Considers some of the premises of Edward Barrett's model for hypertext that rejects cognitive and associationist language as both unnecessary and inaccurate. Notes that a central issue is the rejection of the "authorial imperative" of structured information in favor of a view of writing as an open-ended ever-changing conversation. (RS)

Gives a brief report on the therapeutic value of writing in working through the grief process. Presents two poems by the author that helped him work through the loss of his mother and brother. (RS)

Provides a perspective on the integrative healing aspects of poetry. Suggests that poetry calls things together, contains things, brings things to light, and shows how things are already whole, healed, one. (RS)

Explores and interrogates the concept and function of voice in writing. Invites readers to ask questions about voice by interacting with the 99 questions the author asks of himself. (MG)

Considers how a fundamental shift has taken place in the rhetoric of composition studies. Examines the way a given idea, such as postmodernism or theory, becomes an effective force in history. Defines critical interference as the goal to slow (rather than to simply oppose) the process by which postmodernism passes into the common sense of…

Inventories the resources an examination of some key texts from the growing literature of postcolonial criticism make available for describing the activities of writing and reading from an "other" perspective. Assembles some useful materials for establishing the basic terms of a primer in postcolonial poetics, for devising a glossary of…

Discusses the role of incubation in the writing process. Suggests that one secret to coming up with good ideas in writing is understanding the importance of realizing that the process entails patient revision, takes time, and often requires some time off task. (Author/VWL)

The rhetorical power of punctuation conventions as well as the effect of violating those conventions should be explained to the students. The craft in conventions can be found anywhere and all good writers use it in their work.

This is an attempt to define what being a responsible and responsive user of English might mean in a world ordered by global capital, a world where all forms of intra- and international exchanges in all areas of life are increasingly under pressure to involve English. Turning to recent work in linguistics and education, I pose a set of alternative…

At the same time that compositionists have shown a renewed interest in public writing, neoliberal social and economic policies have dramatically shrunk the spaces in which most students' voices can be heard. In this essay I argue that from twentieth century working-class struggles in the U.S. we and our students can acquire the tools necessary to…

Like many high school English teachers, I often had a difficult time getting my students to write. I knew the key to getting them to write was to find activities that interested them. What do most students love? They love going out to eat! They love not just the food, but the whole experience of "going out." Cozzy's Restaurant was this teacher's…

Although the rhetoric of expertise stemming from the hard and social sciences has been well researched, the scholarship has not tended to focus on acts of public expertise by scholars from the humanities. This article reports a case study in the rhetorical practices of a theologian, acting as a public expert, first attempting to affect decision…

As Composition Studies has grown as a discipline over the last quarter century, the field has wrestled with defining and naming disciplinary expertise and professional positions. At first glance, issues of naming may not appear worthy of debate, and so whether an individual writing center director identifies as a writing program administrator…

The author suggests that models positioning the multilingual writer as passively conditioned by "interference" from his or her first language, as well as more correlative models of the interrelationships of multiple languages in writing, need to be revised. Analyzing works written to different audiences, in different contexts, and in…

In this article, the author talks about Natalie Goldberg's "Writing Down the Bones." Over the past 20 years, she has referred to its pages whenever she needs a chapter of cheery Buddhist philosophy to soften an onslaught of editorial rejection slips. In the midst of any heady publishing success, she turns to the book to remind her that,…