Creative Writing Commons^™

Saying Goodbye To Grandma, Courtney A. Brown

Comparative Woman

No abstract provided.

The Resurrection, Megan Barrios

Comparative Woman

No abstract provided.

A Sign, Rachel M. Crowe

Student Publications

"A Sign" is a narrative about the experience of grief and how relationships are strengthened by shared experience. It tells the story of two different women who come together and inhabit a space of mutual understanding in the wake of their mother's death.

Yeast, Louis Gallo

Westview

The telephone, my father used to say, pitches its tent in death’s camp.

Life: Told By Death, Shannan Rivera

Master of Arts in Professional Writing Capstones

Life: Told by Death is the story of Sam, a reluctant reaper of souls who isn’t cut out for his fate. This novel follows him from his unwitting entrance into the life of a reaper to his struggle with his new existence and all the way through to his eventual escape into the afterlife.

April Fools, Jennifer C. Cormack

CLAMANTIS: The MALS Journal

n/a

Bramble And Knife, Sara Ryan

All NMU Master's Theses

This thesis is a collection of poems that center on the themes of extinction, family, the female body, and the presence of the animal. During my time in the Upper Peninsula, I found a connection with the natural world around me, and this led to my fascination with animals and extinction, both of which manifested in my poetry. As I struggled with the residual effects of toxic relationships, as well as the bleak romantic landscape of the UP, I saw my own body reflected in the bodies of animals. I specifically noticed this reflection while studying the art of taxidermy; …

Gongshi Meditation On The American Prairie, Brandon A. Henry

MSU Graduate Theses

The following collection deals largely with autobiographical work. Created primarily between 2007-2018, the following poems reflect the life experiences and reflections of a poet throughout his thirties. Largely tied to regionalism of the Ozarks, many poems in this collection highlight specific locales throughout southwest Missouri and/or northern Arkansas, and explore, thematically, feelings of loneliness, isolation, the struggle of faith, and the impact of displacement, both physical and metaphysical. Further, many of the poems feature a through-line, thematically, involving the bonds of family and the impact of death on relationships and the human psyche. Lastly, an appreciation for, and connection with, …

Narratives Of Loss, Carla R. Stine

MSU Graduate Theses

My research revolves around impermanence, loss, and the grief that accompanies loss. My thesis work consists of digital collages interlaced with short stories, an interactive digital media piece, traditionally-made collages, a picture book, art objects, and an assortment of other supporting work. My ultimate aim is to employ both traditional techniques and digital skills to create visual narratives that supply glimpses into my personal history of loss and that speak to life’s brevity.

Ode To The Heart, Marc Pickelman

Conspectus Borealis

No abstract provided.

Still Life: Growing Up With Death - A Visual Memoir, Lindsey Roth-Rosen

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This capstone is a multidimensional visual narrative project that incorporates heuristic methodology to illustrate complicated grief that emerged from early childhood loss. The memoir’s intention is to exemplify grief as a complex and mutable composite response to the death of my mother. One objective of this capstone is to understand melancholy, commonly associated with mental illness or symptomatic of depression, as an aesthetic emotion as well as a conduit for philosophical reflection. I use non-verbal approaches to the genre of a memoir by incorporating my photography to epitomize art as a powerful means to comprehend the totality of loss: as …

The Naked, Running, Screaming Girl, Norman Miller

Mighty Pen Project Anthology & Archive

Unable to sleep, an old veteran of Vietnam spends his time and money in a bar, where he meets the perfect person to listen to him.

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 …

Anonymous, Jack Frazer

Mighty Pen Project Anthology & Archive

A dust-off pilot in Vietnam recalls the tragedy of the war seen through his eyes, his rescue missions.

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.

I Am A Branch In A Dark Room, Samuel Stenard

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

"I Am a Branch in a Dark Room"–– the first of two intersecting novellas–– relays the consciousness of Edmund, a young man trapped in a waking coma. He is able to hear the sounds of the care facility yet unable to directly engage them. To him, he seems only a mind, drifting untethered from the world around him; to the world–– and even his own mother–– he seems little more than a corpse. As the narrative progresses, his bearing is fractured and he reels toward the void. The self reduces: from an interior monologue, to a cluster of perception, until, …

Aftermath, David Aldridge

Mighty Pen Project Anthology & Archive

On his first day in the Vietnamese bush, a soldier takes upon himself to recover the body of a fallen comrade.

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.

Work/Death, Of Each In Their Own, Micah H. Weber

Theses and Dissertations

Writings in support of my visual thesis, including some background, and bibliographic information: Oregon/Death/Animation/Vocation and the artist as an agent of potential.