"To be grounded in who we are today, we must first remember our roots."

[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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“To be grounded in who we are today, we must first remember our roots.”

“To be grounded in who we are today, we must first remember our roots.” Lisette Correa, Arrrtaddict

I have lived all over the Unites States. Big and small cities. College towns. North, south, east, and west. I have found pockets of cool in each place. Moving has strengthened my love for my roots. Just as e.e. cummings celebrates the both the root and the bud, my roots connect my past, present, and future. Just as plants and trees survive by the strength of their roots, so do people. Our roots are our story. Our stories connect. In this way, remembering is both a celebration and lamentation. In this way, we are grounded. In this way, we thrive.

Arrtaddict makes sense. Sense in the way it all comes back to our roots. Let me explain. I believe we are the sum of our experiences. All of them. Our understanding of home. Our appreciation of culture. Our ability to create. Our connection with one another and our world. Our capacity to serve. That deep in our bones knowing that allows stillness and gratitude. I could go on and on about why our roots matter.

This mural makes me want to ask questions. It makes me wish I had talked with my grandparents more about their roots. It makes me understand the value of spending real time together — learning card games, making recipes from the church cook book, watching home movies, having my hair permed, working in the garden, going to the Derby, memorizing prayers in German. It makes me wish I could hunt down the polaroid pictures I took at every turn for many years. It makes me wish I had kept a journal throughout it all. I am only as grounded as I am in touch with all that.

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.