Rick Bragg growing up in Alabama in his fantastic memoir All Over but the Shoutin' and Debra Raye King growing up in Wisconsin with her heartwarming Gravedigger's Daughter.
I am delighted to see your discussion of Rick Bragg’s work. In my Creative Nonfiction seminar, I teach _All Over But the Shoutin’_, and it meets with a very positive response from my students. I use it as a model of an audience-focused aesthetic vision with Bragg’s masterful projection of engaging authenticity. I teach at a small Christian college in the rural South, and the work has particular resonance for my many first-generation college students. They feel respected & validated through this cathartic reading experience. Thanks for highlighting this beautiful work!
Oh, that is so neat! I bet that is very interesting to teach this book. I loved how he kept returning to the theme of his mother saying "he's travelin'." Thanks for sharing that your first-generation student resonate so much with this book.
I love that empowering thematic message as well! Could there be any more emotionally satisfying conclusion than Rick’s decision to gift a home to his beloved mother—granting her much deserved security and peace for the first time—after she has gone without even a new dress for 18 years in her sacrificial care for her children? So poignant & beautifully characterized! What a tribute!
Yeah, it was definitely a tear-jerker. The Pulitzer Prize award ceremony was just beautiful too. That juxtaposition between her life of never leaving the home to sitting next to Arthur Schlesinger while people praise her son must have been the greatest experience.
I am delighted to see your discussion of Rick Bragg’s work. In my Creative Nonfiction seminar, I teach _All Over But the Shoutin’_, and it meets with a very positive response from my students. I use it as a model of an audience-focused aesthetic vision with Bragg’s masterful projection of engaging authenticity. I teach at a small Christian college in the rural South, and the work has particular resonance for my many first-generation college students. They feel respected & validated through this cathartic reading experience. Thanks for highlighting this beautiful work!
Oh, that is so neat! I bet that is very interesting to teach this book. I loved how he kept returning to the theme of his mother saying "he's travelin'." Thanks for sharing that your first-generation student resonate so much with this book.
I love that empowering thematic message as well! Could there be any more emotionally satisfying conclusion than Rick’s decision to gift a home to his beloved mother—granting her much deserved security and peace for the first time—after she has gone without even a new dress for 18 years in her sacrificial care for her children? So poignant & beautifully characterized! What a tribute!
Yeah, it was definitely a tear-jerker. The Pulitzer Prize award ceremony was just beautiful too. That juxtaposition between her life of never leaving the home to sitting next to Arthur Schlesinger while people praise her son must have been the greatest experience.
Absolutely! Thanks again for highlighting such a deserving text!