In
order to understand my present and future place as a student, teacher and lover of literature,
I must discuss my past. I learned early on the power of the Word.
My mother began reading to me by the time I was
two. As time passed, picture books gave way to Golden Books. My grandmother, a retired elementary teacher, was
another influence upon my
pre-literate years. I remember sitting
upon her fragile lap, looking through National Geographic and
consuming the vast and diverse world she powerfully opened before me. Her readings were to me what Virgil was to Dante: a guide into new worlds. During elementary school, I was an avid reader. Every opportunity, I brought books home from book sales and the
library. I remember (and still feel) the passion for a new
book: skimming through its pages, observing its cover, reading
the overview