by teacher Dave Charlebois
The trip east was not without its post-September 11 tensions, but all went well. The event was the National Writing Project’s Annual Convention where folks like us are exposed to the ‘Big Picture.” One of the sessions was the “Coming Out Party” for the newest of the Rural Voices CD’s. Six states had collaborated in this effort and, like the first CD, everyone was again impressed. But, then, the sites whose voices were heard on this most recent production told their tales of terror. They told of a lot of work in a short period of time. Then the question: Did the Great Basin Writing Project want to be included on a third CD? The decision was yes.
Four days in January in Berkeley launched the new project. North Dakota, Kentucky, Texas, and Nevada received the schedule of events for the next eight months. Training provided by the staff of the National Writing Project gave us insight into our jobs. After lots of work and some great meals, we were sent home to begin collecting writing from our areas.
The single objective of the four states was to collect 150 writings that reflected “Place.” When those were secured, we sent the writings to the CD Producer in New Mexico. She cut the number to 38, traveled to Elko, and recorded the voices on site. The finished product will be mixed in a recording studio in New York in August 2002. The world has definitely shrunk.
I am here to testify to the bigness of Northeastern Nevada. I’m sure that bigness will be one of the themes found throughout the collected writings. Because of time limitations, not every school in the five-county region was included, but over 500 submissions were made after visits to nearly 40 classrooms. The students and teachers responded magnificently to the challenge. Thank you... Literacy is alive and well in this part of the world.
The job just sort of crept under my skin and slowly became an all-consuming mission. Writing Project voices whispered the existence of a wonderful CD filled with the stories and poems of students and teachers about the places they lived. These writings, recorded by the authors, were woven together with music and narration creating an aural delight. When I heard about the production I was impressed. I was also asked if I would like to learn more about the possibility of making a similar CD featuring Northeastern Nevada voices. Since I would have to learn about it in Baltimore, Maryland, I couldn’t possibly refuse.