[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
Enter your email here to receive Weekly Wide-Awake
back
From A Distance
From a distance
The world looks blue and green
And the snow capped mountains whiteFrom a distance
From Nancy Griffith’s “From A Distance”
The ocean meets the stream
And the eagle takes to flight
I have always liked this song. I like the melody, and the lyrics make me think about how I fit into the big picture. That being said, I have an issue. I believe our challenges are best resolved up close, meeting each other face-to-face, hearing our stories, and solving the challenges together interdependently. I believe that when we are up close, big ticket things like peace and justice are possible. Grace and compassion happen up close. I believe rolling up our sleeves — not simply looking from a far — creates a better world. I believe we are deeply responsible for one another, and I am not sure we feel that from a distance.
I don’t think it is telling us to stay removed from the pain and suffering of the world. Perhaps it is asking a question: If it is possible from a distance, why not up close? Perhaps it is challenging us to bring the distance closer to us, to reality. Perhaps it is holding us accountable for the up close. Perhaps it is telling us to dream bigger, to dream about big ideas like justice, peace, and love and make them real. Ultimately, I believe that proximity, intimacy, and presence, if lived over time, break down distance.
About Katie
From 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.
