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For my fiction writing class this semester, I selected the 2009 Pulitzer-Prize-winning novel in stories Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout. I hadn’t read it prior to the class (as I sometimes like to read a book for the first time along with my students), but I quickly found myself immersed in the lives of the [...]

This morning Aidan (my six year old son) and I sat for an hour together watching Ted Kooser read his poetry to a packed hall at UC Santa Barbara in August of 2005. Kooser has such a gentle and honest style. He helps us notice the simple magnificence that surrounds us all. It was an [...]

We recently learned that Aidan is being recognized again for logging more reading hours than any other kid in his age group through the summer reading program at the library this year. He was proud, but we are trying to downplay the competitive side of it–reminding him that just having the opportunity to do all [...]