In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, through the efforts of the working class community by which he was raised, Stephen Parks was given the opportunity to attend college. In his book Gravyland: Writing Beyond the Curriculum in the City of Brotherly Love, Parks narrates his own successes and failures with community partnerships during his time as the director of the Institute for the Study of Literature, Literacy, and Culture at Temple University in Philadelphia. Throughout the book, Parks gives a voice to community writers who were previously silenced, giving back to the working class communities by which he was raised, and, eventually, giving a voice to other marginalized groups as well. The community members tell stories of heartbreak, hardship, and happiness, but the underlying issue is ever present: their voices have been silenced.
A Journal of Community-Engaged Writing and Rhetoric