For the past 16 years, writing programs and centers have celebrated National Day on Writing (NDoW) on Oct. 20. The holiday recognizes "writing—and the many places, reasons, and ways we write each day—as an essential component of literacy."
The English department's Reading-Writing Center and Digital Studio celebrated NDoW by recognizing the role of Notes in Our Lives as significant pieces of everyday writing. Posters placed around the Williams Building feature sketches drawn, collected, and organized by this year's RWC-DS staff.
The National Council of Teachers of English established National Day on Writing in 2009. FSU English Professor Emerita Kathleen Blake Yancey was NCTE president at the time, and she collaborated with others in the organization establish the holiday. For more about NDoW's establishment and importance, listen to this interview with Yancey, conducted by English-Rhetoric and Composition Ph.D. alumna Heather Lang: National Day on Writing: Interview with Dr. Kathleen Yancey.
As the NCTE website states: "It’s important for everyone to share their knowledge about writing, organize participating groups in our schools and/or communities, and transform the public’s understanding of writing and the role it plays in society today."
The English department and the RWC-DS hope to accomplish some of that important work through the celebration of NDoW, especially in the current moment when technological advances, including genAI tools, are shifting how people "take," respond to, and interact with notes in their lives.
This photograph gallery shows the Reading-Writing Center and Digital Studio staff working at tables and engaging with students who shared their examples of "Notes in Our Lives." All photos courtesy of RWC-DS.
The RWC-DS National Day on Writing display at the Strozier Library on Wednesday, Oct. 22.
Madison (left), first-year Master of Fine Arts, Creative Writing-Fiction, and Cici, first-year Master of Arts, Literature, Media, and Culture.
Madison (left) and Vonkeisha, first-year Master of Fine Arts, Creative Writing-Poetry
Lucas (left), first-year Master of Fine Arts, Creative Writing-Fiction, and Jennifer, first-year Master of Arts, Literature, Media, and Culture
Peter (left), first-year Master of Arts, Literature, Media, and Culture, and Sarah, first-year Master of Fine Arts, Creative Writing-Nonfiction
Savana (left), Master of Fine Arts, Creative Writing-Poetry, and Eriam, senior, Bachelor of Arts, English-Editing. Writing, and Media