Pittsburgh GPS
What are the layers of your important places? What hidden features should you explore?
This week the Just Write Virtual Writing Group enjoyed the fifth stop on its 7-week journey with the National Writing Project’s Write Across America virtual writing marathon (you can sign up here). Each week we will revisit the invitation offered by the host site and the writing generated at the Tuesday event to find new inspiration and/or extend writing begun earlier in the week.
The July 26 stop was hosted by the Western Pennsylvania Writing Project and took us to Pittsburgh.
We opened with an audio clip describing the peril and promise of navigating Pittsburgh: Tom Musial’s Pittsburgh GPS and then considered this question: What are the directions to where you are now: physically, emotionally, or spiritually?
We then used this Story Map to explore three layers of Pittsburgh:
- Literary Pittsburgh featuring Toi Derricotte, Sharon Flake, Brian Broome, Nellie Bly, Pauli Murray, and August Wilson.
- Artistic Pittsburgh featuring Njaimeh Njie, Laura Jean McLaughlin, Judy Penzer, Billy Porter, Andy Warhol, and Teenie Harris.
- Hidden/Quirky Pittsburgh featuring “Point of View” (Guyasuta & George Washington Sculpture); Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood; Randyland; Duquesne Incline; and National Negro Opera House Maxo Vanka Murals.
