Reading Rural YAL

In this episode, Whippoorwill Award winner Kevin Dunn and I talk about the importance of rural voices in publishing, the impact that transactions of place have on identity, and the connection between DIY punk and rural culture. To learn more about Kevin Dunn: https://www.kcdunn.com/ For more info on the Whippoorwill Award for Rural YA andContinue reading "Vicious Is My Middle Name by Kevin Dunn | Author Talk"

In this episode, I sit down with my buddy, Brian Brady, to talk about the Whippoorwill Award winning Vicious Is My Middle Name by Kevin Dunn which is about Sydney Vicious Talcott and her efforts to derail the construction of an asphalt plant in her new home in Appalachia. Here’s the jacket copy summary: WithContinue reading "Vicious Is My Middle Name by Kevin Dunn | Book Talk"

– Rural Teen Writing Contest Runner-Up – In this episode, high school junior, Laurel Aronian reads her award-winning poem, “So Long, Schoolhouse” and chats with me about her inspiration for the poem, her writing process, and gives some great advice to fellow young writers and teachers of writing alike. Check out her poem: https://literacyinplace.com/2024/02/15/so-long-schoolhouse-by-laurel-aronian-runner-up-2023-rural-teen-writing-contest/ LearnContinue reading "Author Talk | Laurel Aronian"

In this episode, Whippoorwill Award winning Tiffany D. Jackson sits down to chat with me about the importance of representation, her research process, and how to make a book authentic even when it’s about an experience outside of your own. Let’s just all agree to ignore the number of flubs during her bio – IContinue reading "The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson | Author Talk"

We’re kicking off Black History Month by acknowledging and honoring the experiences of rural Black folks. Rural America is not a white monolith, and we’d like for everyone to know that. In this episode, I chat with a former Southern Wells student and current Purdue preservice teacher, Emily McCorkle. We talk about all kinds ofContinue reading "The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson | Book Talk"

We’re back, after a brief holiday hiatus, with an exciting bonus episode featuring *the* George Ella Lyon. Her poem “Where I’m From” has been used by English Teachers all over the world to invite students to think about who they are and their connections to their own places. George Ella Lyon is an award-winning poetContinue reading "George Ella Lyon | Author Talk"

In this episode I talk to Gary Eldon Peter about craft, about out-migrant experiences and identity building, and about the importance of never giving up on yourself or your writing. To buy the book with our affiliate link: https://bookshop.org/a/86567/9781646032532 To learn more about Gary Eldon Peter: https://www.garyeldonpeter.com/bio

With this episode, Reading Rural YAL is starting something new! Rather than just me talking about the book, I’m going to talk about the book with preservice teachers, inservice teachers, and teacher educators. Grace and Maya are fabulous and have incredible insights into the book as well as geospatial understandings of and in education. I’mContinue reading "The Complicated Calculus (and Cows) of Carl Paulsen | Book Talk ft. – Maya & Grace"

This episode features four of the contributors to Tori Bovalino’s folk horror anthology The Gathering Dark. These women are so insightful, and I learned so much about folklore, folk horror, and more through our discussion. In this talk, we tackle everything from what defines folk horror to publishing industry categories to what makes rural placesContinue reading "The Gathering Dark edited by Tori Bovalino | Author Talk"

Halloween may be over, but for me spooky season doesn’t end until Thanksgiving. So, in honor of extended spooky season, this Book Talk features a short story collection full of spooky stories just perfect for this time of year. In it, you’ll find wonderfully goosebump-inducing folk horror stories that span a range of rural locations,Continue reading "The Gathering Dark edited by Tori Bovalino | Book Talk"

In this episode Julia, David, and I talk about the importance of place and rurality to our lived experiences, to reading, and to writing. We also get to do something that few authors and readers get to do – talk to one another about the conversation we had across the page. This is one ofContinue reading "Angel Falls by Julia Rust & David Surface | Author Talk"

Time to get our spooky on! In honor of Spooky Season, in this episode, I do a little reading, give a summary, and use some place-conscious analysis to talk about Whippoorwill Award winning Angel Falls. I also outline some teaching ideas for using the book in a rural (or non rural) ELA classroom. Angel FallsContinue reading "Angel Falls by Julia Rust & David Surface | Book Talk"

