Creative Writing Commons^™

“To A Cupped Hand’S Size”: Reading Poetics Of Scale In Edith Tiempo’S Poetry, Thomas Leonard D. Shaw

Akda: The Asian Journal of Literature, Culture, Performance

Edith Cutaran Lopez-Tiempo’s body of work, alongside her stature as Philippine National Artist for Literature, has generated substantial scholarship on the fertile imaginaries and intersections of formalist poetics, the institutionalization of the writing workshop, and Philippine poetry in English. Building on these contributions, I turn instead to Tiempo’s negotiation of self-fashioning, memory work, and imaginative practice as a way of articulating questions of scale in her oeuvre. By reading a selection of poems from several of her poetry collections, I argue that reading Tiempo’s sustained engagement with strategies of disclosure and scale, as well as her preoccupation with the intimacy …

The Quilt On The Roof, Janny G. Santos

Persimmon Creek

This creative nonfiction essay explores the meaning of home, stewardship, and healing through the story of a veteran who restored a neglected house on a hill in Greenville County, South Carolina. Built in the 1950s by another veteran on land once belonging to the Perry family, the home becomes a place of repair for both the structure and the person caring for it. When the roof fails after years of restoration, the author creates a massive quilt to protect the house, transforming scraps of fabric into a signal of distress and resilience. The essay reflects on land, memory, family, and …

Moths In The Closet, Brandi E. Shuler

Persimmon Creek

a Work of Flash Fiction
This is a personal reflection about clothing and what makes something important. Why do people hold onto things in a world where replacing them would be so easy?

Built To Last, Jack Andrew Hines

Persimmon Creek

A young man embarks on a career as a carpenter in South Carolina's Lowcountry. He falls under the tutelage of a heavy drinking master carpenter and, together, they strive to master their craft while holding onto their pride in an environment where their culture is being degraded and appropriated.

Palace, Kelis D. Rodgers

Persimmon Creek

A poem written about a fallen empire.

482 Days, Catherine R. Downey

Persimmon Creek

A Valentine's Day present to my partner to let him know how appreciated and cared for he is.

Tolkien’S Glee: A Reading Of The Songs In The Hobbit And The Lord Of The Rings By John R. Holmes, Glenn R. Gray

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

This is a review of "Tolkien's Glee: A Reading of the Songs in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings" by John R. Holmes.

Tolkien And The Mystery Of Literary Creation By Guiseppe Pezzini, Katherine Sas

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

This article reviews Tolkien and the Mystery of Literary Creation by Giuseppe Pezzini, a study of J.R.R. Tolkien’s creative process in which Pezzini argues for a remarkably consistent and comprehensive (if quirky) theory of literary creation as embodied in Tolkien’s legendarium.

The Gospel Of Gollum By Ivano Sassanelli, Gabriela Clarke

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

This review evaluates Ivano Sassanelli’s exploration of what Gollum represents and whether he is a personification of the biblical claim that where one’s heart is, there also will their treasure be. As current scholarship focuses on secondary The Lord of the Rings characters, from Galadriel to Tom Bombadil, this book provides fascinating insights regarding perhaps the most anomalous figure in the canon.

Sassanelli brings together a unique body of international scholarship, especially works from his native Italy, and discusses several niche topics relating to Gollum, such as the character’s grandmother, film portrayal, and Italian-dubbed voice. Comparative reading between early editions …

The N-Word As A Comma, Deshawn Vega

Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition

Deshawn Vega is a Biology major from Boston, Massachusetts. Drawing on his experiences as a mixed-race Black man, his essay examines racism, cultural appropriation, and the ways prejudice can operate both inside and outside the home. Because part of his family is not Black, Deshawn has experienced racism in complex and sometimes unexpected ways. He describes the essay as “an opportunity for me to tell my story and exemplify the ways in which racism has impacted not only myself, but many others just like me.” The project’s creative freedom allowed him to combine personal narrative with a broader analysis of …

Soup Joumou Before Sunrise, Castra Raphael

Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition

Castra Raphael is an English major from Haiti. Her essay explores the ability of food to bring people together and preserve important memories of family, culture, and community. As Castra explains, she wanted to show that “some of life’s best memories are made around the table.” Writing the essay encouraged her to consider how ordinary shared meals can become meaningful markers of relationships and personal history. It also reminded her “how quickly time flies” and deepened her gratitude for the experiences and memories she has gathered over the years. Castra sees the essay as a reflection of both her cultural …

A^2 + B^2 ≠ Good Writing, Malachi Randolph-Benson

Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition

Malachi Randolph-Benson is a Computer Science and Chemistry dual major from Dorchester, Massachusetts. After graduating from high school in 2023, he spent two years working as an Information Technology intern at Harvard Business School while also holding a position in guest services. Returning to the classroom, Malachi became interested in challenging conventional distinctions between mathematical and creative thinking. His essay explores the similarities between mathematics and writing, arguing that both are dynamic processes that respond to changing conditions and generate distinctive results. As he explains, that “this essay was a conscious step of rebellion against the rigidity of writing that …

