"Hungry Minds: Tales from a Chelsea soup kitchen"

At first reading this article, I couldn't figure out why I was reading it for an Education class and not a short story class. This piece seemed to have all the qualities of a short story that professors want you to read in your Freshman year course. But for some reason, I couldn't stop reading it. It was interesting and I don't know if it is because I love hearing about history, I love hearing about how others help others, or if I love hearing about religion and how over time things change. But all I know is that the author, Ian Frazier, captured my attention. He describes the set up of the soup kitchen so well that I feel as if I could walk outside my door and step right into it. It is interesting how you feel connected to these people. These writers, soup kitchen workers, and members of the church. You feel as though you could drive to Chelsea near the end of May on a Wednesday night and listen to these wonderfully different stories, poems, and excerpts of novels.

I love the way this article connected the idea of a workshop, which is what we have been talking and reading about so much in Nancy Atwell's book and other articles. Workshops bring people together; they allow people to open to talk about their backgrounds, their struggles, their heart aches, and their success. It is a community that bridges all types of people together and brings them back time and time again. I enjoyed the way Frazier ended his piece by saying, "you can imagine that the floor of the church, the pavement of Ninth Avenue, the asphalt in Chelsea Park, and the shiny surface of the Hudson River a few blocks away are all connected, one continuous terrestrial floor. As the evening advances and the sunset fades, the lights inside the church brighten. It's a benign time of the day to be in a church, or any public space open to the evening. For a moment, the whole city seems to flow in with the air." It is so poetic and insightful. It shows that the writing that these people do bridges time and space and people. It brings them together. Isn't that what we aim to do as teachers? Bridge our students together no matter their differences. Every one is an equal in a writing workshop. Everyone has fears and problems that they are forced to deal with.

Maybe I am reading WAY to into this but I was just inspired by the language, the mood, and the symbolism of Frazier's piece. It was beautifully written and I hope something I can use to inspire others.