Willie Edward Taylor Carver, Jr. is a brilliant poet and a kindred spirit, and I enjoyed every single second of this conversation. I hope rural English teachers out there will listen to it, because he puts language to a lot of issues faced by rural ELA in language with concrete examples that I’ve always wishedContinue reading "Gay Poems for Red States by Willie Edward Taylor Carver, Jr. | Author Talk"

In this episode I read a few poems from, give an overview of, and discuss how I would teach Willie Edward Taylor Carver, Jr.’s incredible collection, Gay Poems for Red States. If you’re teaching in a school that is currently inhospitable to queer literature, know that there are poems in this collection could still workContinue reading "Gay Poems for Red States by Willie Edward Taylor Carver, Jr. | Book Talk"

Y'all – this discussion with Regina Hansen was so good, I lost myself in the conversation and forgot about my questions. We talked about so much important stuff including Get the book: https://bookshop.org/a/86567/9781534482449 Learn more about Regina Hansen and her work: https://www.reginamhansen.com

In this Book Talk episode, I give the summary for, perform a mini analysis of the way place functions in the book, and provide a skeleton of an idea about how teachers could approach teaching The Coming Storm. Links to songs mentioned in the book:

In this Author Talk, Dr. Rob Petrone sits down with me to talk about my first book Country Teachers in City Schools. We talk about why I wrote it, how I wrote it, what’s in it, and what it means to me. I had so much fun and hope you do too! You can findContinue reading "Country Teachers in City Schools by Chea Parton | Author Talk"

In this episode, I give quite a few updates and announcements about cool stuff happening at Literacy In Place. I also talk about my book, Country Teachers In City Schools: The Challenge of Negotiating Identity and Place. Here are some things discussed in the show: You can buy the book Check out the Read AppalachiaContinue reading "Country Teachers in City Schools by Chea Parton | Book Talk"

In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Darcie Little Badger to discuss her book Elatsoe, her rural background, her STEM background and PhD, and how all of that affects what and how she writes. It was a delightful conversation, and I hope you’ll listen in. Other books mentioned in this episode:

In this episode, I sit down to talk with the winner of the Literacy In Place Rural Teen Writing Contest, Allison Strange, about her winning story, “Fate for a Cat.” We talk about how her rural background has inspired her as a writer, her writing process, and she gives some sage advice to would-be submittersContinue reading "Allison Strange | Author Talk"

In this episode, I talk about how I would use Allison Strange’s Rural Teen Writing Contest story, “Fate for a Cat” in my classroom. In connection, I discuss writing worshop and give a big shout-out to Deb Kelt and the Heart of Texas Writing Project that changed my whole life as a writer, teacher ofContinue reading "Fate for a Cat by Allison Strange | Ep. 2 Teaching Ideas"

In this episode, I talk about Allison Strange’s winning story, Fate for a Cat. I read a bit from the beginning, give a summary, and then give a brief analysis of how place and rurality function in the story and how/why I connected it to it. Learn more about why I started the Rural TeenContinue reading "Fate for a Cat by Allison Strange | Ep. 1 Summary & Analysis"

I’m so excited to be kicking off the series where I talk about this year’s winner of the Literacy In Place Rural Teen Writing Contest! Before I get to talking about Allison Strange’s story “Fate for a Cat” I wanted to do a special episode where I talk about why this thing even exists –Continue reading "Rural Teen Writing Contest Series | Episode 0"

In this episode, I sit down with Shannon Dittemore, author of WINTER WHITE AND WICKED to talk about how the story came to be, her connections to rural places, what she wants to set the record straight about rural people and living, and drop a couple hints about what *might* be my latest project. ToContinue reading "Shannon Dittemore | Author Talk"

In this episode, I outline two ways that I would invite students to engage with WINTER WHITE AND WICKED. One way is through connections between the fantasy world of the novel and our own, and the other is through the world building and histories of the novel and our own. For sample questions for teachingContinue reading "Winter, White and Wicked by Shannon Dittemore | Teaching Ideas"

Summary & Analysis In this episode, I read a few pages from Shannon Dittemore’s WINTER, WHITE AND WICKED, provide a summary of the book, and do some analysis of the rural place of the novel. Specifically, I think about how themes of faith/religion, race and history, and economic systems in the novel connect to ourContinue reading "Winter, White and Wicked by Shannon Dittemore | Episode 1"

