Author Rick Bragg Dials up Newman’s Non-Fiction Writing Class

[FULL STORY]

Have you ever wished you could speak to the author of a book you are reading? Dr. Williams’ Non-Fiction Writing students had the rare opportunity to do that as part of their class on November 12. While discussing the book All Over but the Shoutin’ by Rick Bragg, the students were treated to a phone interview with the Pulitzer Prize winning writer. Being able to speak directly to the author helped them understand the book better and laid the groundwork for further exploration of the book’s content through essay writing.

While preparing her lessons for the class, Dr. Williams was looking for ways to enrich the students’ experience, so she reached out to the author of All Over but the Shoutin’, a memoir of growing up poor in Alabama, which she calls “a paean to his momma.” To her surprise, Mr. Bragg was not only easily located using Google, he was ready and willing to speak to her class about the book.

While they discussed teleconferencing him in using Skype, he opted for a simple phone call. To prepare for the interview, the students wrote up questions for him and asked them during the call. One student asked, “How much did your experience growing up influence the way you live now?” to which he replied that his experiences led him to appreciate simple pleasures more than extravagances. For example, he would prefer to go to no-frills restaurants such as New Orleans’ Betsy’s Pancake House than “ritzy” ones.

Over the course of the call the students got to ask many other questions, which were answered thoughtfully and thoroughly. After the class, the students were given three different prompts for an in-class essay on Bragg’s book. No doubt the extra insights into the author’s work and background helped generate excellent work.