Shelby’s Author Statement

Hello! My name is Shelby Lewis, a freshman at Western Washington University. I am hoping to receive my major in English Literature with an emphasis in education. With that, I will return home and teach English at my local high school. I grew up in the small town of Ketchikan, Alaska. Some of my closest friends coming out of high school were, surprisingly, teachers. My high schools English department is home to some of the coolest ladies I have ever met. I can’t wait to work alongside some of the smartest gals I know.  As a lover of all things writing, some of my favorite sorts of writing are the analyzing parts of it. Taking someone’s work and tearing it apart and finding deeper meanings is something I truly find relaxing and satisfying. I love taking a book that I’m reading and then writing all over it. Finding something on every page, whether is a question, a quote I love, something that reminds me of another piece, or even inspiration for a playlist!

My good friend Emma Duncan and I have been working on a web text covering the research we have done on Banned Books in today’s society! Check it out here: https://wp.wwu.edu/banned/

Within this web text, we have tried to create the feeling of a novel through the screen. Each page in the menu is another chapter in our own adventure of literature. The first page you will be brought to is our Dedication Page. Like many novels, ours starts with a dedication, but our dedication is to you, the student who may not have had everything at their fingertips because of higher organizations governing your expressive rights. We wanted our web text to be easily navigable so we went with a theme that allowed us to do that. The large header picture captures the attention of a viewer and I think the warm colors of the books really keep homey sensation you usually feel when curled up on the couch reading your newest bookstore find. We went white a darker header image so our white title would truly stand out. We have also included a comment section because this topic is something we really want people to talk about and be able to express their feelings on this topic. There has been no definitive answer to our question and that’s okay. With the help of you, the viewer, we can continue to grow that knowledge into something worthwhile.