Volume 71, Number 1 (2021) Winter 2022

Letter from the Editors

Greetings!

The end of a calendar year always elicits moments of reflection. In another challenging year, we did begin to return to in-person events. We returned to our school buildings, full classrooms, and campuses with masks and protocols. There were happy reminders of the electricity that comes with thinking alongside students again and being in the same collaborative space. As is traditional this time each year, we as teachers are all ready for a break for rest, time with loved ones, and a moment to re-charge.

This digital issue of the Kentucky English Bulletin asked for contributions influenced by the events of Summer 2020 and the ways English education intersected with activism, Black Lives Matter, and anti-racist practices. We asked authors to reflect upon how they are opening “the door to larger conversations about truth, justice, activism, healing, and reconciliation” (Pitts, 2017) in their educational spaces. Writers responded with pieces addressing interrogating whiteness as a first-year teacher, using YA Literature to advocate for survivors of sexual assault trauma, and the original poem “Why do I cry?” which serves as a beautiful and poignant reflection on “the issues facing our country” as the author states. We hope that these pieces push your own thinking and reflection at the close of 2021.

As an editorial team we look forward to 2022 and bringing you 3 more issues of the KEB. Please consider submitting a manuscript! We want to hear and share the brilliance taking place in your classrooms and with your students.

Sending you warm wishes,

The Kentucky English Bulletin Editorial Board

Mary Ann Cahill, Ed.D.

Caitlin Murphy, Ph.D.

Winn Crenshaw Wheeler, Ph.D.

Bellarmine University