Digital Commons Network^™

The American West, 1899–1936: Prose, Poetry & Drama, Harriet Monroe, Michael R. Hill, Lindsay Atnip

Zea E-Books Collection

This comprehensive volume presents Harriet Monroe’s (1860–1936) previously unexplored love affair with the American West, an infatuation that blossomed in three interrelated genres: prose, poetry, and drama. Known internationally as the founder and influential editor of Poetry: A Magazine of Verse, here Monroe is revealed as a prolific author with a passion for the people, scenery, and environments she encountered during western escapes from her constricted urban life in Chicago. Monroe’s western travels were transformative. Originally schooled in the literary and artistic traditions of Europe, Monroe became increasingly convinced of the fundamental importance of the American West as the …

Signs: Savannah To Key West, Laura Madeline Wiseman

Zea E-Books Collection

Signs: Savannah to Key West documents an 800-mile, 13-day bicycle ride in 2018-2019. It starts fifty miles outside Savannah, Georgia, and follows the Atlantic coastline to Key West, Florida. The trip culminates in Niceville to visit a grandparent, a military veteran and an engineer born in 1924. A bicycle carries a rider through place. The voices of family carry us back and forth through time. The best journeys end with welcome visits with friends, family, and stories, those memories that hold us together, the signs that we belong.

Andonia Gountanis' Poems, Andonia Gountanis

Binghamton University Undergraduate Journal

Hello! My name is Andonia Gountanis, I am a junior and a neuroscience major at Binghamton University. My studies mostly consist of heavy-loaded-science courses. I enjoy writing in my free time! This gives me a little diversity in what I do, and gives me a break from all the heavy science material I learn in a day!

The Girl In The Yellow Dress, Lauren Julia Thibault

Honors Projects

In Fall 2021, I studied abroad in Rome, Italy during the COVID-19 pandemic. During my four months, I had the opportunity to travel not only throughout Italy, but around Europe as well. In this guide, I lay out every trip I took and wrote tips and tricks for each area I went to. I go through overall points to keep in mind when traveling through Italy and Europe, what to eat, where to stay, what activities you should (and maybe shouldn't) do, and a little bit of history of what I'm talking about. I also list all of the apps …

Sharing Personal Cultural Experiences Through Travel Writing, Faith Morrow

Summer Scholarship, Creative Arts and Research Projects (SCARP)

It is common to hear that travelling changes people, often for the better, but what are tangible ways in which those changes are shown? Founded on a two week study abroad to England, I explored the captivating and educational genre of travel writing and attempted it myself. Through researching and consuming various travel writing and taking countless notes and observations in England, I set myself up to create my own travel pieces. Based on my research, two common types of travel writing included location-based personal narrative and tourist-centered pieces, both of which styles I experimented with in my three completed …

Safety Measures, Laura Madeline Wiseman

Zea E-Books Collection

Safety Measures documents a solo cross-country bicycle adventure. After completing a ride across the United States in 2017, from Astoria, Oregon, to Yorktown, Virginia, in 60 days, pedaling 4,200 miles with support, Laura Madeline Wiseman endeavored to ride her bicycle, Lexa, across the country alone. This lyric collection in creative nonfiction and prose poetry recounts that journey. From Anacortes, Washington, to Bar Harbor, Maine, this 4,300-mile, 59-day ride begins and ends in Minnesota, the site of Wiseman’s childhood summer vacations at Leach Lake. Biking, fishing, beachcombing, and other experiences with her dad had instilled an adventurous spirit. She hoped to …

A Pin-Up’S Guide To Traveling Like A Local: A Series, Annedra Utley Herring

Master of Arts in Professional Writing Capstones

A creative non-fiction article series that includes experience & travel articles following a Pin-up voice & her solo adventures around the country. The series is written for the Pin-up community & focuses on traveling like a local with authenticity & creativity to hidden gems instead of sticking to regular tourist traps.

Rocky Waters: Exploring The Intersections Of Romance And Travel, Jessica Bragg

Honors Projects

The genres of romance and travel have been explored by several authors, but this 60,000-word novel provides a unique combination of the two by exploiting a younger demographic of characters and placing the setting of the story in a fascinating realm of this world: the Mediterranean islands. Despite possessing an extensive business background, this creative project has encouraged versatility, adaptability, and enhanced time management skills that will transfer into all other aspects of my life. Research regarding the history of the romance and travel genres took place during the Fall 2020 semester, and the weekly process of writing and revising …

Music Making Connections, Laura M. Breslin

English Department: Research for Change - Wicked Problems in Our World

The Covid-19 pandemic has made mental health issues sky rocket. Many people are suffering from anxiety, depression, OCD and many other mental health problems now more than ever. Without the in-person interactions, many people are eager to be able to hug friends and family again. People are also eager to see their favorite music artist live in concert again. In this paper, we discuss how music can help your mental health, how to prevent contracting the coronavirus, and ways you can help speed up the process of getting life back to normal.