The Sad Beige Trap: Why Bold Aesthetics Stay Online, Kauthar Maruf

Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition

Kauthar Maruf is a Biology major from Boston, Massachusetts. Her essay began with an effort to find colorful inspiration for her family’s living room and developed into an investigation of the internet’s neutral “Sad Beige” aesthetic and the contrasting popularity of “Brat Green.” As she encountered increasingly similar homes, products, and social-media posts, Kauthar began asking whether personal preferences are genuinely individual or are shaped by algorithms, corporations, economics, and online culture. Conducting her own survey allowed her to compare her initial assumptions with the perspectives of others. She explains that the project encouraged her to begin “looking beyond the …

Combing Out The Kinks Of Identity: Why Black Hair Is More Than A Personal Choice, Christina Jouthe

Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition

Christina Jouthe is a Public Health major from Boston, Massachusetts. As a Black woman, she is drawn to subjects that allow her to examine Black culture, identity, representation, and femininity. Her essay gave her an opportunity to enter a discourse grounded in her own experiences while also expanding her understanding through research. Christina explains that “this semester allowed me to realize that writing can be fun and personable.” Previously, she had often been required to write about subjects that did not interest her or to follow formats that left little room for personal perspective. This particular project encouraged her to …

When The People You Love Are No Longer Down The Hall, Diego Hernández Hernández

Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition

Diego Hernández Hernández is a Computer Science major and prospective Mathematics minor. Originally from El Salvador, he grew up primarily in Revere and Holbrook, Massachusetts. A first-generation immigrant and nontraditional student, Diego returned to school seven years after graduating from high school. His essay examines how communication between emerging adults and their families changes after they leave home, drawing particularly on his relationship with his mother. To make that relationship visible to readers, he incorporated a series of their text messages into the project. Diego explains that this essay “was special to me because it revolved around my family and …

Trans Joy And The Lesson Of Authentic Living, Emma Victra Danvers

Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition

Emma Victra Danvers is a Psychology major from North Kingstown, Rhode Island. Her essay investigates trans joy and the research demonstrating the positive effects of gender transition. As a trans woman writing during a particularly difficult period for the transgender community, Emma wanted to examine joy not as an escape from political realities but as a meaningful source of strength and resilience. She explains, “The more I started writing it, the more I realized how much I have to be happy about. I found that trans joy again that I lost for a little bit.” The project also helped Emma …

The Impacts Of Glp-1 Medication Use, Physically And Culturally, Jack Daley

Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition

Jack Daley is a Computer Science major from Williston, Vermont. Inspired by his family’s experience with GLP-1 medications, including his mother’s experience as a Type 1 diabetic, his essay examines the medical applications of these drugs beyond their increasingly popular association with weight loss. Because public conversations about GLP-1 medications were changing rapidly while he was writing, Jack found it especially rewarding to investigate “a topic that was developing in real time” and that he regularly encountered outside an academic setting. The project allowed him to move beyond personal experience and popular discussion to develop a more informed perspective on …

Hamburgers: Great For Dinner, Bad For Writing, Jameison Wirta

Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition

Jameison Wirta is from Somerset, MA, and is a Psychology major with a Chemistry minor in the Pre-Medical Program. For Jameison, this essay was especially important because it completely transformed the way he thinks about writing. “I used to hate writing,” he explains, “but what I really hated was the cookie-cutter, check-the-box process I was always confined to. Learning to set myself a bit freer in my writing was an absolute blessing, and now I love it.” He hopes to share that same sense of freedom with others through his work. This semester was Jameison’s first time back in a …

Fuck The Academic Filter, Ana Swanson

Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition

Ana Swanson is an Anthropology major from Warwick, RI. Ana explains that writing papers has always been challenging for her, not because of ability, but because of boredom. “I just don’t enjoy writing in a strict, buttoned-up tone—or the academic filter, as I call it in this essay,” she shares. Discovering that she didn’t have to conform to that filter felt revolutionary and opened up a new way of approaching her work. Returning to college after leaving her studies twice, Ana came back with a renewed sense of purpose and a focus on anthropology, a subject she genuinely loves. Writing …

Dead Trees And Dollar Bills: Are We Prepared For An Automated Future?, Alfred Michael Wing Iii

Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition

Alfred Michael Wing III is a Political Science major from Monroeville, Pennsylvania. Al explains that this essay gave him the opportunity to work through a question that had been weighing on his mind for some time: whether modern automation and artificial intelligence can truly give back what they take away. “I wanted to explore the systemic risks they pose,” he says, “not just as technological shifts, but as structural challenges that society is largely unprepared for.” The project was not about fearing technology, but rather about questioning whether the systems we have built are capable of introducing powerful innovations without …

To Speak Is To Survive: Language, Loss And Holding On, Mathilda Sanon

Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition

Mathilda Sanon is a Psychology major with an English minor from Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Mathilda explains that this essay was deeply personal to her because it is tied to her family, her culture, and her own experiences of language. She thought often of her grandmother, who has lived in the United States for decades but has never let go of Haitian Kreyol. “Watching her speak her language so freely while I have spent years adjusting mine to fit into certain spaces really stuck with me,” Mathilda reflects. She says that she did not want to write about language loss as some …

