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BA, MA, University of New Orleans

Mr. Rayes is a New Orleans native and a graduate of The University of New Orleans.  His areas of specialization are Composition, Film as Literature, Technical Writing, Science Fiction Literature, American Literature, Latino Literature, and the Graphic Novel.

As a teacher of Technical Writing, Mr. Rayes draws on his over 20 years of experience in the local Consulting Engineering Industry to provide a practical framework for writing in the workplace.  As a teacher of film as literary texts, Mr. Rayes has written and presented on the Director Julian Schnabel and the functions of music and scoring in film.  Mr. Rayes has also worked in the local radio industry and written for local publications such as Tribe magazine and national publications such as The Village Voice.

Mr. Rayes is interested in the use of popular culture in his composition courses, beginning with his 2001 Master’s thesis Theorizing Invention as a Social Act: the Role of Popular Culture Texts in Composition Pedagogy.  He has presented on Composition issues at CCCC, LACC and the CEA, and on Popular Culture at The American Popular Culture Conference and the Popular Culture Conference, among others.

The Greater New Orleans Writing Project

Mr. Rayes currently serves as the Director of  (GNOWP), the local site of the National Writing Project. Since 1978, The Greater New Orleans Writing Project has been dedicated to teacher development in the effective teaching of writing and incorporation of writing in the classroom. We are a group of teachers committed to finding and fostering best practices in the teaching of writing, and offer workshops and graduate-level seminars in the teaching of writing from K - 12 through College. Visit the GNOWP  and  page for more information.

Publications

• Encyclopedia Chapter - Katrina and Music to the Encyclopedia of American Music and Culture [Four Volumes]by ABC-CLIO This article examines the ways that New Orleans and New Orleanians’ cultural identities were transformed through evolving relationships with popular and local music after the Katrina levee failures.
• Book Chapter - “The Village Green and The Great Gatsby: Two Views of Preservation.” in Living On A Thin Line: The Aesthetics of the Kinks.  Ed. Kitts, Tom and Michael Kraus.
• Book Review – From Pac Man to Pop Music: Interactive Audio in Games and New Media, in Popular Music and Society, Volume 33 Issue 2, 289 August 2010.
• Book Review – Shreveport Sounds in Black and White, in Popular Music and Society, Volume 33 Issue 1, 111, October 2009.
• Poem – Jazz Funeral for Katrina in Surviving the Storm: Creating Opportunities for Learning in Response to Hurricane Katrina ed. April Whatley Bedford and Judith Kieff.
• The Village Voice.  2006 Pazz and Jop Music Poll (Essay Section) - “Bob Dylan’s Modern Times.” February 15, 2007.
• The Village Voice.  2005 Pazz and Jop Music Poll (Essay Section) - “Notes from the Hurricane.” February 13, 2006.
• The Village Voice.  2003 Pazz and Jop Music Poll (Essay Section) - “The White Stripes’ Elephant and Subjective Memory.” February 12, 2004.
• The Village Voice.  2000 Pazz and Jop Music Poll (Essay Section) - “Eminem and Art for Art’s Sake.” February 19, 2001. 
• Tribe Magazine.  August 1995 – May 1997.  Music, restaurant, film reviews, Profiles.