October 20, 2009

The National Day on Writing


Today is NCTE's National Day on Writing! On October 8th, 2009 the U.S. Senate passed a resolution declaring today a national holiday. NCTE believes:
Whether we call it texting, IMing, jotting a note, writing a letter, posting an email, blogging, making a video, building an electronic presentation, composing a memo, keeping a diary, or just pulling together a report, Americans are writing like never before. Recent research suggests that writing, in its many forms, has become a daily practice for millions of Americans. It may be the quintessential 21st century skill. By collecting a cross-section of everyday writing through a National Gallery of Writing, we will better understand what matters to writers today—and when writing really counts. Understanding who writes, when, how, to whom, and for what purposes will lead to production of improved resources for writers, better strategies to nurture and celebrate writers, and improved policy to support writing.
The aim of today's holiday is for writers of any genre, caliber, age or locale to pause and share their writing. For The Independent Scribe, the National Day on Writing could not have come at a more appropriate time; our editorial staff spent hours yesterday reviewing, critiquing and thoroughly enjoying all of the submissions we've received for the fall. With the review process behind us, our board will now dive into layout, and become wholly familiar and, yes, even intimate with the works chosen for publication. The Independent Scribe board, although we have not a minute to spare and pause, is certainly plowing full-speed-ahead toward publication by reading, re-reading and, honestly, adoring the work URI's writers have chosen to share with us. After reviewing 160+ pages last night, we can testify confidently: America - and certainly URI students - are indeed writing, NCTE! And this accomplishment is definitely worthy of a national holiday.

In celebration of the first-even National Day on Writing, NCTE is also hosting a web gallery of writing. Any and everyone can contribute to the national gallery, read any of the posted texts or start up a Local Gallery. The writings published on the site cover the proverbial gambit of genre, encompassing: Poetry, fiction, nonfiction, song lyrics, recipes, dirty laundry lists, film reviews, critical essays, to-do lists, character development plans, word-vomit, travel texts, personal narratives, diary entries and beyond. Browsing the gallery is definitely worth one's time, if not only for the variety of texts.

Patrons of the gallery may utilize the search engine to find galleries based on geography, age, purpose or key words. Numerous galleries have been opened in Rhode Island, including one by a URI Writing Class: WRT 490 at URI. Many talented URI students, including our own editor-in-chief, can be found here. Moreover, a number of writers being printed in our Fall 2009 edition also appear in this Local Gallery space; browse the space and enjoy fellow URI writer's "writings from the everyday."

Contributing to the National Gallery of Writing is easy. One must simply make an account, using an email address, and upload the desired file for publication. I strongly encourage all of your to submit a piece of writing you are proud of to this gallery; there is a particular pride that comes with "going public," and we believe it is an unusual sensation all writers are entitled to and should experience.

If you chose to submit to the National Gallery or start up a Local Gallery, please leave a comment below so we can view your work! We look forward to seeing you in the gallery.

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