All Good Writing Develops at the Edge of Risk

Using a variety of common forms from first-year composition, this paper examines the purposes of CCCC, transformative experiences at professional conferences, and the elements of my literacy autobiography. I then argue for recognition of the knowledgebuilding role of writing programs in two-year colleges and for a "write to work"principle, calling for full pay for all who teach required writing courses. Originally, this manuscript was a speech integrated with a PowerPoint? presentation using more than 100 slides (text, photographs, and music), which cannot be fully represented here.