Day Trips, Life In Camp, And Dogs: An Alaskan Memoir, Karen Reed

Masters Theses

Day Trips, Life in Camp, and Dogs: An Alaskan Memoir is a collection of essays reflecting the narrators immersion in life above the Arctic Circle.

Chasing Peacocks, Jennifer Watkins

Creative Nonfiction MFA Theses

Chasing Peacocks is a collection of personal essays that explores the author's life through her travels, interactions with family, and struggles with teaching.

Victory Conditions, Alyssa May White

Senior Projects Spring 2020

Follow a not-scientist as she bluffs her way onto a research vessel in the Caribbean and into a world of data, research, and the unknown.

The Company, David Aldridge

Mighty Pen Project Anthology & Archive

A soldier returning to Vietnam for his second tour is mistaken for a VIP and enjoys some accidental perks on his way to rejoin his friends.

Articles, stories, and other compositions in this archive were written by participants in the Mighty Pen Project. The program, developed by author David L. Robbins, and in partnership with Virginia Commonwealth University and the Virginia War Memorial in Richmond, Virginia, offers veterans and their family members a customized twelve-week writing class, free of charge. The program encourages, supports, and assists participants in sharing their stories and experiences of military experience so both writer and …

Undertow, Adam Karlin

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

A short story collection that explores themes of culture, history, race, movement, stagnancy, and freedom. All stories are connected by elements of water, swimming, rivers, or wetlands. All contain characters seeking to escape their circumstances, with varying degrees of success. For some characters, the arc of their development lays in their movement; for others, it lays in their learning to live with a lack of movement.

Place-Soul: The Sensory Perception Of Modern Travel Writing, Pilar Dipietro

Graduate Theses

Place is theorized through many lenses: geographical, sociological, political, and architectural, to name a few, and travel theorists study the economics and production of place. Yet sensory perception of places travelled are understudied. My thesis offers the determination of “place-soul” as an experiment in sensory perception of place, and the accompanying South Carolina travelogues exemplify case studies of place-soul’s revealing. By successfully ascertaining the essence of place by marrying objective and subjective lenses, and accurately describing the belongingness and connections uncovered, the reader will identify with me through words, and travel may be inspired by a shared sense of belonging. …

The Introvert's Guide To The Galaxy: A Reflective Guide Of Solo Travel And Study Abroad, Hope Patterson

Senior Theses

Oringinally meant to be a much longer volume, The Introvert’s Guide to the Galaxy is a creative anthology of works that explores one person’s Study Abroad and solo travel experiences. The main goal is to open a space to talk about unique experiences that cannot be anticipated, but should be learned from later. Topics include culture shock, sexism, alcohol culture, family, freelance tutoring, and risky outdoor activites.

Travel with our trusty guide as she fills you in on the things to know while traveling abroad, including finding perfect outdoor sleeping conditions because you missed all the taxis, dealing with the …

Growing Abroad, Emily Miller

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

For my Honors Project, I wrote a creative nonfiction essay about my study abroad trip to Le Mans, France last summer. In the essay, I broke up the narration with three sections, each highlighting a personality trait I gained from my experience: independent, overcoming fear, and adventurous. Because this is a creative work and something I may consider publishing later on down the road, I am not submitting the main essay. Following this abstract is my Critical Essay and Personal Essay.

Remembering, David Schlitz

Mighty Pen Project Anthology & Archive

A Coastie recalls the life onboard with his mates, the many rescues, the hard work of the sea, and his youth.

Articles, stories, and other compositions in this archive were written by participants in the Mighty Pen Project. The program, developed by author David L. Robbins, and in partnership with Virginia Commonwealth University and the Virginia War Memorial in Richmond, Virginia, offers veterans and their family members a customized twelve-week writing class, free of charge. The program encourages, supports, and assists participants in sharing their stories and experiences of military experience so both writer and audience may benefit.

Visionaries Of The Road, Storm A. Wright

English Department: Traveling American Modernism (ENG 366, Fall 2018)

What is space? It is a personal concept that people develop while on journeys toward discovery. Through means both intentional and not, that space can be shared with the world and make the knowledge gained on the journey available to anyone with the same curiosities. By looking into the travels of Ezra Meeker on the Oregon Trail, Horatio Nelson Jackson across country, and William Least Heat-Moon on the blue highway, space can be conceptualized and understood as these three men allow us to understand them through their own words and experiences.

