Language and Identity: Reading Right to Left 

Marwa Helal, Author of Invasive species (Nightboat Books, forthcoming)

 

Students will be prompted to create their own poems or mini-essays using the workshop instructor’s work: “poem to be read from right to left.” This example will serve as a basis for thinking about language acquisition (in both children and adults); vernacular; and how finding new ways to read across the page can help English as a New Language learners in the classroom or restore a sense of identity to those who speak more than one language. Discussion will center on the importance and benefits of preserving native language(s) and thinking through the meanings and implications of “first,” “second,” “third,” etc. language in our global context.