publisher’s website or at amazon.com.

Reminder–Teach. Write. and Great Article by David Leonhardt.

July 17, 2017 / Katie Winkler / Leave a comment

Submissions for the first edition of the literary journal Teach. Write. is August 1. See submission guidelines for information. If you are or ever have been a teacher of writing, I want to see your fiction, non-fiction or poetry. The premiere edition will be published on September 1.

Those of you who follow my blog probably have more than an inkling about how I feel about the current emphasis on vocational education at the expense of a broad general liberal arts one. That’s why I found myself nodding with enthusiasm as I read NY Times’ opinion page editor David Leonhardt’s column about the problems with vocational education. There are links to scholarly articles that confirm Leonhardt’s position that are well worth reading as well. Here’s the link:

Teach. Write. Deadline Extended

June 9, 2017June 9, 2017 / Katie Winkler / Leave a comment

Are you a writing teacher who loves to write? Do you write responses to your own writing prompts? Is writing for publication something you have done or dream of doing?

If your answer is yes to any of these questions, then I want to see your writing! The premiere edition of Teach. Write. : A Literary Journal for Composition Teachers is beginning to take shape. I have accepted several impressive creative non-fiction essays and poetry, but I would love to have more, especially flash or short fiction. Therefore, I have extended the submission period to August 1, 2017.

If you are teaching or have taught English composition at any level in any setting, then I want to read your work.

See the page Teach. Write. Submission Guidelines for more information and….

Looking Glass Rock Writers Conference

May 18, 2017May 18, 2017 / Katie Winkler / Leave a comment

School’s out for summer, so I’m here, sitting on the front porch of the admin building that you see in the picture above on the campus of beautiful Brevard College in Brevard, North Carolina, to attend the Looking Glass Rock Writers Conference. I will be attending fiction workshops lead by Jane Smiley, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel A Thousand Acres.

Attending at least one writers conference each summer has become one of my goals, and LGRC falls at the perfect time, right at the beginning of my summer. My hope is that this conference will jump start my ambitious writing plans for my time off teaching. My wish is to finish the novel that I will be working on here at the conference AND complete my new play, an adaptation of Robert Browning’s “Ring and the Book.”

As if that isn’t enough, I will also be launching my literary publication, Teach. Write. In September. I am still accepting work for the venture, so if you are, or ever been a teacher of English composition, then you are eligible to submit to Teach. Write.

Go to this link for more information: Teach. Write Submission Guidelines. Deadline for submissions is July 1. I would love to see your work.

School’s Out for the Summer!

May 15, 2017May 15, 2017 / Katie Winkler / Leave a comment

School’s out for summer! Back in June of 1972, I never would have believed that I would see Alice Cooper singing his anthem of teen rebellion with a bunch of muppets? But look!

https://youtu.be/vmewc2Uqon4

I’m just enough of a rebel to kind of like this, even as a teacher of English, although I don’t think anyone has ever exactly seen me as a typical English composition teacher. I know I haven’t.

And yet, I might be more ordinary than I like to think because I can’t stop writing and revising and editing. That’s why I’m here at the computer on my first official work day off for the summer — writing.

Yes, it is going to be a writing summer that’s for sure, and I’m starting it out with a bang! First of all, later this week I will attend the Looking Glass Rock Writers Conference at Brevard College. My instructor is Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist, Jane Smiley. I’m, to put it mildly, stoked.

Secondly, one of my stories is officially on sale tomorrow in an anthology put out by Bottom Dog Press called Unbroken Circle: Stories of Cultural Diversity in the South. I am pleased that this story, “I Have Not Yet Returned,” about a young woman coming to grips with her father’s mental illness, has finally found a home.

The process from writing to publication, or being accepted to writing residences, has never been easy for me. I was doing some rough calculating in my head, and I have published about two dozen stories in print and online publications since I have started seriously seeking publication. Sounds like a lot until you consider that I sent my first work into the world in August of 1995–24 pieces in 22 years and hundreds, yes hundreds, of rejections in that time.

