One of the classes that I teach early on in the semester that is closely linked with the reading and visuals in Seeing and Writing comes within a unit in which students are developing narrative newsletters. The students have read narratives and viewed visual compositions in two chapters of Seeing and Writing, “Coming to Terms with Place� and “Capturing Memorable Moments�. They have studied the content and narrative structures of these readings and produced drafts of their own narratives (2 places and 2 moments). This class comes in the middle of the unit and begins to focus the students on the skills of focus, detail, and reflection. In this particular class, students confront “stories� of homelessness through both the photographs in the text and a song by Nanci Griffith entitled “Down n’ Outer.� We begin with a brief review of the students’ narratives and the elements of an “effective� narrative concerning place. Then, the Nanci Griffith song is presented and students discuss the narrative details that drive the plot of the song and story (the lyrics to the song can be found at nancigriffith.com/lyrics.php?track=176). We concentrate on the level of detail she produces in the narrative and the ways that focused detail acts metaphorically to create connotations beyond the literal plot. We also discuss the content of the song that deals with many of the myths about homelessness that the students share with the general public. We quickly move on to write about the Peterson photograph (as well as the Margaret Morton photograph) depicting a homeless man in a box that, it implies, he calls home. The writing that is produced from this short exercise helps students further discuss the myths of homelessness. More importantly, the discussion and written responses lead students to think about the level of reflection in their own narratives – moving from a simple telling of a place or moment and the act of reflecting on these “events�. The sensitive issue of homelessness acts as a catalyst for connections that students begin to make between themselves and their stories and the larger world. It is often an emotional class that begins to bring a sense of consciousness to students and their writing of narratives that is crucial to both the telling of stories and the work of academic writing. The photograph also helps students think about the influence of the visual in their newsletter – they learn that in this composition the visual and verbal must work together in order to have the desired impact on the readers.