Baby Fever, Meet Reality Check, Victoria R. Reginaldo

Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition

Victoria R. Reginaldo is a Biology major from Weymouth, MA; she was born in Brazil and speaks Portuguese. Victoria explains that this essay was meaningful to her because it allowed her to think about an idea she has carried with her since she was young, the desire to have children, and how that dream is shaped and complicated by the realities of today’s society. “As I get older and begin to realize that life isn’t so simple, it made me want to research and write about how society influences the decision to have children,” she shares. Victoria notes that this …

No One Really Cares About Ai-Generated Creative Work, Ruby Pearlman

Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition

Ruby Pearlman is a Nursing major from Santa Barbara, CA. Ruby explains that her essay was inspired by her frustration with the way artificial intelligence is often compared to human creativity. “Creating art is a big part of my life, and it’s frustrating to spend hours on something I’m proud of just to hear people’s comments about how they could ‘do the same thing’ in seconds with AI,” she shares. For her, this project was a chance to present a clearer distinction between AI-generated content and art made by a real person. At the time she was writing, Ruby was …

The Dystopian Landscape Of Short-Form Content, Leslie Payne

Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition

Leslie Payne is a Psychology major with a Communications minor from Vienna, Virginia. Leslie explains that when her class began discussing the impact of social media, she immediately knew what her essay would focus on. “It felt like the only possible thing I could write about,” she recalls, noting how strongly she felt about its pervasive effects yet lacking the structured expression to articulate them before this assignment. She was particularly interested in the overlap between short-form content, identity formation, and media cycles, and writing this paper gave her both the research and framework to better understand those connections. She …

Saint Joan Of Arc And The Modern Transgender Liberation Movement, Nick King

Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition

Nick King is a Classical Languages and History major from Haverhill, MA. For Nick, this essay became a source of both comfort and empowerment, particularly within the context of our current political climate. He explains that “being a trans person is hard, and we need more role models of resilience,” and this writing project allowed him to give voice to those complexities. Written during his second semester of college, Nick notes that the atmosphere of political strife pushed him to pour even more passion and conviction into his work. This essay is especially meaningful to Nick because it reflects the …

Unraveling Labor: Crafting Between Hobby And Work, Samriddhi Khemka

Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition

Samriddhi Khemka is a Nursing major from Natick, MA. Samriddhi explains that her essay was inspired by memories of crafting with her mom on the living room floor. “Whether it was making flowers out of pencil shavings, flower pressing without proper kits, or painting rocks, my mom undeniably taught me the art of creativity,” she recalls. More importantly, her mother taught her how to see possibility in scraps and to turn what others might throw away into something meaningful. She reflects: “Nothing was ever wasted if it could be remade.” One thing that stood out to Samriddhi while writing this …

Compelled By Darkness: Batman, Mental Instability, And The Blurred Line Of Heroism, Chloë Lucien

Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition

Chloë Lucien is a Music major with a Dance minor from Mattapan, MA. Chloë explains that this essay was deeply personal because Batman’s story has always been more than a comic book origin to her. “Batman himself has become a mirror I could look into, a reflection of my own journey from pain to purpose,” she shares. Writing about Bruce Wayne allowed her to explore how mental wounds can coexist with, and even fuel, acts of courage, challenging the simplistic “hero-versus-villain” narrative while bringing self-acceptance to her own ongoing work of healing. For Chloë, the essay became more than an …

Comforts With The "S", Reese Smith

Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition

Reese Smith is a nursing major from Quincy, MA. She says that she has come to realize how as a society we have very little comfort in our everyday lives and “often live a robotic lifestyle day in and day out, without taking much time to appreciate what is around us and incorporating comforts into our daily routines.” When writing this essay, Reese felt that she was able to take her own research and apply it to her daily life by taking time to infiltrate comforts (with an “s”) into her own routines. Her research is special to her since …

Femininity On Social Media, Allison Peguero

Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition

Allison Peguero is a biology major from Malden, MA. The inspiration for her research is having often “witnessed the hate women receive when sharing their interests and passions online.” Allison feels that this conduct has been “normalized” online and in social media. She also finds it interesting to witness the way people conduct themselves online versus the way they truly are offline. This juxtaposition inspired her essay “to not only explore this topic further, but to analyze how this connects with the misogyny that I and many other women have experienced online.” The freedom to pursue her interest in this …

Film's Depictions Of Mental Illness, Mandy May

Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition

Mandy May is a psychology major from Canton, CT. Mandy’s purpose for writing her essay was to spread awareness of the impact that negative portrayals of mental illnesses in the media have on audiences. She shares that, as a psychology major, she has always been “hyper-aware of the way films exaggerate and emphasize unrealistic stereotypes surrounding mental illness.” Mandy feels that this essay gave her the opportunity to “finally research more about the reality of these depictions, and to hear about how people with mental disorders are affected by negative portrayals.” With a growing interest in child psychology, fueled by …