Dear fellow Inkshedders,

     Like Russ and Anthony, I attended our first working conference in 1984.  Inkshed has informed my teaching life ever since.

    As  nineteenth-century poetry specialist, I had suddenly been transported to teaching "writing" in 1974.  My national community at that point was ACUTE (as it was then spelled), a traditional talking heads' conference whose members viewed writing as a discrete skill, like riding a bicycle.  Once you got it, you got it.

     I had no larger group to talk to, to question assumptions with, to argue with, to work through half-baked ideas about real writing in real contexts.  Over many years, Inkshed became not only a cherished cohort of companions, but also my central intellectual

community.   (And although I wasn't part of the group that proclaimed itself "dysfunctional" during the year we tried to write together, I was certainly pushed often well outside my comfort zone---for which I am hugely grateful.)

     My debt to Inkshed continues in my current work with Grades 3-6 in a small Quaker community in the mountains of Costa Rica, where I teach for six months of the year.
 

   Thank you, my friends.

  Kenna

On Mon, Apr 10, 2017 at 6:41 PM, Provost, MC Lois <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

This is indeed sad. And how could Inkshed have metamorphosed to include other languages and dual language learning, bilingual language learning and interlanguage learning at a time when our society most needs intercommunication ...
Lois
--
Provost, MC Lois
Doctorandus/Ph.D. candidate
on hiatus and Scholar Residency in New York
Focus:Indigenous Mestisaje Knowledge Systems
Sacred Music and Arts
Mother Language Teaching & Learning
Founding Head, World Indigenous (Mestisaje) Teaching & Learning Centre Circle
Advisors: Dr. A. Miles, Dr. G. Dei
University of Toronto
Social Justice Education

Notice of Confidentiality: The information transmitted is intended only for
the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain confidential
and/or privileged material. Any review, re-transmission, dissemination, or
other use or taking of any action in reliance upon this information by persons
or entities other than the intended recipient violates law. If you received
this in error please delete the transmission and attachments and notify
sender.
Thank you.


----- Message from [log in to unmask] ---------
    Date: Mon, 10 Apr 2017 18:36:13 +0000
    From: "Paré, Anthony" <[log in to unmask]>
Reply-To: "casll-l: Canadian Association for the Study of Language and Learning   (Inkshed)" <[log in to unmask]>
 Subject: Re: Farewell to Inkshed
      To: [log in to unmask]

As a participant at the first Inkshed conference, a regular attendee  for 13 years in a row, an Inkshed conference organizer (twice), an  early Inkshed Newsletter editor, and a frequent newsletter  contributor, this news makes me feel sad and nostalgic. The  community was absolutely central to my development as a teacher and  researcher. And, most importantly, as a human being; no other  scholarly collective in my experience was so welcoming of me as a  whole person.

But I do reluctantly support the Board’s decision. I think Brock is  right on in his analysis; all things must pass.

Thanks to Brock, Clare, Kim, J. Barbara, and Dena for steering the  ship to shore.

Anthony



From: "casll-l: Canadian Association for the Study of Language and  Learning (Inkshed)"  <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]to.ca>>  on behalf of Brock MacDonald  <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>>
Reply-To: "casll-l: Canadian Association for the Study of Language  and Learning (Inkshed)"  <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]to.ca>>
Date: Monday, April 10, 2017 at 7:57 AM
To:  "[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]to.ca>"  <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]to.ca>>
Subject: Farewell to Inkshed

Hi, all.

(I’m sending this message to both the CASLL and CASDW lists, in the  hope of reaching all former Inkshedders.  Apologies for duplications!)

The announcement Roger Graves recently sent out re the latest book  from Inkshed Publications makes this a timely message . . .

This is the second year in a row without an Inkshed conference.   None of our efforts to reboot and reinvigorate the conference in the  years 2012 through 2015, though sometimes moderately successful as  one-off meetings, have generated the collective commitment needed to  truly revive Inkshed and keep it going.  Taking stock of this  situation, the CASLL Board of Directors has decided that it’s  finally time to face the music and accept that Inkshed and its  parent association aren’t coming back.  (Re the association, it  effectively no longer exists: for several years now there have been  no paid-up members apart from some of us on the Board and Margaret  Procter, who manages the Inkshed/CASLL website.)

No doubt there are a number of reasons for this situation: one is  the growth of CWCA in recent years, based on its great success in  bringing together the Canadian Writing Centre community; another is  the way that CASDW has become a big tent association for Canadian  writing studies and writing pedagogy in general since its  metamorphosis from CATTW.  Most pertinent of all may be the fact  that a great many (almost all?) of Inkshed’s founding generation of  members have retired in recent years: the core of the community that  once sustained the conference and its parent association just isn’t  there any more.

