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Meaningful Writing Doesn’t Always Make Its Way into Writing Portfolios

Filed Under: Everyday Feminism, Higher Education By Beth Godbee July 30, 2025 Leave a Comment

Above a college reads "Writing Portfolio for Beth Godbee, Ph.D.". A collage with seven images: an orange rectangular logo for Inside Higher Ed, a stack of various books, a purple book titled, "Pedagogy;" a pink square with "Ms." written inside, a mauve book cover for "Performing Antiracist Pedagogy in Rhetoric, Writing, and Communication," a blue, white, and red cover for the book "Best of the Journals in Rhetoric and Composition 2021," and a rectangular, black and white image of young people standing outside of a bus with the words "Reflections, A Journal of Community-Engaged Writing and Rhetoric" across the image. The word "reflections" is reflected under the title as well. Below the collage reads, " My publications range from peer-reviewed to popular press, from poetry to prose."

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 ... Read more ...

Recommitting and Reconnecting With Your Writing

Filed Under: Contemplative Practices, Everyday Feminism By Beth Godbee May 16, 2025 Leave a Comment

A a mural in downtown Raleigh (from my recent visit to Candace Epps-Robertson, Ph.D.) shows writing out in the world with a combination of eyes, plants, and a butterfly, along with the text: "There is beauty in the mundane" and "slow down and look inwards." The colorful mural by @nadasink sits alongside street signs, stickers, and the alphabet written in the upper right-hand corner.

The month of May always feels like a time for recommitting and reconnecting: recommitting and reconnecting to creative work, to writing projects (especially those set aside), and to ourselves and the people we write with and for. There's an invitation to start again, as spring is in full bloom and the promise of summer awaits. It's not that the everyday efforts end, but there's the potential of more levity with longer days stretching ahead. There's the potential for ... Read more ...

Befriending Fear and Cultivating Courage

Filed Under: Contemplative Practices, Emotional Literacies, Everyday Feminism, Racial Justice By Beth Godbee April 11, 2025 Leave a Comment

A cardboard sign leaning against a foliage covered fence and a mulch covered ground reads "Courage is Contageous!" Candace Epps-Robertson, Ph.D. of Full Circle Writing, LLC. Candace took this photo of a handwritten sign that asserts: "Courage is contagious!" Check out Candace's offerings here: https://full-circle-writing.com/

I’ve been thinking a lot recently about Maya Angelou's often-circulated quote about courage being the most important virtue: "Without courage, we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency." This quote's been coming to mind (again and again) as I find myself experiencing fear or saying "so much is scary." And so much is! There's so much injustice. What and who we care about are being attacked, fired, dismantled, criminalized, disappeared, hidden, abducted, ... Read more ...

Writing Retreats Are for All Sorts of Writing

Filed Under: Contemplative Practices, Everyday Feminism, Higher Education By Beth Godbee December 19, 2024 Leave a Comment

A collage, made by Phoenix Robertson, leans against a gray wall. The canvas is covered in clippings of magazines and the background is painted gold. The collage shows three hands, each in different directions, and from them spring snippets of art, nature, and text.

Writing retreats are for writers creating across genres, at any stage, and for various audiences, including ourselves. But so often, even when we spend our lives working with words, we bracket what counts as “writing,” and we find it hard to claim the role of “writer.” This blog post combines reflections from two of us, Beth and Phoenix, about the experience of one-day, online writing retreats. Together, we want to affirm that, truly: writing is expansive, and writing ... Read more ...

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Embodied knowledge matters. So do commitments. And especially acting on commitments as part of everyday life, BIG and small. This website—a mix of blog posts and research writing, courses and offerings—shares ongoing efforts toward everyday living (feeling, thinking, and doing) for justice.

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This summer, caregiving and family responsibilitie This summer, caregiving and family responsibilities have taken me through the Appalachian Mountains ~ from North Carolina to Tennessee and through Virginia, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. In some moments, I’ve felt so unmoored, unsure of where and when I am. But in others, I’ve felt the mountains holding me and reminding me that home is all around.

So, here’s photographic evidence that I grew up in the Appalachian Mountains and even learned to clog at a young age. I found this photo during a family conversation about learning to dance. Yes, I still love to dance. Though, like crocheting stitches, most of the clogging steps are long forgotten—maybe to be remembered?

(And here are a few accompanying recent photos from the mountains.)
It's a wonderful thing to return home to affirming It's a wonderful thing to return home to affirming emails. Here's one about a job offer aligned with commitments! 

From email, shared with permission: 
"I just wanted to send you a quick note to say that I accepted a job offer as _____ at _____! This was one of the roles we looked at in one of our sessions, and I'm very excited that I was able to get a position at a company I feel a strong sense of alignment with. Thank you for your coaching! You were a big part of the process that led to me getting this job!"

It is an incredible honor to be involved in career transitions. And it is incredibly rewarding to witness movement toward more supportive and aligned everyday conditions. 

When so much in the world is hard, coaching still feels like a strong yes. <3

#coaching #careercoach #careercoaching #careerdiscernment #commitments #livingoutcommitments #goodnews #strongyes
There’s so much I want to say about my love for There’s so much I want to say about my love for DC and my anger over this move toward federal control. Please support local organizing and follow calls for how to show up in solidarity in the days to come. 💛

#Repost @freedcproject with @use.repost
・・・
For our friends across the country asking how you can help, this one’s for you.

What’s happening in DC right now is not the first time this administration and its allies have attacked our communities. In March, Congress froze $1.1 billion of DC’s local budget. In addition to the current police escalation, Congress is also trying to overturn several critical local laws.

We want your members of Congress to do everything in their power to stand down federal forces DC, and stop attacks on DC communities for good. Send a letter to your Senators and Representative telling them to stop to it: freedcproject.org/allies (link in bio)
There’s so much I want to say about my love for There’s so much I want to say about my love for DC and my anger over this move toward federal control. Please support local organizing and follow calls for how to show up in solidarity in the days to come. 💛

#Repost @mvmnt4blklives with @use.repost
・・・
Earlier today Donald Trump announced that he is placing MPD under federal control and plans to deploy the National Guard to DC.

This is a dangerous escalation for our communities. But our people have been through things like this before.

Here are three ways everyone can help DC weather what’s ahead, starting tonight.

Repost via @freedcproject
This summer, amid many pulls away from writing, I This summer, amid many pulls away from writing, I was able to create a new writing portfolio.

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. I reflect on that here: https://heart-head-hands.com/meaningful-writing-in-writing-portfolios/

And share the portfolio here: https://heart-head-hands.com/writing-portfolio/ 

May we tell fuller stories about our writing and ourselves as writers—toward well-lived writing lives. <3

<Image shows the start of my portfolio page with a mix of academic and public publications.>
One thing about my partner Jonathan’s dad is tha One thing about my partner Jonathan’s dad is that he loved Pittsburgh. Here are some photos of the city he loved — with gratitude for walks to help navigate the emotions and many to-dos following his passing. <3
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About Beth Godbee

I'm an educator and former writing studies professor who believes our fully embodied selves matter in the world. We can’t just think our way out of the incredible injustices, dehumanization, violence, and wrongdoing that characterize everyday life. We must feel and act, too. [Pronouns: she/her.] Read more ...

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