Excepting the creepy racist poem

Of the articles we’ve read this semesters, Performing Writing, Performing Literacy, was the most useful to me.

The idea of writing as performance is one that I have employed both as a teacher and as a writer for nearly twenty years.

For large chunks of my creative work, my method of composition is based in the aural. I imagine a story being told to a listener. The way in which I tell the story shifts based on who the listener is. Sometimes if I’m dissatisfied with the story’s language or plot I’ll attempt to re-envision the tale by giving it a different initial audience

This is also why I like to incorporate speaking exercises in first year writing. If students are speaking to an audience of classmates— who I have occasionally asked to role play as well, one day, the are loyal readers of Daily Kos, the next staunch members of the NRA—the student realizes the importance of both style and arrangement in composition.

I have also set up exercises in which students watch political speech and try to figure out which audience is being targeted —supporters, swing voters or likely voters for the candidate.

I'm planning to send this article to a friend of mine who's teaching a pedagogy of composition course in the fall.