In this episode, Terena Elizabeth Bell and I talk about the stories in TELL ME WHAT YOU SEE. We discuss her rural backrground and how that affects her writing, including the stories in this latest collection. We talk about rural places as culturally and linguistically rich supporters of art and the artists that produce it.Continue reading "Terena Elizabeth Bell | Author Talk"

Sometimes when I’m doing these talks, there’s part of the discussion that I really want to include but I’m not sure how to fit it in. This time it was just too good not to share, so I’ve made my first teaser. Sitting down with Bell was like chatting with an old friend from wordContinue reading "Terena Elizabeth Bell | Teaser"

In this episode I discuss how to use Bell’s story “#CoronaLife” to help students process the trauma of the pandemic, how it’s connected to place, and to study as a mentor text for their own writings. It even includes a sneak peak of the story! For more on rural language varieties: https://literacyinplace.com/2022/01/14/what-is-my-rural-language-variety/ To get one,Continue reading "Tell Me What You See by Terena Elizabeth Bell | Episode 2"

I’m kicking off Season 3 of Reading Rural YAL with TELL ME WHAT YOU SEE, an amazing short story collection by Terena Elizabeth Bell. I’m absolutely obsessed with it. It’s experimental, cutting edge, and powerful – especially in its exploration of life during the pandemic and the January 6th insurrection. I say it a millionContinue reading "Tell Me What You See by Terena Elizabeth Bell Season 3: Episode 1"

In this episode, I talk with New York Times Best-Selling and Whippoorwill Award winning Kalynn Bayron, who is the absolute epitome of cool. We talk about everything from her time growing up in Alaska, the underrepresentation of rural folks of color in YA, challenges faced by authors of marginalized identities in publishing, her reserach andContinue reading "Author Talk | Kalynn Bayron"

In this episode, I detail the creative assessment and community exhibition “Mythology of Me” That I would use after students had finished reading the book. I also give shoutouts to Mrs. Pamme Meier-Fisher, the teacher who inspired me to be a teacher and with whom none of this’d be possible and to Randy Bomer andContinue reading "This Poison Heart by Kalynn Bayron | Episode 2"

In this episode, I read from Baryon’s Whippoorwill Award winning book and discuss how rurality contributes to the building of characters’ layered identities in ways similar to how we do it in our own lives. I also talk about ALAN and book boxes. For more info visit https://alan-ya.org/

In this episode, I sit down with Ginny Myers Sain. We talk about how place and rurality have impacted who she is and how she writes. She gives some solid tips and tricks for developing craft, especially through dialogue and one-act plays. We also chat about the representation of rural language varieties in young adultContinue reading "Author Talk | Ginny Myers Sain"

In this episode I outline two activities that I would use to teach this text. One involves a dramatic reading (which I hope Sain would love since I know she loves theater) and the other is to come up with your town’s claim to fame. Get a copy of the book: https://bookshop.org/a/86567/9780593403969 Learn more aboutContinue reading "Dark and Shallow Lies by Ginny Myers Sain | Episode 2"

In this episode, I read from, summarize, and provide a brief critical place-based analysis of the Whippoorwill Award winning book. I specifically focus on place and how it shapes and is shaped by geography, history, and language practice. To buy the book: https://bookshop.org/a/86567/9780593403969 To checkout the Spooky Unit with reThink ELA: https://www.rethinkela.com/october-inquiry-unit-reading-and-writing-spooky-stories/ To see howContinue reading "Dark and Shallow Lies by Ginny Myers Sain | Episode 1"

Whippoorwill Award winning author Tim Lockette and I talk about TELL IT TRUE, how his rural background influences his writing, what it means and can look like to challenge rural stereotypes, how reading can influence your writing, and rural language practices. Shout-outs to Dr. Sarah J Donovan and EthicalELA. Get the book: https://bookshop.org/a/86567/9781644210826 More informationContinue reading "Author Talk | Tim Lockette"

