[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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Column of Change
Column of Change, AnT Sculpture and Design
Westside Trail
Westside Trail between Fair St. and Stafford St.
Based on the artist’s statement, this piece is a brick representation of an antique candle holder. It makes me think of the malleability of bricks. It makes me think of the relationship between a candle’s fire and change. It makes me think of the candle holder that held the candles we lit during our wedding in remembrance of loved ones who were not with us that day. In all those ways, a candle holder is about change. Life is about change.
Art speaks in metaphor. Column of Change, as a work on the Beltline, witnesses the change of seasons and days and time itself. It invokes stories of personal change — of rituals and meaningful moments. It stands as a material testament to our capacity to change — proving even brick can be molded and formed. It also posits the notion that change is beautiful, like the wisdom of antiques or the dance of fire.
A Note on my Atlanta Beltline Writing Project
I am practicing paying attention. I am practicing noticing beauty. I am practicing getting in touch with my artist self. I am practicing connecting with the outdoors. I am practicing my inner Mary Oliver. I live in Atlanta, “the city in a forest.” I live on the Atlanta Beltline, an interurban trail that graces the city. The Beltline is part arboretum, part art gallery, part park. It connects shops and restaurants and homes with people of all descriptions. I walk on the Beltline 4 or 5 times a week. I have spent the last year appreciating all that it is. I have personally photographed the images I will share. My hope is to write about it — its art, trees, landmarks, etc.— for the next few weeks as spring unfolds.
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.