Listen to me. I sound like I’m bragging. Perhaps I am. Perhaps I should. 22 years of being mostly rejected, but not always, 22 years of not giving up on my dreams of being a writer, has made me a better one. Failure has made me a better teacher, too, even a better person. Not always failing has helped me to survive the process.

What I have learned about persistence has been invaluable to me as a writer and a person, and it is the attribute I most want to pass on to my writing students. Our society makes giving up so easy, why should anyone persist? I can tell them.

I have 24 reasons why.

Because I value so highly what I have learned through seeking publication, I am now accepting submissions for my own literary publication–Teach. Write. It is specifically targeted to English composition instructors, any level, whether actively teaching or retired. Submissions are open now until July 1. The first issue will come out in September. Complete submission guidelines can be found at this link: Teach. Write.

I look forward to reading your work! Have a writing summer!!

***

If you would like to purchase a copy of Unbroken Circle: Stories of Cultural Diversity in the South, you can do so at Bottom Dog Press, Inc or at Amazon.com

English Lesson

March 11, 2017March 28, 2017 / Katie Winkler / Leave a comment

(Lines Composed after a Bodaciously Bad Day)

by Katie Winkler

A comparative–

Better than before.

Better than this.

Better than that.

Better than some.

Use it in a sentence, please.

When will it be better?

I have been so much better.

Only you can make it better.

Only you

It’s an adjective, dear.

See, here–

Better times

Better rhymes

Better ways

Better days

Simply good is only an adjective.

And the Best is so superlative.

But

Better

Is

Comparative–

It is

Somewhere in Between.

******

I know my job gets me down sometimes, like today, but honestly, what do I have to complain about? I get to teach people how to be better writers, read, study and talk about great writers as well as write for my own pleasure–for a living. Is this a great country or what?

Then, there are days like today. But, the day is almost over, and I survived. I’m sitting with the ones I love the most, our little cat snoozing on the sofa. Plus, I just wrote a little poem. It’s nothing special, but I like it because I feel at peace now and better than I have all week. Better.

Me at Hatcher Gardens in Spartanburg, SC–April, 2015

******

Are you a writing teacher? Do you write when you have had a bad day, or is writing the last thing you want to do when you come home from work? I want to know! Please share with me your experiences as a writing teacher–the frustrations and the victories, the writing you do just for fun, to release the tensions of the day–whatever you have to share. If I think it’s right for my new online literary journal, Teach. Write. I will publish it in the Fall 2017 premiere.

Submissions are open now until July 1, so if you don’t have time to write during the school year, you’ll still have time to submit in the summer. Check out my submission guidelines, and I hope to hear from you soon!

Got to Get Ourselves Back to the Garden

February 24, 2017February 24, 2017 / Katie Winkler / Leave a comment

Woodstock

Joni Mitchell

I came upon a child of God
He was walking along the road
And I asked him, where are you going
And this he told me
I’m going on down to Yasgur’s farm
I’m going to join in a rock ‘n’ roll band
I’m going to camp out on the land
I’m going to try an’ get my soul free
We are stardust
We are golden
And we’ve got to get ourselves
Back to the garden

Joni Mitchell did not play at Woodstock. She wasn’t even there. Reportedly, she penned this homage to one of the most important musical events of the 20th Century from a hotel room as she watched clips of the festival on TV. Nevertheless, she caught the spirit of that time, experienced it in a true way and wanted to return to it–knew that it would be necessary to go back to the place where the spark became flame, built up and roared.

I was nine-years-old when Woodstock happened. My father was a major in Army Intelligence, serving in Vietnam; nevertheless, the country’s division over the war was not a part of my life then. My wonderful parents protected us as best they could from the reality of my father’s situation. Woodstock came and went while I was playing Kick-the-Can in my grandmother’s backyard, waiting for my little brother to be born and my daddy to come home.

I didn’t really start listening to Mitchell’s music much until college. I attended a rather conservative Christian university, and because I’ve always been a contrary soul, probably to get attention more than anything, I subscribed to Rolling Stone magazine and carried each issue around with the cover always carefully arranged to show off the title. Oh, what a rebel.

