[The Stage is on Fire] is a page-turner in which, much like life, there are no easy answers and yet each step of the journey yields insight and hope. This work of heart must not be missed!
Melanie Faith
Creative Writing Teacher, Essayist & Poet.
Katie Steedly’s first-person piece [The Unspeakable Gift] is a riveting retelling of her participation in a National Institutes of Health study that aided her quest to come to grips with her life of living with a rare genetic disorder. Her writing is superb.
The Society of Professional Journalists
In recognition of receiving the Dateline Award for the Washingtonian Magazine essay, The Unspeakable Gift.
I thank you … It is the authenticity of your “class notes”; and it is the delicacy and skill with which you present the nuances of classroom life and the actuality of your students’ and fellow teachers’ lives.
Maxine Greene
Philosopher and Education Scholar
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Weekly Wide-Awake: Years That Ask Questions
There are years that ask questions and years that answer.
— Zora Neale Hurston
One of my first elementary school projects was a presentation on the Harlem Renaissance. I am not sure when I first learned about the era. I think it was a gift of elementary school social studies. I remember being moved by the poetry, art, and music. Our lives are often filled with so many complex questions and deep sadness and even anger. My child’s eyes and ears were moved by the rhythm and beauty. When I think about it, the art of the Harlem Renaissance makes me feel less alone. The story invites me in. At the beginning of a year, it is good to reflect. Is it a year of questions or answers? Is it a year of falling apart and coming together? Is it a year of letting the light in? Where will I find beauty this year?
Listen to this episode of the Dare to Lead podcast – a conversation between Dr. Brene Brown and Dr. Sarah Lewis on The Rise, the Creative Process and the Difference Between Mastery and Success. It frames the idea of aesthetic force which was so central to the Harlem Renaissance.
Celebrate the poetry of Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes, the music and sounds, the history, and the lost secrets of the era.
About Katie
Born in Louisville. Live in Atlanta. Curious by nature. Researcher by education. Writer by practice. Grateful heart by desire.
Buy the Book!
The Stage Is On Fire, a memoir about hope and change, reasons for voyaging, and dreams burning down can be purchased on Amazon.