In this episode, I talk about some ideas for teaching Tell It True, including turning the class into a newsroom, partnering with the art class for printing, and sharing with the community and school. Resources From This Episode Daily Yonder Article: https://dailyyonder.com/meet-the-77-year-old-woman-keeping-her-towns-newspaper-the-montezuma-record-alive-as-its-last-remaining-employee/2022/07/06/ Get the book: https://bookshop.org/a/86567/9781644210826 More information about Tim Lockette: https://timlockette.com/

In this episode, I provide a brief summary, read the first page (or so), and provide some analysis on important and rural-salient themes of Tim Lockette’s Tell It True. Specifically, I focus my analysis on the importance of local news staying local. Buy the Book: https://timlockette.com/

In this episode, Michelle Coles and I talk about so many things: How transactions across different types of places teach us to see and celebrate difference as well as connect through commonality The importance of authentic and intersectional stories of rurality How we’re essentially in a third cycle of Reconstruction and civil rights Her inspirationContinue reading "Author Talk – Michelle Coles"

In this episode, I talk about the possibilities of co-teaching this book with a history teacher and brainstorm projects such as Little Known History: Reconstruction Edition where students could learn about the historical events and people of the novel through research game creation. Learn more about Michelle Coles and find copies of Black Was theContinue reading "Black Was the Ink by Michelle Coles: Episode 2"

In this episode, I give a brief summary, read the first couple of pages, and do some critical place analysis of Michelle Coles’s Black Was the Ink. Its focus on Reconstruction America provides important connections to and insights for our own current cultural moment. It also importantly depicts Black rural folks – their history, struggles,Continue reading "Black Was the Ink by Michelle Coles: Episode 1"

In this episode, we talk about Monica’s rural connections, rural as cultural identity, code-switching/translanguaging with rural language varieties, and so much more. Another wonderful conversation I’m grateful to have had.

In this episode, I discuss some critical rural pedagogical approaches to teaching AIR, including a reading unit framed by an essential question with suggestions for reader’s notebooks; a PBL writing unit designed to learn about and improve accessibility in students’ school and community. Learn more about critical rural English pedagogy: https://youtu.be/NFrLzo27-Ek Resources about equity audits:Continue reading "Air by Monica Roe: Episode 3"

In this episode, I talk about how rurality shapes accessibility and role that plays in shaping Emmie’s story. I also connect it to my own experiences as a rural student and teacher. If you haven’t filled out my survey yet, I’d really appreciate it if you could. Connected Resources: Why We Need More Rural PerspectivesContinue reading "Air by Monica Roe: Episode 2"

In this episode, I give a brief overview of Monica Roe’s 2022 debut, AIR. I discuss the inspiration for the book and read the first chapter. Also… If you haven’t filled out my survey yet, I’d really appreciate it if you could. https://forms.gle/e26yPv8ycMppouPv5 Buy the book: https://bookshop.org/books/air-9781250798268/9780374388652

In this episode, Petrone and Wynhoff Olsen talk about their connections to rural places and the inspiration for their book. We discuss the affordances and challenges of living and teaching in rural places, work to outline what a critical rural English Pedagogy is, and how teachers and teachers educators can use critical rural pedagogy inContinue reading "Author Talk – Drs. Rob Petrone & Allison Wynhoff Olsen"

In this episode of Reading Rural YAL, I discuss each chapter of Teaching English in Rural Communities in more detail to show you all the theoretical and practical awesomeness contained in this book. Here’s a link to more resources on using a critical rural lens in teaching reading and writing: Buy the book here.

In this episode, I embark on a new feature of RRYAL – talking about trade books! Teaching English in Rural Communities is a book I wish I would’ve had when I was a rural English teacher. Here I provide a summary and reading of the first few pages. I hope this is helpful to allContinue reading "Trade Book Talks – Teaching English in Rural Communities Episode 1"

In this bonus episode of Reading Rural YAL, Dr. Jenn Sanders, one of the co-founders of the Whippoorwill Award for Rural Young Adult Literature discusses how and why the award got started, how winners are selected, and what she hopes the Whippoorwill does for rural teachers and students. To see past winners and learn more,Continue reading "Interview: Jenn Sanders, Co-Founder of The Whippoorwill Award for Rural YA Literature"

In this episode I discuss possibilities for trauma-based teaching THE GONE AWAY PLACE. Not only are they trauma-based, but they’re arts-integrated to boot!