Joni Mitchell painted a self-portrait for the cover of Wild Things Run Fast

I did, however, truly read Rolling Stone and often times bought albums that were reviewed favorably in the magazine. Joni Mitchell’s 1982 album Wild Things Run Fast was reviewed (Review), and I liked what I read, so I bought the album. It moved me, especially the final track, based on the beautiful “Love” chapter in the Bible–I Corinthians 13.

But not until I took my first teaching job in Aliquippa, PA, working at a private Christian school that paid me a pittance (less than the male teachers with equal or less experience), did I hear Mitchell’s “Woodstock.”

In PA, one of the things I did to amuse myself was go to the nearby mall and “shop,” rarely buying anything unless I had gotten a little care package from home or pushed paying a bill back a little. In the mall was a record store that also sold cassette tapes (CDs were not a thing yet). I was single then, and there was this good-looking young man who frequently worked there, so I would always take time to visit and linger if he was working, looking through the used and discounted cassette tape bin (I couldn’t afford a record player), searching for something that looked interesting.

One day I found something of value to me–Joni Mitchell’s third album–Ladies of the

Canyon. Even then the “Woodstock” track on that album didn’t appeal that much to me. I preferred the rock version by Crosby, Stills and Nash. Other tracks resonated with my single, 20-something self–“Big, Yellow Taxi” and “Conversation,” especially.

I was lonely then. Still am in many ways, whenever I’m away from my family and close friends. Then as now, I just never seemed to fit in anywhere else. Southerner from Alabama living in dying northern steel town. Liberal in the conservative world–conservative in the liberal world. Devoutly Christian yet disillusioned with institutionalized religion. But whenever I listened to Mitchell’s songs, I just felt better. Her distinctive voice would waft over me, soothing away the frustrations of the day–the loneliness, the isolation, the otherness.

Life got much better and infinitely less lonely when I started dating the man who would become my wonderful husband. After we moved from PA and settled in North Carolina, I still listened to Joni Mitchell, now on CD, but different songs began to resonate with me–my daughter was born and “The Circle Game” became my favorite, but now when I listened to “Woodstock,” Mitchell’s piano and poetry began to sink in: “We are stardust. We are golden.” Yes, yes we were.

by seriousfun@Morguefile.com

Then we come to yesterday–twenty years later–over twenty years doing what I love to do and in which I always thought I excelled. “Perhaps you’re not as good as you think you are,” I thought as I drove home after a particularly disheartening day, not of teaching, but of listening to how my colleagues, my friends, are being dismissed, belittled and even harassed by people who are supposed to have their best interest at heart, and worst of all, hearing an administrator, who has never taught an online class, denigrating our students in an open roundtable discussion about distance learning.

Feeling empty, I drove. Then, as if mystically planned all along, I tapped the CD player button. “Ladies of the Canyon,” the song, “Woodstock” was playing–the second verse. Joni’s voice soothed me again and started bringing me back.

Then can I walk beside you
I have come here to lose the smog
And I feel to be a cog in something turning
Well maybe it is just the time of year
Or maybe it’s the time of man
I don’t know who l am
But you know life is for learning
We are stardust
We are golden
And we’ve got to get ourselves
Back to the garden

Thanks to Joni, I’m on my way back.

photo by hmjmiller@morguefile.com

I have decided to add a creative non-fiction category to Teach. Write: A Literary Journal for Teachers of Writing. Send me creative non-fiction pieces about your experiences as a writing instructor. I will also be accepting poetry and short fiction. See Submissions Guidelines here. I will be accepting submissions until July 1, 2017 for the first edition of the journal.

Process, Not Plagiarism

February 19, 2017February 19, 2017 / Katie Winkler / 3 Comments

I created a wiki on wikispaces for my professional development class. I call it Process, Not Plagiarism. Here is a link if you’d like to see it: Katie’s Wiki (My apologies for the Wiki not being open before. I have changed permissions, so you can now see the wiki.)

