Life & Work with Ann Blakeslee

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ann Blakeslee. 

Hi Ann, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
In 2019, Eastern Michigan University’s Office of Campus & Community Writing reached out to the Ypsilanti District Library (YDL) and 826michigan with the idea of developing a community writing center. With its three branches in different locations in Ypsilanti, YDL provided the perfect physical setting for a community-based writing center. 826michigan, which already had successful writing programs for youth, became a natural partner for creating an entity that would support writers of all ages. Before starting YpsiWrites, the co-founders surveyed YDL staff and patrons to determine if there was interest in and a need for such a resource. In response to these surveys, the three groups created YpsiWrites, a community writing resource that serves all writers across Ypsilanti–and beyond.

The foundational beliefs of YpsiWrites are that everyone is a writer and writing matters. YpsiWrites strives to make all people in the community, regardless of age or ability, feel welcomed, empowered, and supported at every stage of their writing journey. The four core pillars of YpsiWrites are community, advocacy, inclusivity, and support.

The original scope of YpsiWrites was a modest one: We focused primarily on supporting individual writers through one-to-one consultations with trained volunteers at the three branches of the library. YpsiWrites also offered a few in-person workshops, some in collaboration with 826michigan, in fall 2019 and in early 2020. All YpsiWrites programs are free to any community member.

In winter 2020, just months after YpsiWrites was launched, plans were made to transition writing support and workshops to virtual formats in response to the Pandemic. This occurred in March 2020, and it has proven very successful: The pivot to virtual writing support, resources, and programs made YpsiWrites’ offerings more accessible to many of its patrons. 826michigan and the Ypsilanti District Library also shifted programs online, which helped all of the organizations expand their reach.

At this time, YpsiWrites also broadened its focus, offering workshops on even more styles and genres of writing (e.g., memoirs, poetry, resumes and cover letters, college essays, children’s books, songs, comics, using humor in writing, and more) and partnering with community organizations to support the work of these organizations and to promote and celebrate writing. For example, with the University of Michigan Museum of Art, YpsiWrites developed the Public Art and Writing Tour to encourage engagement through writing with public works of art across Ypsilanti.

Other programs and resources have included campaigns for schools and families such as Thank a Teacher and Writing from the Heart. These were done in collaboration with 826michigan and the Washtenaw Intermediate School District. YpsiWrites has also created writing prompts for children’s books and young adult novels for the Girl Scouts Heart of Michigan; instructions for creating different types of writing (e.g., poetry, memoirs, songs, resumes); and resources such as the Mystery Maker Challenge for aspiring mystery writers, a guide for starting a penpals program, and writing prompts for the Embracing Our Differences art exhibits in Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor.

An especially popular, new YpsiWrites’ initiative is the Writers Room, a virtual gathering space providing writers both time to write and opportunities to receive feedback. YpsiWrites also just published its first open-access book of nature writing prompts, Write Outside: Investigations of the Living Land, authored by volunteer lisa eddy. It is available, as are all other YpsiWrites resources, on the YpsiWrites website (www.ypsiwrites.com).

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Over the past two and a half years, YpsiWrites has brought together writers of all ages and skill levels. We have seen a steady increase in engagement in our programs and with our social media. However, we’ve also faced some challenges. The Pandemic was the most significant of these. Even so, shifting to virtual programming proved highly beneficial; it drew many more patrons than when YpsiWrites was entirely in-person.

Another challenge has been recruiting sufficient volunteers to support and sustain YpsiWrites’ programs. We have a number of highly dedicated volunteers, but we need to diversify and expand our volunteer capacity. As organizations have increasingly reached out and expressed interest in YpsiWrites’ programs and services, we have struggled to keep up with the interest, which we very much wish to and are invested in doing.

In short, interest in YpsiWrites has exceeded expectations, which is wonderful, and this has posed a few challenges. YpsiWrites is powered by part-time leadership and staffing and by volunteers. Volunteer turnover can also be a challenge, and recruitment and training of volunteers need to be ongoing.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I have been a Professor of English at Eastern Michigan University since 1996. Currently, I direct the Office of Campus & Community Writing (C2W), which houses Eastern’s University Writing Center, supporting all student and faculty writers at EMU; the Writing Across the Curriculum program, helping faculty in all disciplines use writing in their classes; the Eastern Michigan Writing Project, promoting the idea of teachers as writers in K through post-secondary settings; YpsiWrites; and other community-outreach initiatives. For example, EMU’s C2W collaborates with and supports the establishment of secondary writing centers across southeast Michigan, and it partners with numerous community organizations (e.g., the Washtenaw County Health Department, Washtenaw County Juvenile Court, A2Ethics, Upward Bound, Bright Futures, Mentor2Youth, Wayne RESA, and the Washtenaw Intermediate School District, to name a few).

I earned my Ph.D. in Rhetoric from Carnegie Mellon University and my Masters in Technical and Scientific Communication from Miami University of Ohio. I’m currently outgoing chair of the Association for Writing Across the Curriculum and Associate Publisher for Books, Monographs, and Conference Proceedings for the WAC Clearinghouse, an open-access academic publishing entity. I’m also a Fellow of the Association of Teachers of Technical Writing and was recognized with the Society for Technical Communication Ken Rainey Award for Excellence in Research in Technical Communication. My research interests include workplace and disciplinary writing, learning transfer, community literacy, writing assessment, secondary and post-secondary partnerships, general education reform and assessment, qualitative research, and audience.

All of this aside, what I am most proud of in my professional career is YpsiWrites. It is a truly collaborative and community-based entity that celebrates writing and reinforces that everyone can write. It has brought together people of all ages, backgrounds, ethnicities, cultures, and levels of education who value and are passionate about writing, and it’s spreading that passion throughout the community. I never imagined doing something like this, but now I can’t imagine not having done it. I am so excited to see where it will go next and to meet all of the people we have yet to reach.

Each year, YpsiWrites has a theme. So far these have included Everyone’s a Writer, Writing Matters, and Write Now. This coming year, the YpsiWrites’ theme will be Write for Change, which we believe is very timely. With all of the concerns we have in our communities and world, including, perhaps especially, concerns with youth and adult mental health and wellbeing, we believe writing truly does matter and that each and every one of us has the potential to make a difference and bring about change through writing. The mission of YpsiWrites is to do everything it can to support and make that happen!

We love surprises, fun facts, and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
In early elementary school, I had difficulty learning how to read and write. I transposed letters and words, struggled with phonics, and could not — and still cannot — distinguish between right and left. I very likely had a learning disability, but those were not commonly diagnosed at that time (this was many years ago).

As a result of my difficulties, I frequently was told in school that I could not do things and was not smart. I was even sometimes punished. Eventually, I surmounted these challenges, which I did both with the help of caring teachers and through my own hard work. And this experience is what has inspired me to help and support others with reading and writing, especially those with similar difficulties. I not only believe, I know everyone can read and write, especially with affirmation and support.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ypsiwrites.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ypsiwrites/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/YpsiWrites
• Twitter: @YpsiWrites

Image Credits
Doug Coombe
Kim Beneteau