Friday, July 1, 2011

On The Road Home From the Rural Assembly

photography by 42N

We are currently on the way home from The National Rural Assembly, stopping off in one of our adopted-hometowns of Riverside, Iowa--the future birthplace of Captain James T. Kirk of the USS Enterprise. 

While Captain Kirk will emerge from southeastern Iowa in 2228, rural America's next generation is ready and waiting for a place at the decision-making table. It was tremendously heartening to encounter the emphasis on rural youth at the Assembly, and to have the chance to talk to so many of these young leaders in their communities. From our perspective in the rural arts, we are excited to carry forward those discussions and connections in the coming weeks.

To those ends, folks can look forward next week to the first dispatch from our intern, Rachel Beth Rudi, a student at Warren Wilson College in North Carolina who hails from rural Vermont. Ms. Rudi is a creative writer and an experienced Sacred Harp singer who also writes about issues of culture and place. It's going to be an honor to share her perspective on this site and to also bring to these virtual pages the voices of those young leaders we met at the National Rural Assembly.