Writing Places Book

Table of Contents

Topical Contents ix

Preface for Instructors xiii

Acknowledgements xv

Preface for Students xvii

CHAPTER 1 Where Are We From? 1

Kimberly Wheaton, Mom and the Kitchen 4

Catherine Black, The Joy of Mud 8

Virginia Di Tata, A Bridge Between Two Cultures 14

Blaine Harden, A History in Concrete 18

Tim Lindgren, On Being From Fargo 24

David Sedaris, Our Perfect Summer 30

Andrea Casassa, The Coffee Shop 38

Gian-Karlo Casimiro, Get Off at 161^st and Transfer To the Truth 44

Felicia Madlock, Where I’m From 48

Matthew O’Conner, Circles 51

CHAPTER 2 Where Are We? 57

Derek Owens, Where I’m Writing From 61

Gabriela de la Huerta, En Mi Cucina/In My Kitchen 75

Emily Keane, Structured Chaos 77

Ron Fletcher, By Dawn’s Early Light 81

Ray Gonzalez, Hazardous Cargo 85

Rose Arrieta, A Nation Divided 92

Mathew Dudley, The Dope on Head Shops 102

Ian Frazier, Someplace in Queens 107

Robin Dunn, King’s Chapel and Burying Ground 116

Shawn McGrath, Punk Isn’t Dead, But the Fans

Just Might Kill It 122

Rebecca Solnit, The Silence of the Lambswool

Cardigans 130

Julia Corbett, Robotic Iguanas 134

Jeffrey A. Lockwood, Becoming Native 139

CHAPTER 3 Tools for Getting Places 147

Rodney Rothman, My Fake Job 150

Sonny Fabbri, Scientific Applications 166

Eric Schlosser, On the Range 171

Chiori Santiago, The Flavor of Hope 186

Rebecca Solnit, The Orbits of Earthly Bodies 190

Marcus Renner, The People’s Freeway 193

Bill McKibben, Serious Wind 203

Erin Komada, Auburn Renewals 207

Stephan Doheny-Farina, Virtual Vermont: The Rise

Of the Global and the Decline of the Local 212

William McDonough and Michael Braungart, A New

Geography of Hope 225

CHAPTER 4 Tools for Getting Places 239

Getting Oriented 239

Interviewing 240

Taking Notes as You Observe a Place 244

Responding to Classmates’ Essays on Place 245

Locating Aerial and Topographical Photos 246

Bioregional Quizzes 247

Accessing Webcams 248

Letterboxing 249

Neighborhood Writing Groups 249

Chambers of Commerce, Historical Societies,

And Colleges or University Archives 249

Online Databases

250

Credits 000