Textured Texts: Demonstration of Investment through Coded Weavings and Fictional Narratives

Abstract

ABSTRACT This work draws from a larger research project that centres a youth summer writing programme. In this article, the author recounts the multiliteracy experiences of a white student who found creative strategies to document her identity and values in her work, as she learned to navigate a learning environment that decentered whiteness. Two activities in particular helped this learner inscribe her queer identity in material form and engage in narrative play to convey personal values. Drawing from ethnographic methods and constructivist grounded theory, this study argues for the expansion of writing programmes that support various personal entryways into meaning-making. Such projects reveal the importance of student choice and multimodal forms of engagement in youth learning environments.