A Genealogy Of Self-Development In Modern America, Kelsey M. Binder

English Department: Traveling American Modernism (ENG 366, Fall 2018)

This article offers a hypothetical conversation between various authors and creators who have embarked on progressive self-development journeys under the influence of a shared society that intermittently embraces and rejects the structures of the American Dream. While examining the instinctive human motives that cause the radical decision to actualize one’s life, this paper attempts to bridge the psychology of the desire for personal growth to our influential cultural landscape. It explores and analyzes the self-development journeys of individuals such as William Least Heat-Moon and Chris McCandless, as well as the recent message of self-development found in a cinematic pop culture …

Culture Of Modern American Theology, Evan Colon

English Department: Traveling American Modernism (ENG 366, Fall 2018)

This paper examines literature to determine how travel reshapes the culture of spiritual seeking in the United States from the early 1800s to the modern era. As travel evolved, the experience of travel has changed over time and the reshaping of American culture reflects the impact travel can have in a region. This paper also analyzes the roles of Christian missionaries and Evangelists in reshaping the culture of spiritual seeking in America and it analyzes the spiritual experience that is recognized by both atheistic and theistic travelers.

A Genealogy Of Self-Development In Modern America: Influences Of The American Dream, Kelsey M. Binder

English Department: Traveling American Modernism (ENG 366, Fall 2018)

This article offers a hypothetical conversation between various authors and creators who have embarked on progressive self-development journeys under the influence of a shared society that intermittently embraces and rejects the structures of the American Dream. While examining the instinctive human motives that cause the radical decision to actualize one’s life, this paper attempts to bridge the psychology of the desire for personal growth to our influential cultural landscape. It explores and analyzes the self-development journeys of individuals such as William Least Heat-Moon and Chris McCandless, as well as the recent message of self-development found in a cinematic pop culture …

Tourism And Nationalism In America, Derick J. Knox

English Department: Traveling American Modernism (ENG 366, Fall 2018)

Travel has been regarded as not only a vacation but also a learning experience and for many Americans a process of familiarizing oneself with the history of their country. Technological advancements introduced means of mobility that allowed people to indulge in America’s culture and history. The 20th Century was a turbulent era accompanied by industrialization and an increase in nationalism. Tourist marketing had strategically mapped routes to showcase the highest points in American culture while ignoring some controversial narratives. Once travel became mediated by tourism in the 20th century it lost some elements of freedom and adventure, instead becoming the …

If He Can Do It, Why Can’T I?: Women’S Struggles Into Early Automobility, Emily Schlegel

English Department: Traveling American Modernism (ENG 366, Fall 2018)

No abstract provided.

Automobility And The Future Of Transport, Lukas Koch

English Department: Traveling American Modernism (ENG 366, Fall 2018)

This article explores the history of automobility as ideology, its effect on individuals and its possible future. In the USA in the early 20th century the automobile served to solve the crisis of individualism, created by Taylorism and the rise of the scientific method. To the people of the time the car was associated with freedom and individuality. Freedom through the automobile however was and would never be universally accessible. Furthermore examining the real life consequences of increasing mobility reveals unforeseen effects, mainly pollution, traffic and fragmentation of society. This paper proposes adoption of programs favoring sustainable modes of transportation …

Sonder: Exploration Of The Relationship Between Digital Media And Graphic Design Through The Creation Of Print And Digital Publications, Elisa Leigh Vandergriff

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Sonder is an exploration of the relationship between digital media and graphic design through the creation of print and digital publications. At it’s very foundation, Sonder is a travel magazine with both a physical print publication and a digital publication designed for a tablet. It includes photography, articles, poetry, and travel tips. The print and the digital versions contain the same content, but explore different methods of presentation.

G-Day, Donald Green

Mighty Pen Project Anthology & Archive

A young Marine artilleryman and his gun crew chase Saddam’s forces across the Kuwaiti desert.

Articles, stories, and other compositions in this archive were written by participants in the Mighty Pen Project. The program, developed by author David L. Robbins, and in partnership with Virginia Commonwealth University and the Virginia War Memorial in Richmond, Virginia, offers veterans and their family members a customized twelve-week writing class, free of charge. The program encourages, supports, and assists participants in sharing their stories and experiences of military experience so both writer and audience may benefit.

The Wall, Jennifer C. Cormack

CLAMANTIS: The MALS Journal

n/a

Light Of The World, Jennifer C. Cormack

CLAMANTIS: The MALS Journal

n/a

Where Are You From: Essays On Finding Home, Georgia Knapp

Creative Nonfiction MFA Theses

"Where Are You From?" is an essay collection that seeks to answer the question of where someone is from. Their birthplace or the last place that they lived? The place where they have lived the longest, or the place that they identify with most with? The eleven essays in this collection engage these questions and others in an attempt to reconcile the author's deep-seated and pervasive sense of dislocation. In settings ranging from the Shetland Islands to Greece to Chicago, this collection explores what it means to call a place home––or not.