{"id":11849,"date":"2022-08-02T15:32:20","date_gmt":"2022-08-02T15:32:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/englishconvention.org\/2023\/?page_id=11849"},"modified":"2022-09-07T14:16:01","modified_gmt":"2022-09-07T14:16:01","slug":"common-reader","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/englishconvention.org\/2023\/common-reader\/","title":{"rendered":"Common Reader"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-page\" data-elementor-id=\"11849\" class=\"elementor elementor-11849\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-43bf547b elementor-section-stretched elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"43bf547b\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-settings=\"{&quot;stretch_section&quot;:&quot;section-stretched&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-2221b1e0\" data-id=\"2221b1e0\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5e879f7 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"5e879f7\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;ekit_we_effect_on&quot;:&quot;none&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.18.0 - 08-12-2023 *\/\n.elementor-heading-title{padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title[class*=elementor-size-]>a{color:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:inherit}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-small{font-size:15px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-medium{font-size:19px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-large{font-size:29px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-xl{font-size:39px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-xxl{font-size:59px}<\/style><h1 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">2023 COMMON READER<\/h1>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-eccfd1a elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"eccfd1a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;ekit_we_effect_on&quot;:&quot;none&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.18.0 - 08-12-2023 *\/\n.elementor-widget-image{text-align:center}.elementor-widget-image a{display:inline-block}.elementor-widget-image a img[src$=\".svg\"]{width:48px}.elementor-widget-image img{vertical-align:middle;display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1100\" height=\"470\" src=\"https:\/\/englishconvention.org\/2023\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/2023CommonReader_1100x4701.png\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-12868\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/englishconvention.org\/2023\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/2023CommonReader_1100x4701.png 1100w, https:\/\/englishconvention.org\/2023\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/2023CommonReader_1100x4701-300x128.png 300w, https:\/\/englishconvention.org\/2023\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/2023CommonReader_1100x4701-1024x438.png 1024w, https:\/\/englishconvention.org\/2023\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/2023CommonReader_1100x4701-768x328.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1100px) 100vw, 1100px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3ee04764 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"3ee04764\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;ekit_we_effect_on&quot;:&quot;none&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.18.0 - 08-12-2023 *\/\n.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-stacked .elementor-drop-cap{background-color:#69727d;color:#fff}.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-framed .elementor-drop-cap{color:#69727d;border:3px solid;background-color:transparent}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap{margin-top:8px}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap-letter{width:1em;height:1em}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap{float:left;text-align:center;line-height:1;font-size:50px}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap-letter{display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\t<p>The Denver 2023 Convention features Brenda Peynado\u2019s wonderful short story collection\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tatteredcover.com\/search\/site\/the%20rock%20eaters\"><em>The Rock Eaters<\/em><\/a>. While these stories could be described as colorful, they can also be exhilarating, thought-provoking, and, at times, terrifying. They are best read with a buddy, so please persuade your friends to read\u00a0<em>The Rock Eaters<\/em>\u00a0and to chat about them with you in your chapters and in &#8220;Colorful Colorado.&#8221;<\/p><p>The first story in Brenda Peynado\u2019s <em>The Rock Eaters, <\/em>\u201cThoughts and Prayers,\u201d opens with the sentence, \u201cThe morning before the school shooting passed like any other, all my neighbors out at dawn performing oblations to the angels on our roofs.\u201d The subject of the first half of the sentence feels sadly familiar to us. Peynado forces us to see the world with all its imperfections; she never shies away from the unpleasant issues that challenge our daily lives. But the amazing feature of Peynado\u2019s writing is the ability to shift our focus, even within a sentence, to move us away from <em>what we know <\/em>in order to examine what we don\u2019t yet understand. This collection of stories is an English major\u2019s dream because we can admire the skillful use of extended metaphor, the careful crafting of sentences, and the imaginative, sensitive use of language. The stories force us to <em>think<\/em>, to consider how fantastic elements addressed still manage to \u2018make sense\u2019 of our daily reality. Some of the stories are chilling; others may make you cry.<\/p><p>What sets <em>The Rock Eaters <\/em>apart from other books is the writer\u2019s ability to make us <em>feel<\/em>, to make us care about a world that exists specifically in each story\u2019s setting. Reading Peynado\u2019s writing is like watching a magician reveal objects that we did not see before, but we are challenged to believe that they were always there. This magical element of Peynado\u2019s writing leaves the reader pleased at the details revealed, all the while wondering, \u201c<em>how <\/em>did she <em>do <\/em>that?\u201d The author\u2019s ability to recreate the world leaves us wondering what is \u201creal,\u201d and leaves us amazed at the power and impact of language.<\/p><p><em>The Rock Eaters <\/em>is a collection of short stories that are perfect for discussion at chapter meetings throughout the year. Each story allows for discussion of particular themes, settings, and topics to spark conversation between two friends, or discussions in large groups of readers. Sigma Tau Delta convention attendees will have opportunities to share their readings of the text with new friends. Most special of all will be the opportunity for us to meet with Brenda Peynado! Not only will we have the privilege of hearing her read her work, in her own voice, but we will be able to discuss her work in a special session with the author, allowing the author and the readers to share colorful observations of these precious gems of stories.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5b9b6b66 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"5b9b6b66\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;ekit_we_effect_on&quot;:&quot;none&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n    <div class=\"xs_social_share_widget xs_share_url after_content \t\tmain_content  wslu-style-1 wslu-share-box-shaped wslu-fill-colored wslu-none wslu-share-horizontal wslu-theme-font-no wslu-main_content\">\n\n\t\t\n        <ul>\n\t\t\t        <\/ul>\n    <\/div> \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>2023 COMMON READER The Denver 2023 Convention features Brenda Peynado\u2019s wonderful short story collection\u00a0The Rock Eaters. While these stories could be described as colorful, they can also be exhilarating, thought-provoking, and, at times, terrifying. They are best read with a buddy, so please persuade your friends to read\u00a0The Rock Eaters\u00a0and to chat about them with [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-11849","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/englishconvention.org\/2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/11849","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/englishconvention.org\/2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/englishconvention.org\/2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/englishconvention.org\/2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/englishconvention.org\/2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11849"}],"version-history":[{"count":28,"href":"https:\/\/englishconvention.org\/2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/11849\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12871,"href":"https:\/\/englishconvention.org\/2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/11849\/revisions\/12871"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/englishconvention.org\/2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11849"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}