Teach Issue 2

Why Teach The Common?

Teach The Common in your classroom and receive discounted subscriptions, a free desk copy, and lesson plans.

A classroom subscription includes two issues for every student, and an in-person or Skype visit from Editor in Chief Jennifer Acker or a participating author.

Learn more about teaching The Common or contact us for more options.

Supplementary materials for teaching Issue 01 are listed below.

Interviews

Listen to Editor in Chief Jennifer Acker discuss The Common, the role of place in literature, and the editorial process.

Ilan Stavans and filmmaker and writer John Sayles discuss the differences between fiction writing and filmmaking, the challenges and comfort of writing historical fiction, and the importance of place in both book and movies.”El mundo al revés/The World Upside Down,” featuring Stavans’ bilingual folktales alongside prints by artist Teresa Villegas, appears in Issue 02.

Teresa Villegas and Lindsay Stern discuss Villegas’ recent projects, her choice of medium, and the influence of place and the environment on her work. Issue 02 features a selection from “El mundo al revés/The World Upside Down,” a suite of 10 prints by Villegas alongside bilingual folktales by Ilan Stavans.

Jacquelyn Pope and Marni Berger discuss the culture of language, humanity’s relationship to nature, and what it means to view the world from “up high”—like from a memorable pine tree in Jackye’s former home of South Carolina. Pope’s poem “Survivor” appears in Issue 02.

Phillip Lopate talks with Melody Nixon about public art and communal spaces, his relationship to cities, and New York City as a “place that encourages wit.” Lopate’s essay “Above Grade: New York City’s Highline” appears in Issue 02.

Recordings

Literary Translation

Explore these collected resources on literary translation.

See all of Issue 2.

Don’t miss: Genre-based Anthologies | Participating Authors | Lesson Plans | FREE Sample Issue | What Teachers Are Saying