[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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Diving into the Wreck
I came to explore the wreck./ The words are purposes./ The words are maps./ I came to see the damage that was done/ and the treasures that prevail.
From “Diving into the Wreck” — Adrienne Rich
Poetry as diving. Poetry as moving in and through water into the thick of memory, the murky weeds of certainty, the darkness of depth, the strangeness of impermanence, the pain of breath, the stillness of story.
We paddle down, circling fact, opinion, belief, context, fear, bias, and anger. We see—perhaps for the first time. Having the courage to dive, we see. We are wordless, and we see. We see, and we change.
That’s the thing about diving into wrecks. Sometimes, miracles happen around wrecks. Whole new ecosystems evolve, and metal becomes reef. In that way, the wreck breathes new life into a toxic world. New life emerges from the wreckage. Strength breaks through rust, scraps, and broken parts. Hope shines through dark steel corners. Down deep. We wake up.
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.
