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Letters About Literature 2009/2010

Read, reflect, connect, write! Letters About Literature is a national reading and writing promotion program for 4th-12th grade students. To enter, select a a fiction or nonfiction book, a short story, poem, essay or speech (sorry, no song lyrics) you have read and to which you reacted strongly or about which you have strong feelings. Write a letter to the author about your reaction and send it in with the entry form.

Deadline for Letters About Literature is December 12, 2009 (postmark date). There are state and national prizes for winners at each level! (Level 1: 4-6 grade; Level 2: 7-8 grade; Level 3: 9-12 grade) Humanities Tennessee will notify state winners in mid-March 2010 and national winners will be notified in mid-May 2010.

The complete Letters About Literature Guidelines and Entry Form are available online (PDF, 196kB; requires the free Adobe® Reader®).

For more information contact Lacey Cook at lacey@humanitiestennessee.org or 615-770-0006, ext. 19.

Letters About Literature is sponsored by Humanities Tennessee, home of the Tennessee Center for the Book, with support from the Metro Nashville Arts Commission, Ingram, Dollar General Literacy Fund, Vanderbilt University, Nashville Predators Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the National Endowment for the Arts. The national contest is sponsored by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress in partnership with Target and other affiliate state centers for the book.

The Letters About Literature contest satisfies current Tennessee Curriculum Standards. Find out more about state curriculum.

2009-2010 LAL State Judges

Several writers, teachers, librarians, and scholars volunteered their time to help read and narrow down all of the entries to state finalists and honorable mentions. These letters will go on to state judges who will select three winners at each of the three different levels.

Level 1 State Judges (grades 4-6)

Helen Houston, Professor, African-American Literature, Tennessee State University, Nashville
Shellie Braeuner, children's author, Nashville
Amy Dietrich, Retired Associate Professor of Instruction and Curriculum Leadership, University of Memphis, Jackson

Level 2 State Judges (grades 7-8)

Lorraine M. López, author and Associate Professor, MFA Program, Vanderbilt University, Nashville
John Carter Cash, Children's author and music producer, Hendersonville

Level 3 State Judges (grades 9-12)

Jinx Watson, Retired Professor and co-founder of the Center for Children's and Young Adult Literature, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Karen Bowyer, President, Dyersburg State Community College, Dyersburg
Ronald Kidd, Young adult and children's author, Nashville

2008-09 Winning Entries

To read the 2008/2009 winning letters, click here.

Tennessee's Letters About Literature Winners

Level I (Grades 4-6)

1st Place: Caroline Hoskins, 6th grader from Memphis, wrote to Cynthia Lord about Rules
2nd place: Atusaye Mkwandawire, 4th grader from LaVergne, wrote to Mercer Mayer about Just Going to the Dentist
3rd place: Azeez Shala, 6th grader from Memphis, wrote to Rick Riordan about The Lightning Thief

Level II (Grades 7-8)

1st place: J.P. Tyner, 7th grader from Memphis, wrote to Jerry Spinelli about Wringer and Crash
2nd place: Drew Blake, 8th grader from Germantown, wrote to Ray Bradbury about Fahrenheit 451
3rd place: Kenneth Anderson, 7th grader from Nashville, wrote to Jack London about White Fang

Level III (Grades 9-12)

1st place: Bowei Deng, 9th grader from Memphis, wrote to Melba Patillo Beals about Warriors Don't Cry
2nd place: Jeremy Reisman, 9th grader from Memphis, wrote to John Howard Griffin about Black Like Me
3rd place: Anh Vo, 11th grader from Memphis, wrote to Alan Paton about Cry, The Beloved Country

The winners are outstanding, and those who placed 1st in Tennessee will go on to enter the national-level contest, which boasts such prizes as $500 Target gift cards and $10,000 community grants for the winning students' schools or local libraries.

Many writers, teachers, librarians, and scholars volunteered their time to help read and narrow down all of the entries to finalists and ultimately three winners each at three different levels. The 2008-2009 Letters About Literature contest judges were:

Level I (Grades 4-6) —: Patricia McKissack, Author, currently living in Missouri (born in Smyrna, lived in Memphis)
Alan Gratz, Author/MS in English Education, currently living in North Carolina (born in Knoxville)
Wilmoth Foreman, Author, Columbia

Level II (Grades 7-8) —: Fredrick McKissack, Author, currently living in Missouri (born in Nashville, lived in Memphis)
Amy Dietrich, EdD, Retired Associate Professor of Instruction and Curriculum Leadership, University of Memphis, Jackson
Joanne Slaughter, Professional Editor, Nashville

Level III (Grades 9-12) —: Dr. Roberta T. Herrin, Director of Center for Appalachian Studies and Services/Professor, English Department, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City
Gary Slaughter, Author, Nashville
Jack Murrah, Retired President, Lyndhurst Foundation, Chattanooga

In the classroom with Suzanne Wexler, Teacher of Tennessee's two Letters About Literature National Winners

Humanities Tennessee board member Amy Dietrich recently had coffee with Suzanne Wexler, teacher of Tennessee's two (2006 and 2008) national Letters About Literature winners. Each year more than 55,000 students enter the Letters About Literature contest nationwide. Twice in the past three years, Ms. Wexler's students have taken the top honor.
By Amy Dietrich, Jackson

Suzanne Wexler, Advanced Placement English teacher at White Station High School in Memphis, describes herself as "just a cheerleader." Her eyes sparkle and her voice becomes animated as she talks about her students. You can almost see the pompons in her hands. As she emphasizes the abilities of her students other facts become abundantly clear: Suzanne is a talented, dedicated teacher who believes in her students and loves her profession.

