Books For Maude

Maude recently asked" "Those of you who are comp teachers, do you have any book suggestions that might help me work through some of my struggles? I mean, is there a book out there like, So, You’re a Comp Teacher Now type thing? (the SB has a So Now You’re a Vegetarian book). Just please don’t suggest any Peter Elbow." Also, she's going to be a WPA starting next fall. So, I'm listing some books that she might find useful. Please feel free to add more titles in the comments.

At the risk of sounding like a corporate shill, I'll first suggest going to Bedford/St. Martin's Teaching Central Professional Resources site. They will send you free sourcebooks. Here's a list of some of the ones I like:

• Assessing Writing edited by Bryan Huot and Peggy O'Neill
  
• Feminism and Composition edited by Gesa E. Kirsch, Faye Spencer Maor, Lance Massey, Lee Nickoson-Massey, Mary P. Sheridan-Rabideau.
  
• Teaching Developmental Writing edited by Susan Naomi Bernstein
• Teaching Composition edited by T. R. Johnson
• Assigning, Responding, Evaluating by Edward M. White
  

They also have some sourcebooks that tackle teaching literature and teaching developmental reading as well as more books that are about writing studies.

Other texts that might be of interest:

• The Subject is Writing edited by Wendy Bishop. This book focuses on classroom practices.
  
• Cross-Talk In Comp Theory: A Reader edited by Victor Villanueva. This is a nice overview of the field. Obviously, it doesn't cover everything, but it's a good starting point. Personally, I'd get it through the library and/or get the table of contents and find the original articles in your library databases. It's a nice resource to have on your shelf if you want to buy it, but there are more economical ways to get your hands on the contents.
  
• The Writing Teacher's Sourcebook edited by Edward J. Corbett. Same advice as for the previous book. This one does focus more on teaching.
  
• Engaging Ideas by John C. Bean. I tend to suggest this book for people outside of English studies, but it does have a lot of good practical advice in it.
  

I'm not as familiar with texts about WPA work. I do suggest checking out the Council of Writing Program Administrators and joining the WPA-L Listserv. If you're interested in the politics of writing programs, the book Textual Carnivals: The Politics of Composition by Susan Miller is good.

Of course, I need to mention Rebeccah Moore Howard's online bibliographies. Her list for Writing Program Administration is here.

I know I've left things out and I'll probably remember the "perfect" text as soon as I post this, but this is a good start. Everyone should feel free to add more suggestions in the comments.