Writing Assignment

After you have read the book, write a short (one-page) paper, using any of the questions or statements in the "Preparing for the Program" section as a starting point. The paper should be typed. Bring one copy of this paper to your discussion group, and reserve another copy for your freshman writing or honors class. Your papers will be read carefully by your discussion leaders and then submitted to the office of the Special Assistant to the Chancellor.

Writers of the ten papers judged the best by discussion leaders will be invited to a private luncheon with the Chancellor.

If you have any questions about the assignment, contact either Michael Modarelli at mmodarel@utk.edu or Associate Dean Mary Papke at papke@utk.edu.

 

This year's selection:
The Glass Castle
by Jeannette Walls

 

“Sharing incredible, painful experiences in no-nonsense prose, Walls has, as The New York Times Book Review notes, ‘succeeded in doing what most writers set out to do—to write the kind of book they themselves most want to read.’” —Bookmarks Magazine

“Just read the first pages of The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, and I defy you not to go on. It's funny and sad and quirky and loving. I was incredibly touched by it.” —Dominick Dunne, author of The Way We Lived Then: Recollections of a Well-Known Name Dropper

“Jeannette Walls has carved a story with precision and grace out of one of the most chaotic, heartbreaking childhoods ever to be set down on the page. This deeply affecting memoir is a triumph in every possible way, and it does what all good books should: it affirms our faith in the human spirit.” —Dani Shapiro, author of Family History