[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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The Poet
She is working now, in a room
not unlike this one,
the one where I write, or you read.
From Jane Hirshfield’s “The Poet“
What a gift to have the space to create. Space for light to shine through antique steel frame windows. Space for a cat sleeping on a backpack you bought a few years ago to replace one that had fallen apart after graduate school. Space for electricity, laptop, and an internet connection. Space for the time to think, and read, and rethink. Space for remembering and shifting gears. Space for conversation and snacks. Space for the bowl of paper fruit you bought on a trip to Mexico during a previous life. Space for a purse that smells of cigar and bourbon. Space for the candle you thought would make everything smell better. Space for the medical bill that just got paid. Space for stress and fear to live and breathe right next to hope and joy. Space for the dead roses from weeks ago that you have not had the heart to pitch out. Space for the glass full of fresh water. Space for the metal rooster from Key West. Space for work. Space for thoughts. Space to leave when you need a bath or to get outdoors. Space to stay when you need to cry or laugh or simply be. Space for poetry and prayer.
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.