I’m sure many of us will feel some sadness about this, remembering  how significant Inkshed has been in our professional lives.   However, although the Board has decided that it’s time to shut CASLL  down, this isn’t an absolute ending.  The Board proposes to transfer  the remaining funds in the CASLL bank account, roughly $7000.00, to  Inkshed Publications.  Unlike the Inkshed conference, Inkshed  publications is very much alive: besides the recently published  Cross-Border Networks in Writing Studies, it has two more books  coming out in the near future, following which it will still have  sufficient funds to produce perhaps one more.  The infusion of the  funds from CASLL will make possible up to four more books over the  next few years, following which new funding will be needed, perhaps  from CASDW and CWCA.  According to its Constitution, the purpose of  CASLL is "to provide a forum and common context for discussion,  collaboration, and reflective inquiry in discourse and pedagogy in  the areas of writing, reading (including the reading of literature),  rhetoric, and language.”  We on the CASLL Board feel that devoting  the association’s remaining funds to supporting Inkshed  Publications, the one and only Canadian imprint devoted to work in  our field, is the best way to ensure that CASLL’s dissolution is in  keeping with its fundamental purpose.

Regarding the association's online presence: it's currently (and  rather awkwardly) in two cyber-places, the Inkshed newletter/blog  site that Margaret maintains (http://www.inkshed.ca/blog/) and the  older Inkshed site (http://inkshed.ca/), now essentially an archive  of material from the association’s earlier years.  Ideally all the  association’s records should be brought together on one site, either  under the aegis of CASDW or as part of an independent Inkshed  Publications site (which would be effectively a repurposed version  of the Inkshed newsletter site, where Inkshed Publications currently  has its online presence).  The key thing is that the association’s  archive needs to be maintained by an active organization to ensure  its long-term viability.  This will be on the agenda for discussion  at the CASDW AGM at Congress.  As for the CASLL list serve, once the  association has been dissolved it would be shut down.

I should say something regarding the constitutional aspects of  dissolving CASLL.  The one explicit mention of dissolution  procedures in the CASLL constitution is a clause that says "In case  of dissolution of the association, the profits and liabilities of  the association will be shared equally among all of the paid-up  current voting members.”  The Board’s plan to transfer the  association’s remaining funds to Inskhed Publications is in effect  an agreement among the paid-up current voting members to use their  “shares” that way, rather than simply cashing out (!!).

As for the decision to dissolve the association, while there is no  specified procedure for this, the constitution does say that "The  Board of Directors of the association shall have the responsibility  of carrying out the management of the association. This  responsibility should be carried out with the knowledge and  cooperation of the membership.”  In our view, in the absence of any  specific clause re dissolution, it clearly comes under “management  of the association.”  As for "the knowledge and cooperation of the  membership," as I’ve already mentioned, at present the membership is  effectively non-existent, leaving the Board on its own.  However, in  keeping with the spirit of the constitution, the Board agreed that  this notice should be sent out: we hope it will reach all former  CASLL members and prompt some discussion, from which we further hope  will emerge general agreement in support of the decision we’ve taken.

If there is strong opposition to the Board's decision, those opposed  would need to take a number of steps to give their opposition  effect, starting with paying fees in order to become current CASLL  members and thus be entitled to vote on the Board’s plan.  If a  sudden flood of membership payments materializes, obviously we’ll  have to think again!  However, we sincerely hope that this will not  happen — that everyone will agree that it’s best to bid CASLL and  Inkshed a fond farewell and let them rest in peace.

Best wishes,
Brock

On behalf of the CASLL Board of Directors (membership as of 2016,  when we met and made this decision): Clare Bermingham, Kim Garwood,  J. Barbara Rose, and Dena Taylor



W. Brock MacDonald
Vice-Principal
Director, Academic Writing Centre
Woodsworth College, University of Toronto
119 St. George Street
Toronto, ON   M5S-1A9
(416) 978-0246
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- To leave the list, send a SIGNOFF CASLL-L  command to  [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]nto.ca>  or, if you experience difficulties, write to Russ Hunt at  [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>

To view or search the list archives, go to  https://listserv.utoronto.ca/cgi-bin/wa?A0=CASLL-L -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
      To leave the list, send a SIGNOFF CASLL-L command to
 [log in to unmask] or, if you experience difficulties,
         write to Russ Hunt at [log in to unmask]

        To view or search the list archives, go to
   https://listserv.utoronto.ca/cgi-bin/wa?A0=CASLL-L
                    -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

----- End message from [log in to unmask] -----

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
     To leave the list, send a SIGNOFF CASLL-L command to
[log in to unmask] or, if you experience difficulties,
        write to Russ Hunt at [log in to unmask]

       To view or search the list archives, go to
  https://listserv.utoronto.ca/cgi-bin/wa?A0=CASLL-L
                   -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- To leave the list, send a SIGNOFF CASLL-L command to [log in to unmask] or, if you experience difficulties, write to Russ Hunt at [log in to unmask]

To view or search the list archives, go to https://listserv.utoronto.ca/cgi-bin/wa?A0=CASLL-L -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-