Letters About Literature

I like to skim literary contest sites looking for good ideas for literature-based assignments. The Center for the Book in the Library of Congress runs a yearly Letters about Literature where students write a letter to an author explaining how that author’s work changed their lives or ways of thinking. I’m going to have my students do a similar exercise, though I may not tie it to the entry date for the actual contest. I’m thinking it might make a nice end-of-year exercise for them to think about all the different books we read this year, and also a good exercise in thinking about audience and being self-reflective.