"Reading is the creative center of a writer's life." — Stephen King
April 21, 2016
More than an account of her journey from a sheep-farm in Australia to graduate school at Harvard, this memoir explores the reasons for her decisions with frankness, even-handedness, and intellectual rigor. Jill Ker Conway left her country “. . . because I didn’t fit in, never … Read More
April 14, 2016
To increase learning in the classroom, don’t focus on curriculum or using new “tips and tricks” for instruction. Instead, Ron Ritchhart, a researcher at Harvard’s graduate school of education, writes that we should change the “culture” of our classrooms by making “thinking valued, visible, and actively … Read More
April 7, 2016
Many textbooks for first-year college students take a “here’s how” approach to writing outlines, developing thesis statements, and citing sources. The authors of Habits of the Creative Mind begin with a much different premise. They believe that the focus should be on “nurturing curiosity, creativity, and the … Read More
March 31, 2016
Can you love a poem that you don’t understand? I think this question divides the poetry-reading public into two camps: those who prefer Mary Oliver, Billy Collins, and Ted Kooser on the one side, and those who prefer poets such as Mark Strand on the other. In … Read More
March 17, 2016
Just because it happened, doesn’t make it interesting, Marion Roach Smith bluntly observes in this short book on writing memoir. What makes it interesting? Roach Smith’s answer to this question sets her book apart from other textbooks on this topic. She advocates focusing on a universal … Read More
March 3, 2016
However, as authors Brookfield and Preskill note, that “doesn’t mean that we can’t get better at creating the conditions under which good discussion is more likely to occur.” We can increase the odds of being successful by planning carefully, having realistic expectations, and being willing to monitor … Read More
February 25, 2016
This is the first line in the “Unofficial Missouri Poem” written by William Trowbridge, his state’s Poet Laureate. A recording of his reading of this poem includes laughter from the audience in 15 places. How refreshing! With the exception of Billy Collins, it’s hard to find university-trained-and-credentialed … Read More
February 18, 2016
Until Randy Pausch got on stage at Carnegie Mellon University to deliver his now-famous “Last Lecture,” he hadn’t told students or colleagues that Carnegie Mellon had initially rejected his application to go to graduate school there; it was only after his professor at Brown intervened that the … Read More
February 11, 2016
Simultaneously a “breathtaking memoir” and a “small instant classic of nature writing,” this book juggles multiple themes and techniques. One often-used technique is metaphor: we meet a fellow who is as “serene as a mid-ocean wave” and see the deer “ankle their way … Read More
February 4, 2016
Instead of answering the question “What method of teaching works best?” Ken Bain explores “What environment supports deep learning most successfully?” In the best environments, he argues, students try to solve problems they find intriguing, beautiful or important; they feel challenged and supported; they work collaboratively; … Read More
January 28, 2016
According to Ken Bain, there are three styles of learners: surface learners, who aim to quickly memorize key words and facts; strategic learners, who aim for top grades and efficiency; and deep learners, who aim to “answer questions or solve problems that they regard as important, intriguing, … Read More
January 21, 2016
This line from a conversation between a seventy-seven year-old poet and an IRS agent about a poem by James Wright in the short story “Yancey” is vintage Ann Beattie: it’s an astute comment in an unusual situation by characters who come to each other from unanticipated angles… Read More
January 14, 2016
The authors’ answer to this question: “[T]he first job of any book is to get itself read.” Narrative tension, they observe, “remains a highly effective tool for keeping the reader engaged with the material” (179). If that’s so, why don’t all writers use narrative techniques? Perhaps because … Read More