Students begin preparing for her Advanced Placement English, Wexler style, long before they enter the classroom in August. During the summer they read two pieces of literature and complete specific assignments focusing on argument in writing. They are encouraged to interact with the literature by writing in the book, highlighting important parts, and integrating information to justify their written responses. In past years, AP summer reading has included Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath, The Awakening by Kate Chopin, and Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt.

For Ms. Wexler, writing is not viewed as an isolated skill. She integrates many humanities disciplines — literature, history, and the arts — to teach and promote analytical writing. For example, when students study transcendentalism, they develop three-dimensional objects including art and quotations to illustrate the concept. For the Call Me Ishmael project, students are asked to analyze their own name. In preparation for the AP exam students take a practice multiple-choice exam then participate in a "Think Aloud" activity to explain their responses.

Wexler's students are taught that editing and revision are a major part of the writing process. These talented writers are encouraged to analyze their compositions during in-class essay writing, guided editing, and revision. They are encouraged to emulate Ernest Hemingway, who, when asked "Why did you write your novel 39 times?" responded, "I wanted to get it right."

Every student in Ms. Wexler's class participates in Humanities Tennessee's Letters About Literature contest. Ms. Wexler stated, "I would do [Letters About Literature] even if they didn't have the contest. It's a great exercise."

A few of Suzanne Wexler's many impressive credentials are instructor in the Rhodes College AP scholars' camp, reading for AP exams, and, of course, teacher of two national Letters About Literature winners. She is a life long learner who is "good at teaching people how to write" and "loves to teach analysis." It is the intangibles that make this vibrant, talented teacher stand out. She encourages her students to believe in themselves, to believe that they can succeed. There is a body of research that identifies the single most important factor in student success as the enthusiasm of the teacher. This data is exemplified in Suzanne Wexler, "just a cheerleader", and, oh, so much more.

Memphis Student Named National Winner of Letters About Literature Contest Sponsored by Target® and the Library of Congress

The humanities can enrich a child's life by freeing the imagination, sparking creativity and developing intellectual curiosity. Through literature and writing, Ayesha Usmani, an eleventh grade student who attends White Station High School in Memphis, has been named one of six national winners in the annual Letters About Literature contest sponsored by Target and the Center for the Book in conjunction with the Library of Congress. In honor of Ayesha, Target will donate a $10,000 reading promotion grant to White Station High School's library. In addition, Ayesha will receive a $500 Target GiftCard.

"Books and reading have a powerful impact on children, helping to expand their creativity and build a foundation for life-long learning and success," said Laysha Ward, vice president, community relations, Target. "As part of our commitment to support early childhood reading, Target is proud to sponsor the Letters About Literature program as a way to raise awareness of the importance of reading and the value that books bring to the lives of children everywhere."

: 2008 Letters About Literature contest national winner, Ayesha Usmani, with her family in the White Station High School library

Ayesha's letter addressed the struggles she has faced connecting with her mother who is unaccustomed with the American way of life and how through the writing of Amy Tan, author of The Joy Luck Club, she found hope and guidance:

I strive to find the connection with mother. A connection that will balance independence and loyalty to my heritage. A balance of Pakistani values of love, obedience, and humility in harmony with American values of independence, free speech, and self-esteem. A journey that will always be difficult but worth the effort. I desired that connection with your guidance Amy Tan. A connection that I have now found. My mother sits at her corner in the East, and I at the West. But we unite in harmony. A harmony that appreciates our similarities and our dependence for each other.

White Station High School in Memphis hosted a special award ceremony on Thursday, May 22, to acknowledge Ayesha as a national Letters about Literature contest winner. Humanities Tennessee was proud to present her with a signed and personalized copy of Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club.

"Research shows that children gain a greater understanding of what they have read when they are encouraged to reflect and respond through writing," said John Y. Cole, director of the Center for the Book. "With the continued support from Target for programs like ours that encourage a lifelong love of reading, we are confident that more American children will be avid young readers for years to come."

The Letters About Literature program invites readers in grades 4-12 to write a letter to an author, past or present, who inspired them or altered their view of the world or of themselves. Ayesha's letter, written to Amy Tan, whose works explore relationships between mothers and daughters and first generation American children and their immigrant parents, was one of six winning letters chosen from nearly 60,000 entries. She was selected as the state's first place winner by the Tennessee Center for the Book at Humanities Tennessee. The Tennessee Center for the Book is an affiliate of the national center in the Library of Congress. Each state winner received a $50 Target GiftCard as an award for their appreciation for reading, in addition to a cash award provided by the affiliate state Center for the Book. The twelve national runners-up were awarded a $100 Target GiftCard, and, in addition, Target awarded a reading promotion grant of $1,000 to their school or community library.

The Letters About Literature program has three competition levels: upper elementary, middle school and secondary, with state and national winners at each level. The program aims to encourage young readers to explore their thoughts and feelings about a book and then express that response in a creative and unique way. As a sponsor of the program, Target recognizes the integral role reading plays in shaping a child's future and is proud to support programs that aim to foster a life-long love of reading among children at an early age.

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