Quotes I Love: Week 1 Readings

This picture was taken at my family's pond in the small town of Kingsville, Missouri--
one of my favorite beautiful places.

Since we aren't required to write an official Discussion Board post this week, I thought I'd share some of my favorite quotes from the first batch of readings. I hope I can return to them as inspiration for some of the writing and posting I do the rest of this semester:

"A deep map represents understanding of location, not just description. A deep map represents celebration and critique of where you locate yourself" (Brooke 142).

"Our writing comes from our being. The deeper we explore our souls, the deeper and therefore richer will be our writing" (Pipher 35).

"We all have stories to tell. However, we do not necessarily know what they are and why they are important. Writing can help us see why our stories matter, and why we feel a sense of urgency to tell them. Carefully considered, our stories can shed light on our moral assignments" (Pipher 43).

"Don't rush to decide what kind of writing you're going to do or to revise or finish a piece. Let your goal be the writing itself. Learn to let it lead you" (Allen).

"I want to model a type of honest inquiry toward such fraught concepts as racial and cultural difference. This should be expressed as an intellectual curiosity that does not bend to easy answers, but that is also humane and sensitive to one's location and audience" (Desser 47).

"Academic discourse can be such a placeless discourse" (Owens 36).

"Educators have a responsibility to help students resist the cynicism and hyperboredom of contemporary, consumer culture by discovering the kind of self-worth that comes from being amazed at one's local worlds. But to do this we must first learn all we can about the environments our students live in ... give them opportunities to testify about what is wrong and what is good about those worlds ... and ... provide them with a vocabulary with which they might critique their environments (Owens 69-70).

"As educators we pride ourselves on teaching something called critical thinking, but often at the cost of promoting local thinking. 'Higher' learning aims upward, away from the mundane, the everyday, the provincial ... What we need more of is lower learning, thinking that keeps bringing us back to the local conditions of the communities that we and our students return to once we leave the classroom" (Owens 75).

Introduction: Who Am I, Where Am I?

Hi, I'm Katie. This is my first foray into the blogging world, so please bear with me! I'm a first-year PhD student in Composition and Rhetoric at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where I'm also teaching two sections of English 150 -- Writing: Rhetoric as Inquiry (aka freshman composition). School starts Monday, so I've been lesson planning and tweaking my syllabus like a madwoman! I'm eager to immerse myself in new courses at a new university this semester.

I still feel like I've stepped into another world once I cross those "N" pillars on my walk to campus. I just moved to Lincoln a few weeks ago from Lee's Summit, Missouri, a suburb of Kansas City. Last December I earned my MA in English from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, where I taught freshman and sophomore composition to a diverse student population. More recently, I taught developmental writing and sophomore composition at a community college in north Kansas City, where many students commuted from small towns or farming communities. Here's a picture of my part of campus, which was green and lovely most of the year:

Now I'm living in downtown Lincoln, and it's been a thrilling and disorienting experience so far. I love the location of my apartment, which is within walking distance from campus, the Capitol building, the Haymarket district (including the farmer's market!), and a wide variety of shops, restaurants, and businesses. I walked around lost for quite a while this week looking for a tailor I had located on the internet; I didn't realize I had to take an elevator to the seventh floor of a Wells Fargo Bank building to find her! I love the bustle and energy of the downtown area, and the people in Nebraska have been kind and patient as I learn to navigate a new place. For instance, I was amazed by the service and efficiency at the DMV here--not usually the case. There are a few downsides to my new living situation, such as the nonexistent parking and the difficulty getting mail, but I'm overall enjoying what I think of as "city life." I live in one of six converted apartments on top of a vacant office building, at the end of a row containing a defunct printing shop, several bars, and a "gentleman's club":

It's pretty nondescript on the outside, but my landlord has done a wonderful job making the apartments feel homey and comfortable. This is my first time living in a place I furnished myself, so I'm enjoying the task of decorating on a grad student budget.

From my perspective, one of the most fascinating aspects of Lincoln is the Husker hysteria! I went to a small liberal arts college for undergrad and earned my MA from a commuter campus without a great sports record, so I've never experienced such overwhelming university pride before.

Even my grocery store is on board--I have to admit, it's pretty infectious. And while I wish people were as excited about our academics as our football team, I still enjoy being part of an institution with such a long tradition of excellence in many fields. My boyfriend is a Mizzou alum who still hasn't reconciled himself to the fact that he's now dating a Husker, but I think he'll come around eventually. He did enjoy the great food and abundance of craft beer when he visited.

I took the above picture at one of my favorite places in Lincoln so far: the Sunken Gardens. This gorgeous community garden is full of all kinds of plants and flowers, two large koi ponds, a fountain, a waterfall, and an abundance of quiet, peaceful outdoor spots. I visited on a gorgeous day last weekend and spent a few hours reading in the sunshine.

Last but not least, it wouldn't be an introduction to me without an introduction to Penny. This two-year-old golden retriever is spunky, rambunctious, sometimes disobedient, and always loyal. I like to think of her as a work in progress! She's living in Missouri with my parents for now, but they send me lots of Penny pictures and videos. As for me, when I'm not reading, writing, or grading, I enjoy coffee, fitness, and moonlighting on a feminist "snark site" that deconstructs popular women's blogs. I look forward to working with all of you this semester!

I'll close with my rendition of a "Where I'm From" poem, inspired by the awesome ones I've read so far:

I am from Charlotte, North Carolina
the blurry birthplace left behind
at nine months, never to return.

I am from 18 years deep in the heart of Texas,
the stars at night are big and bright,
sun tea and Spanglish and Remember the Alamo!

I am from Gary and Lisa, kindness and neuroses,
learning to ride a bike and cast a fishing line,
and the cross-stitched picture on the wall:
"Richer than me, you can never be--
I had a mother who read to me."

I am from Lee's Summit, Missouri, a town with
an apostrophe and a restless police force--
a sleepy, in-between place waiting for a spark.

I am from Kansas City, Kansas City here I come,
bright lights and barbecue, Chiefs and Royals,
where wealth and crippling want are juxtaposed.

I am from the pages of The Great Gatsby,

Hamlet, the creeping fear of The Bell Jar,
the disappointing ending of Gone With the Wind,
the back of the wardrobe en route to Narnia.

My license says I am a Nebraskan now,
though I don't yet belong here--
A new place, a fresh place, unspoiled by the
passage of time or sadness or change.
Here I will write the next chapter of my history;
Here I hold my pen over a fresh page.