I recently created a new writing portfolio, which I am excited to share!
Because my SelectedWorks page was sunsetted this summer, I needed a new way to share publications. The portfolio highlights some, while linking to a fuller list (what I’d share as part of an academic CV). I start with academic publications and then share pieces from public and community writing. And I include a final section of meaningful writing that doesn’t always (or even often) make its way into writing portfolios.
Certainly, publications are part of my writing story. But they aren’t the full story.
So much of my writing is for myself, for close relations, and for organizations. Here’s a bit more of what I’d want to include in a writing portfolio:
- The first novel I wrote at age 9, already sure I had something to say.
- The collaborative creation and editing of my mom’s memoir.
- Writing for my high school and college newspapers and literary magazines.
- Newsletters, web pages, advocacy letters, obituaries, and many pieces ghostwritten.
- Many, many filled journal pages.
This writing has a very real audience and a very real purpose. It’s sometimes personal, sometimes institutional, and oftentimes shakes up or shapes understandings. And it’s among the meaningful writing that too often gets hidden when we share only publications with bylines.
So, I’m wondering:
- What writing means a lot to you and doesn’t get counted among publications?
- What stories do portfolios tell by the writing included and, in contrast, excluded?
- What writing stories do you want to tell about your writing and yourself as a writer?
- What meaningful writing might you include in a writing portfolio?
May we tell fuller stories about our writing and ourselves as writers—toward well-lived writing lives.
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This post is written by Beth Godbee, Ph.D.
Check out the writing portfolio here. And similar blog posts include:
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