This ethnographic interview study examines the factors, challenges, people and events that impacted the teaching lives of new language arts teachers. Participants taught in urban, diverse, and underserved schools. We examine our findings related to the reputation of the school, the role of the school leaders, the role of other new teachers, teacher identity, and the impact of teacher preparation programs, which emerged as clear patterns from their interviews. Data on the school culture and personnel also revealed important information on the obstacles these teachers face and supports that sustain them. This study leads to potential future research to broaden our understanding of how to attract, support, and retain new teachers in the field of language arts education. (Contains 3 tables.)