Welcome to our fourth issue of the year, "Write for your Life." "Write for Your Life" is a call to action for your students to find their voices, and to celebrate the importance that writing has on people's lives.
Our Center Stage play, Hole in My Life, is adapted from the memoir by Jack Gantos. The popular children's author has a shocking history. In this adapted play, the acclaimed young-adult author recounts the troubled time in his life when he was arrested for smuggling drugs. Gantos went to prison for his crime, and through that experience, he discovered his purpose in life: writing.
On the blog... On October 23, we post a full interview with him on our blog, Word. Part of our interview appears in the magazine, but this intriguing writer had a lot more to say. Don't miss it.
More! You may recognize Gantos from his childrens' books, including Rotten Ralph, and the Joey Pigza series. Many of his books come equipped with teacher's guides. He also has published two other acclaimed YA novels. Check out his website, www.jackgantos.com, to learn more about him.
Our nonfiction excerpt is titled "Torn From the Pages of War." It consists of entries from the diary of Zlata Filipovic, a Bosnian girl who lived through the civil war that broke out in her country in 1992. These excerpts are a rare, beautifully written, painful look at a 12 year old girl who must come to terms with the hazards of war.
This issue's Lit Scene Investigation we explore setting in a brief excerpt from acclaimed author Frank McCourt’s most famous work, the memoir Angela’s Ashes. In the opening paragraphs of the book, McCourt describes the location of his upbringing in a gripping and effective way, teaching us about the importance of setting in a story.
More! McCourt was a revered author who passed away on July 19th of this year. READ is proud to celebrate his contributions to literature in this issue. In addition to his successful writing career, McCourt also worked as a high school english teacher in New York for thirty years.
"Two Writers Who Changed the World" is the title of our second nonfiction article. Maya Angelou and John Steinbeck are two seemingly unrelated writers, but they share a common success: the influence of their writing. Both writers changed their communities and the world with their works, helping to shape many lives.
More! Learn more about the authors themselves here: http://mayaangelou.com/
http://www.steinbeck.org/
In the Writing section, the Grammar Slammer, "Hearing Hypens," focuses on the slightest of punctuation marks—the hyphen. Students will learn how and when to use a hyphen.
Our feature story, "Not Your Ordinary Autobiography," we explore memoir writing as a medium through which a writer may better understand his or her own life. When it comes to penning a memoir, we encourage students to use a trigger, such as a place or memory or song, to fuel the writing process.
We hope this poignant issue will influence your students to write for their own lives. If you have any questions or comments, please email us at
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