Tar River Writing Project

On Wednesday, August 20, TRWP Co-Director Will Banks, TRWP Associate Director Jennifer Sharpe-Salter, and new TC Terri Van Sickle were interviewed by Frank Stasio on the WUNC/NPR show "The State of Things".

The interview itself can be heard on the website for "The State of Things" and includes a history of the Tar River Writing Project and its connections to the larger national network, as well as insightful commentary from area teachers about writing in K-12 schools.  TC Terri Van Sickle also reads a short excerpt from one of the stories she wrote as part of the 2008 Summer Institute.

The 2008 TRWP Summer Institute was visited by a writer from ECU's Pieces of Eight, who graciously write a short piece on the joy and excitement she saw in the room.  The TRWP had a banner summer with 15 participants and 4 institute facilitators!

With its array of warm-hued floor lamps and an always-on coffee maker, the
home for the Tar River Writing Project in ECU’s Bate Building feels more like a
cozy writers’ lair than a classroom.

And that’s by design. For the second summer in a row, ECU English professor
Will Banks and English education professor Todd Finley are helping the
region’s public school teachers to get in touch with their creative side.

“We want teachers to think about themselves as writers, and to explore how
this work can transform the ways they teach writing,” Banks said.

*****

Natasha Martin, who just finished her first year teaching English at Greene
Early College in Snow Hill, is one of several teachers new to the profession who
participated in the program.

“Being a new teacher, I don’t have a lot of frameworks in place, so it’s been
good having other people here to talk about what they’ve done that’s worked in
the classroom,” she said.

You can read the rest of the article in Pieces of Eight (pdf)!