This is a subject I’ve thought a great deal about in my 27 years teaching and am convinced that the best way to prevent plagiarism is to engage students in the process and observe them throughout it.

The subject of plagiarism detection software came up on my wiki and this was my answer:

It is good to let students know about and learn how to use plagiarism detection software, but it is far from the answer to the plagiarism problem in higher education. First of all, more and more students are learning how to “beat” plagiarism detection software. Here is an article in Times Higher Education by Hannah Fearn from back in 2011 about how easy plagiarism software is to beat: “Plagiarism can be beat with simple tech tricks.”

I have never been a huge advocate for plagiarism detection services anyway because while the software does a decent job of detecting word-for-word plagiarism, it doesn’t do anything for the bigger problem–lack of proper attribution. Students often think that if they use quotation marks and cite quotes then they are home free, and sometimes they think if they re-write in their own words then they don’t need attribution because the software won’t pick up the plagiarism.

Secondly, and most importantly in my mind, emphasizing the process allows me the time I need to encourage students to choose a topic they are truly interested or even passionate about. When students become engaged in the process and truly want to learn about it instead of simply completing a project, then the results can be more than satisfactory–they can be life-changing.

Lifelong Learning

January 30, 2017 / Katie Winkler / Leave a comment

One thing I hope to instill in my students is a love of learning, something that continues long after the semester is over, the year ended or the degree conferred. The drive to do this comes, even after almost 30 years of teaching, from my own love of being the student, not the teacher.

Right now, I am enjoying a course through the state’s professional development system called “Technology Bootcamp II.” I wasn’t privileged to take the first six-week course, but now, in the third week of this second course, I have already learned some exciting new technologies to add spice to my seated and online classes. Here are some new things I’m learning as well as some older things I’m learning anew:

Blackboard–I used to teach using Blackboard until our college moved to Moodle. Although I am so used to Moodle now and happy with that learning platform, it’s gratifying to see that I have gotten back into the swing of things pretty easily. The interfaces are similar enough that I have easily adapted. I am glad, however, to learn the differences, so I can better prepare students who might transfer and encounter Blackboard or those who come to me more familiar with Blackboard than Moodle.

Prezi–I have used Prezi for several years now and prefer it to some other presentation software. In this course, however, I have learned to use some of the bells and whistles that I didn’t know and discovered some templates that I hadn’t seen before. I like Prezi’s dynamic animation that makes presentations almost cinematic. It is user friendly and easy for students to learn. Here is a link to the Prezi I created to introduce myself to the class. Educational accounts are free.

Prezi Introduction

Tagul–This easy-to-use program was new to me, and it is fun! I can see many uses for it in my classes because I think students will have fun with it too. Tagul allows you to easily produce Word Cloud Art just by uploading web content or adding your own text. Here is one of the first word clouds I created using words from my Study Skills class syllabus.

I was able to view a short tutorial, and then after a little trial and error, created this word tree that highlights some of the main ideas of the course. Word Cloud exercises could be used for vocabulary-building, learning key concepts and terms, for review purposes and a myriad of other uses. And, like Prezi, it’s free!

Here is a link to the animated version of the word cloud I created: https://tagul.com/oo05cu2qlre9/student-success

Jing–Although I have used other screencast programs, Jing will be extremely useful for making short how to videos, five minutes or shorter. User friendly with helpful tutorial videos (I should hope so), Jing didn’t take long to get the hang of and before I knew it, I had created a short tutorial video on how to use Tagul! Here’s a link to the video if you would like to see my first effort at using Jing! Free!

Jing Screencast

LiveBinders–This application helps instructors and students create digital three-ring binders. I haven’t finished working on this project yet, but so far I am quite impressed with LiveBinders. I’m able to download and organize websites, photos, videos, files, etc. that pertain to a particular topic, making them accessible for classroom use. Students can create a free account to create portfolios for class or keep all of their class project files together and easy to share, especially when working on group projects. Very useful.

I will also be learning classroom and online applications of Google Earth this week. Looking forward to it, and I will give you all an update on more useful education applications as I learn them.

