Poetry Commons^™

Mythos, Hana Holmgren

Honors Theses

Who gives a voice to the voiceless? When do we hear from those who are left behind, abused, abandoned, silenced? Mythos is an exploration of lost voices in mythology, antiquated, biblical, and personal: the women, the minorities, the marginalized. What would they say, if finally given the chance? Perhaps Helen of Troy chose to run away. Maybe Philomela was always meant to become a nightingale, and sing the world to sleep. Maybe fallen angels like making lentil soup for dinner. Maybe dead dragons are reincarnated as accountants. Maybe the stories got it all wrong.

A book of 13 poems, 6 …

'Art' They Can't See, Lines, Anatomy Of Decomposing, October On Danford Creek, Wing Bone, And Taxidermy, Kailyn J. Dekker

The Hilltop Review

The following document includes a selection and submission for the Hilltop Review. Within the file the reader will find five (5) poems and one (1) micro fiction piece. The poems are titled 'Art' They Can't See, Lines, Anatomy of Decomposing, October on Danford Creek, and Wing Bone. These poems incorporate darkness, illness, social issues, and a manifestation and exploration of the human condition. The Microfiction text titled Taxidermy, details the interaction between two siblings showcasing the younger sister's mental illness by detailing the delusional and obsessive behavior of this character.

These texts have been workshopped …

The Laureate, Hannah Ryder

Honors Theses

In its eighteenth edition, the only undergraduate literary journal on Western Michigan University’s campus returns with more phenomenal student creations. The Laureate, led this year by senior Hannah Ryder, compiles fiction, non-fiction, plays, poetry, art, and photographs to provide a yearly snapshot of the best work from the university’s brightest individuals. Inside, the pieces explore not only what it means to be an individual, but how different surroundings and influences shape characters and experiences. The journal kicks off with a photograph staring up at a golden-leafed tree, representing both hopefulness and light. It then moves quickly and seamlessly through a …

Waxing, Waning, Waking: A Collection Of Poetry And Prose, Brook Vanbruggen

Honors Theses

Waxing, Waning, Waking: A collection of poetry and prose is a digital magazine featuring a body of creative writing pieces that were written during my undergraduate career. The written word is powerful and adaptable and can accomplish any number of difficult tasks. The pieces included here were chosen from a number of genres, including poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction, to reflect and explore some of the countless ways that we use words. The title of the collection reflects the elements of space, light, and darkness that appear as motifs throughout the larger body of work, which discusses:

• Family
• Nature …

Perennial: An Undergraduate Thesis In Poetry, Austin Wines

Honors Theses

A chapbook of poetry that explores sexuality, gender identity, mental illness, naming, and the experience of the contemporary non-binary, male bodied, Queer. "Perennial" functions as a force of resistance to hegemony, celebration, mourning, and eroticism. Through the cultivation and implementation of a personal and/or familial folklore, the poems culminate a century of inter-generational knowledge as the author draws upon the symbols of their childhood to explicate the violence and tenderness of their own Queer experience. These poems serve as a poetical feminist history and reclamation of the author's matrilineage, and the simultaneously paramount and arbitrary nature of language as it …

17th Edition Of The Laureate, Jessie Fales

Honors Theses

The Laureate is an undergraduate literary journal sponsored by the Lee Honors College at Western Michigan University. As Editor in Chief of the 17^th Edition, I coordinated the journal’s publication over the course of an academic year. The editorial process follows methodical stages, which have become standard over The Laureate’s lifetime—recruiting submissions, selecting submissions, coordinating with the design center, and hosting a launch party, etc... Of course, every editor has a unique experience, but we must honor the journal’s entity as something larger than ourselves—this journal has existed long before my time, and I hope it keeps on …

Mental Illness As Portrayed Through Art, Brianna Brown

Honors Theses

I was thinking of what to do for my thesis while taking classes with Vin about Anthropological Research and I realized how flawed it all was. Anthropology was born from colonialism where scholars from the United States would go to some far-off places to study the people there in hopes that they have found an interesting enough culture to get common people like you and me to want to read a book they later publish. The only way it would sell though is if this story, emphasis on story, read like a book of fiction, so far from what we …

I Ache In Portugese, Cristal Cardoso Sao Mateus

The Laureate

No abstract provided.

The Laureate, Nicole Burchette

Honors Theses

The Laureate’s mission is to provide undergraduate students at Western Michigan University a place in which to publish their works of fiction, poetry, non-fiction, and other creative works. The Laureate strives to be a professional and engaging journal that appeals to all. The opportunity to serve as Editor-in-Chief for the thirteenth edition of the The Laureate has been an honor and a privilege. Along the way I have worked with a variety of team members to select and build the collection. Working close with my fellow editors, this edition of The Laureate came together as the result of much hard …