Gravyland: Writing Beyond the Curriculum in the City of Brotherly Love

Acknowledgments

ix Acknowledgments L OR I S HOR R has been my writing partner for more than twenty years, although she would probably not think this was the case. Without her, however , the best chapters of my life would not have occurred. And without my children’s witty and generous suggestions on how to revise some of my ideas about writerly authority, life would be much less of an adventure. Finally, my parents offered me a strong sense of the basics—the happy childhood that made all else possible. To my primary writing community, then, thank you. Over the past ten years, I have also been fortunate to participate in a rich community of writers and writing groups in Philadelphia and, later, Syracuse. I am grateful for many conversations with Vera Beaton, Lorene Cary, Ann Marie Taliercio, Yolanda Johnson, Mark Lyons, Gil Ott, Margarita Rojas, and August Tarrier. From these folk, I learned to be a better writer as well as to develop a deeper understanding of the political importance of writing. As will be evident in the pages that follow, I have always felt fortunate that many of their voices ultimately became part of the publishing history of New City Community Press. It was always my hope that this book would become part of these writers ’ collective publishing history. Too often, however, the academy and the community exist along different publishing tracks—one track destined for professors, the other destined for local neighborhoods. For that reason, I am very grateful to Mary Selden Evans and Alice Randel Pfeiffer for bringing New City Community Press into the Syracuse University Press family, supporting its many writers, and developing a writing community that draws the academic and the organizer, the disciplinary and the communal into dialogue. They have created a wonderful home for those committed to the possibilities of writing. x | AC K N OW LED GM EN T S My colleagues at Temple University deserve a hearty thanks as well. If not for the good nature of Eli Goldblatt, Susan Wells, Dennis Lebofsky, Vanessa Allen Smith, and Nicole Meyenberg, much of the work described in this book would not have occurred. Indeed, Eli Goldblatt deserves a particular note of gratitude for responding to even my most grandiose ideas with enthusiasm and trust—the best response of a true friend. Finally, I want to highlight the importance of Lynda Hill, who introduced me to the Federation of Worker Writers and Community Publishers and who offered the initial intellectual framework for much of the work that would mark both the Institute for the Study of Literature, Literacy, and Culture and New City Writing. I hope all of these individuals see their impact in the work described here. My colleagues at Syracuse University have been the best of friends for the past five years. In a world where too many of us can tell departmental horror stories, my experiences at Syracuse are a healthy blend of intellectual debate and collective compassion. That such moments often occur over a blend of drinks and nachos just makes them that much more fun. For that reason, I want to express my gratitude to Eileen Schell for convincing me to make the leap to Syracuse University, Carol Lipson for making this leap possible, and the rest of my colleagues for the community they allowed me to enter: Lois Agnew, Adam Banks, Collin Brooke, Rebecca Moore Howard , Anne Fitzsimmons, Margaret Himley, Kristi Johnson, Krista Kennedy, Chris Palmer, Iswari Pandey, LouAnn Payne, Gwen Pough, Minnie Bruce Pratt, George Rhinehart, Jeff Simmons, Marybeth Sorendo, Louise Wetherbee Phelps, and Beth Wagner. My department is also fortunate to have many talented graduate students from whom I have learned much over the past five years—both about our field and about the insights that will shape its direction for years to come. I want to offer a particular note of gratitude to Brian Bailie, Collette Caton, J. Haynes, Gale Coskan-Johnson, Carolyn Ostrander, Patricia Serviss, Zosha Stuckey, and Dianna Winslow. Many years ago, in what seems a different life, I was fortunate enough to become friends with James Seitz. Through the years and many Conference on College Composition and Communication meetings, Jim has been a consistent guide in how to understand the twists and turns of an academic Acknowledgments | xi career. I am very grateful for his consistent support. Other individuals have also been important influences on the work described here: John Burdick...