I love being a lifelong learner!

Speaking of being a lifelong learner: Just a reminder that my literary e-zine, Teach. Write.,is open for submissions of short fiction, poetry and essays now through July 1, 2017. Anyone who has taught English composition is welcome to submit. See the guidelines at this link for more information: Teach. Write Submission Guidelines. I would love to see your work!

December 1 still the deadline

November 27, 2016 / Katie Winkler / Leave a comment

A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Globe Theater, London 2015

I haven’t written this blog for almost two months. I’m sure you can guess why, so I won’t go into it. Maybe I will some day, but not today. Today is the end of a restful and contemplative Thanksgiving season, the first Sunday of Advent, the Sunday of comfort. Today, I am thankful and comforted that I still have something to give to this world.

And yet.

It’s been a long two months, y’all. I have been hopeful, elated, disheartened and even depressed, but none of these feelings are going to get me anywhere. They certainly won’t make me a better teacher, a better writer, a better person. So, I have rested and recuperated, found myself again, the quiet and peaceful me, the me who has a confidence she rarely shows the world, who rests in the certainty that the Apostle Paul was right when he wrote: “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21).

But what tools does such an insignificant person like me have to do good? The question is absurd. I am a writing teacher. My position affords me tremendous opportunities to do good, and I am so grateful to have these chances to help people pursue the most important achievement of all, becoming better. Certainly I can help students make their writing better, help them to discover ways to strengthen sentence structure and word usage to better communicate. But teaching writing, because it is so intimate, because students will write things they could never say, forms a bond that few other people can have with a relative stranger–a person who sits and listens and learns for only a few weeks and then is gone.

However, I am not only a writing teacher dedicated to helping my students become better, I have other tools to do good. I am a writer–a true writer. I write because writing is a part of who I am. One reason I have come to prefer teaching online to teaching in a classroom is that I’m a better writer than a speaker. When I write I can go back and revise, find better words, create better sentences, more effective structures, even different punctuation, until I’m satisfied, or more likely, have run out of time. Being a writer forces me to re-evaluate my words and the way I say them, allows me to instruct more clearly, more permanently, offers me opportunities to express myself with groanings I can not utter, gives me the chance to communicate the joy and sorrow of my life, bringing comfort and cheer to others.

And then there is this one tool that I can’t quite figure out how to use–the one that gets me into so much trouble–my anger. It exhausts me, being angry all the time. Oh, I understand it, even like it at times. It burns inside of me and makes me feel alive. Mostly, it is a righteous flame. At times it fuels me to do good–to speak for those who cannot, to protect like Mother Bear. But these past couple of months, the anger has flamed and threatened to overtake me like the wildfires around my mountain home, sparked by two long months of drought and by small minds who care little about anything other than their immediate ill-conceived pleasure.

But the rains are coming. The showers are already here.

I got this package in the mail the other day. I didn’t think it was for me because I hadn’t ordered anything, but no one else in the household had either, so I opened it up, right before we got the first rainfall that we’ve had since September. Here’s a picture of it:

As you probably know, it’s from Midsummer’s Night Dream. Helena says it to Hermia when they are fighting over something stupid. Isn’t it funny that these few little words came to me, I still don’t know by whom, at such a low point, the driest part of the season, like raindrops? These words, originally meant to be an insult, hurled at Helena’s vertically challenged rival in a moment of pique, came to me as precious moisture to help dampen the fire of my anger, to redirect it into positive action.

It was just a little rain that day. Just a little. It didn’t really change anything, but it gave me hope. You remember hope.

“Hope” is the thing with feathers –

That perches in the soul –

And sings the tune without the words –

And never stops – at all -” –Emily Dickinson

I am little, oh so little, but I am fierce, never stopping -at all.

***

And……Still plan to roll out my literary e-zine on December 1, so watch for details and submission guidelines for TEACH. WRITE. in the coming days.

Hey, Mrs. Winkler!

Musings and Mutterings About Higher Education in the South

writing