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Articles 1 - 3 of 3
Full-Text Articles in Arts and Humanities
For [Redacted], Lalini Shanela Ranaraja
For [Redacted], Lalini Shanela Ranaraja
Vázquez-Valarezo Poetry Award
This poem was written following the attempts of a close friend and myself to create awareness for the ongoing genocide in Tigray, Ethiopia in particular, and in reaction to activism in the age of social media in general. The digital age and related phenomena, such as hashtag activism and cancel culture, has enabled certain social justice movements to gain rapid traction while other equally worthy movements struggle to find a foothold. Simultaneously, standards of accountability and ethics continue to decline among global news media, with non-Western countries such as Ethiopia and my own home country of Sri Lanka bearing the …
Deathtrap, Blake Traylor
Deathtrap, Blake Traylor
Vázquez-Valarezo Poetry Award
I could have titled this one "Bad Trip in an Elevator," but that would twist the poem away from its authenticity. You'll have to trust me on this one: this happened. Not in the usual sense, but in that fiction-is-truth-in-a-funhouse-mirror, postmodern Tim O'Brien sense. And hallucinogens were not involved, nor are they encouraged or condoned. (Do with that Wretched Passive Voice what you will.)
If the word "Deathtrap" didn't amuse me so much, I really could have run with the title "Tired." Or maybe "Very Tired" would have been better. And then there are always the big-hitters: "Fatigue," "Exhaustion," "Are …
Freefall In Reverse, Lalini Shanela Ranaraja
Freefall In Reverse, Lalini Shanela Ranaraja
Vázquez-Valarezo Poetry Award
This poem was written as a direct response to the 22nd Vasquez Valarezo Award theme of "Discontentment." Breaking the noun "Discontentment" into its components parts allowed me to explore of the emotions and mental health states experienced by myself and my community during the "COVID summer" of 2020. Each of the poem's stanzas encourages readers to contemplate different emotional stages and the various coping mechanisms they may demand in order to regain a sense of control and stability. The poem also alludes to the value of a strong community during times of crisis, in particular the international student community of …