Explains procedures for students participating in an author chat using the Internet, based on experiences with children's author Mary Pope Osborne and a third grade class. Discusses equipment needs, how to formulate appropriate questions, and benefits of online chats, including the immediate response time. (LRW)

Presents a telephone interview with author of the "Harry Potter" children's books, Jonanne Rowling. Highlights include: initial expectations for Harry; work before the "Harry" novels; an autobiographical character; her favorite books as a child; comparison with Ronald Dahl; earliest attempts at writing; writing about good and…

A survey of Library Journal readers produced a list of 150 20th-century fiction titles regarded the most influential. Notes an overlap with the Modern Library list (1998); dominance of male authors, even with 75% of librarians being female; and most of the top 40 titles have been made into movies. (PEN)

Argues that reading fiction has the power to produce personal change against enormous obstacles. Discusses the therapeutic impact of fiction, and examines reading as experiencing. Discusses how authoring fiction is similar to and different from leading a counseling group. Discusses things that an author as group leader must keep in mind in order…

This column presents a brief biography of author Seymour Simon, whose topics for children's photo essays include icebergs, gorillas, thunderstorms, optical illusions, snakes, air, water, planets, airplanes, volcanoes, cars, the brain, bridges, bugs, crocodiles, skyscrapers, sharks, and paper airplanes. Though he is best known in the style and an…

The author argues that first-year students understand "writing" narrowly and that introductory writing courses should deepen that understanding. The article describes class projects designed to help students see themselves as authors (closely related to "authorities"), create a "community of dissensus," and raise awareness of ideology--their own…

Cauley's books about snakes demonstrate intentional and interesting decisions by a beginning writer. The conclusion states that learning to choose topics for writing in thoughtful ways is an important part of the curriculum in writing workshop.

This article describes a new educational field labeled "place-based education" and relates it to experiential learning. This term has appeared in the educational literature over the last 10 years and illustrates a concern for providing participants with quality experiences in local settings. After defining and describing the term, one…

A nondescript rock shelter in Texas provides the evidence for shamanism in Leslie Marmon Silko's novel, "Ceremony". There, archaeologists found identifiable images of antlered human figures and entheogenic plant substances, which are medicinal plants, associated with shamanistic practices.

Frederick Douglass, as a nineteenth-century writer, experimented with all manner of discourses including sentimentality, romance and, more significantly, the vernacular tradition. In his works like "My Bondage" and "Life and Times of Frederick Douglass", the confidence of a writer willing to experiment with contrasting forms and willing to make a…

The high school students who spent five weeks studying the style and craft of Ernest Hemingway experienced the power and plus points of apprenticeships. Several assignments that helped the high school juniors to analyze Hemingway's work on short stories and learn from this master craftsman are presented.

This article seeks to explore the influence of the knowledge economy on the status of writing and literacy. It inquires into what happens to writers and their writing when texts serve as the chief commercial products of an organization--when such high-stakes factors as corporate reputation, client base, licensing, competitive advantage, growth,…

As a primary science writer, the author finds writing the books for children far more satisfying than writing those for teachers. In the pupil books, one can speak directly to the child. Teacher notes are always interpreted by somebody else, but pupil books are not mediated by the teacher in the same way. Writing them offers particular challenges:…

In the good old days, the state that is Nebraska was identified as part of the Great American Desert. In many ways, in climate and terrain, it still bears a resemblance to a desert. As a frontier or a land of pioneers, it deserves recognition. Invisibility may be one of the greatest challenges women face. One of the great flaws in the writing of…

For more than a century, linguists have been interested in the study of frequent word combinations. The present study investigated a special type of word combination, lexical bundles, defined as a sequence of three or more words that co-occur frequently in a particular register [Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English, Longman, London,…