Education – Thin Air Magazine

Lovingly Grateful: An Interview with Ross Gay; Interview conducted by Laine Derr

July 27, 2017

Recipient of the 2016 Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award for Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude (2015), Ross Gay shapes language, roots fused with variegated ash, to chronicle experiences, the profane crafted sacred through simple gestures of doing and undoing, buttoning and unbuttoning, while resisting the need to dissect his artistry with “an X-Acto knife.” When asked what … More Lovingly Grateful: An Interview with Ross Gay; Interview conducted by Laine Derr

The Spectrum of Safety in Trumpland, by Katy Sperry

June 10, 2017

Northern Arizona University is located on an island of blue in an ocean of red in the state of Arizona¹. Since November 8, 2016, this island has felt much smaller to me. The day after the election I was walking to teach my 9:10 AM composition class, when I saw, for the first time on … More The Spectrum of Safety in Trumpland, by Katy Sperry

Humankind v. Mankind: Freedom of Speech and Classroom Policies, by Katy Sperry

June 10, 2017

Recently my university got national spotlight because an alt right (read: nazi) website posted an article about a professor deducting a single point from a student’s essay for using the word “mankind” twice. A faculty member of the English department is being sent threats of death and rape for enforcing MLA language guidelines. The students’ … More Humankind v. Mankind: Freedom of Speech and Classroom Policies, by Katy Sperry

Loud People Visiting Schools and a Brief Discussion of Birds, by Justin Kanzler

June 9, 2017

The three-wattled bellbird has a call audible to humans up to half a mile away; it lives primarily in Central America, and from the base of its beak protrude three long worm-like tendrils. Most, if given the choice, do not surround themselves with three-wattled bellbirds in part because they are very secretive, and in part, … More Loud People Visiting Schools and a Brief Discussion of Birds, by Justin Kanzler