Starting in the Middle

"For sale: baby shoes, never worn."

This six-word story was written by Ernest Hemingway who claimed, it is reported, that it was his best work. This genre has sprouted in countless websites and blogs. In November 2006 Wired magazine featured 6WS like these, written by famous (and not so famous) authors:

The baby’s blood type? Human, mostly.
- Orson Scott Card

Failed SAT. Lost scholarship. Invented rocket.
- William Shatner

There's even a book of six-word memoirs coming out from HarperCollins in 2008. The website lists this one from Daniel Handler:
"What? Lemony Snicket? Lemony Snicket? What?"

Hold this thought. The point of this introduction will become clear in a minute.

Welcome to the NCTE Middle Level Section blog. We hope it will be a virtual teacher's lounge where the conversation about all things Middle, like the cappuccino machine, is always on. Middle Level Section Steering Committee members Nanette Bishop, Jim Johnston, and Susan Houser will be joining the conversation on topics of current interest as well as to stimulate discussions in YA lit, literacy coaching, and Adolescent Literacy policy. We will also be joined periodically by featured guests who will add their areas of expertise.

You can receive notices of updates to this blog through your email by subscribing using the box in the upper right corner of this page. Even more importantly, join in the conversation by clicking the "comment" link at the bottom of any blog entry where you'd like to add your thoughts. Help us make this space as lively as the students we teach.

Now, the point of the introduction, a six-word story from an anonymous blogger:
"I blog daily. Only God reads."

Please don't let this be the fate of the Middle Section blog.