Creative Writing Commons^™

Spring 2024

The Alembic

The Alembic - Spring 2024. 143 pages including covers and advertisements.

Table of Contents

Editors’ Note, vii

Poetry

S. Yarberry

Catherine’s Poem, 3

Looking at Robert Blake, 4

The Tyger , 6

Ethan Cunningham

Woman Under Water, 7

William Heath

A Bar in Santa Cruz, 8

In Asturias, 9

Joan Barker

Hometown, 10

Ella Bloom

Loneliness, 12

The Fog/A Lighthouse, 14

Found, 16

Tom McFadden

Where the Light May End, 17

If It Were Spring, 18

Bruce McRae

Daydreamers, 20

Does Your Dog Bite?, 21

A Strained Affair, 22

Erin Bolger

19 reasons, 23

Richard Dinges

Thunder, 24

Mulberry Trees …

Methodologizing Transnationality: Relational Writing As Collective Inquiry, Sun Young Lee, Minhye Son, Taeyeon Kim, Jin Kyeong Jung, Soo Bin Jang

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

How can we take transnationality as a space of in-betweenness to generate new possibilities, moving beyond geographically bounded spans between countries? This article presents five authors’ collective inquiry on transnational positionalities, which we practiced through the relational, transformative, and reflective writing of the self in a community space. We staged the collaborative writing into two processes: the emergent process of thematic writing and the relay writing. Interweaving “I” and “we” voices that cannot be captured through categorical thinking, our collaborative quest resists normative identity politics, proposing writing as a method of collective inquiry for the nuanced understanding of the transnationality …

Defining Gastrocriticism As A Critical Paradigm On The Example Of Irish Literature And Food Writing: A Vade Mecum, Anke Klitzing

Doctoral

The aim of this study is to map out the gastrocritical approach, using Irish literature and writing to test its premises, and to provide a vade mecum for its practical application, particularly for interdisciplinary scholars. The gastrocritical approach furnishes a “culinary lens” for reading food and foodways in imaginative texts, informed by work in the field of food studies and gastronomy. The approach was broadly characterised by Tobin in 2002, but only sparsely used since. The past fifteen years have seen an increasing self-awareness and reflexivity in the field of literary food studies. As the field matures, there have been …

Barbie: For Better Or Worse, Renee Ho

Pop Culture Intersections

This article covers a history of Barbie, as well as an analysis of the live action Barbie movie. Barbie lovers and haters alike often debate whether the iconized doll is a feminist figure. Those who critique her argue that the messages she sends are superficial, or that Barbie perpetuates an unrealistic beauty standard and causes harm to the mental well being of her audience, especially because most of her target audience is made up of younger, impressionable girls. However, there is no doubt that Barbie can also be a role model for her audience. She was the first doll to …

Nostalgia's Complicated Role In Contemporary Pop Culture, Ethan Clawsie

Pop Culture Intersections

Over the past several decades, there has been a growing trend of nostalgia in popular culture, with the number of remakes, reboots, and revivals of classic films, television shows, and music at an all-time high. Dozens of old TV shows have also been rebooted in the past few years, old movies are being remade, much of the music that’s been released lately has been engineered to sound like it came from the past, and a subset of recent video games either build upon old games (like Pokémon GO), or are made to look and feel like old games (like Flappy …

Self-Listening & Envisioning Audience Exercise & Assignment, Jacob Kose

Open Educational Resources

This assignment and exercise encourages students to pick a formative story, artifact, individual, or moment in their acquisition of language and/or literacy. Students record themselves telling this story, then type that recording, and make choices about how to edit that text.Instructors may invite students to read these aloud, and/or peer edit. Students may also submit reflections and comment on each others' reflection.

Hacking The Library Exhibition Pdfs, Sally Brown, Christine Hoffmann, Lois Ann Raimondo, Karen Diaz, Sarah Pahlfrey

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

The hacker ethos in the positive sense is about the ability to deconstruct and reconstruct information systems. Hacking starts with reconceptualizing libraries. L Hacking the Library presents artwork that highlights the intersecting values that shape our libraries through an artistic lens, reflecting on challenges and definitions of libraries past and as we move into the future. To provide personal context, "Community Connections" complement the art from librarians across the nation who responded to the artwork.

Artists included: Jackie Andrews (Maryland, mixed media), Trudy Borenstein- Sugiura (New Jersey, book arts), Sally Jane Brown (West Virginia, drawing), Shan Cawley (West Virginia, painting), …

Three Men And A Store, S. Ray Granade

Creative Works

Most accurately, we should probably call this “two men, a boy, and a store.” It features three generations of males from the same family—the father, his only son, and his first-born grandson. The store, Arkadelphia’s first “big box” discount store, Howard Brothers (colloquially known as Howard’s), sat atop the last northward hil l on Tenth Street (aka US Highway 67/AR Highway 7) and looked eastward and northeastward across its parking lot over the Caddo River and Ouachita River floodplains. The occasion arose when the father and his wife drove from Montgomery, Alabama over the course of about a dozen hours …

Reviving Local Journalism And Storytelling: Reporting On The "Oc Weekly", Lauren E. Montoya

Whittier Scholars Program

In an effort to reflect the importance of local journalism, the following project is a narrative piece reporting on the closure of the OC Weekly, an alternative news source that ended in 2019, which was hardly reported on. This project aims to change that by further demonstrating the severe impact on communities in which these meaningful sources of news disappear, and why they matter. It calls on people to advocate for and change transform journalism into more than corporate-centered news that too often disregards the critical aspect of storytelling. Storytelling brings communities together and is the life of journalism, …

Deranda And The Pediatrician, S. Ray Granade

Creative Works

The winter after her tenth birthday brought the crisis with it. That crisis compounded a wretched combination of willfulness and unrecognized reality with timing. The compound meant that she might not live to be eleven— however impossible that seemed at the time.

She was a child who loved the outdoors and its beauty, but also loved order, neatness, and cleanliness. Those two loves warred within her, with the best manifestation being a penchant for interrupting her early preoccupation with making mud-pies for frequent trips indoors to wash up before returning to “cooking.” The long walkway from her first childhood home …

Honoring The Gift: An Epistolary Exploration Of An Alternative Approach To Learning Grounded In Reciprocity And Gratitude, Tegan Keyes

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

In this project, I explore what it means to honor knowledge as a gift. This document includes a selection of letters I wrote to my teachers to express my gratitude to them, along with a written narrative in which I describe my vision of an alternative approach to undergraduate education that centers gratitude, reciprocity, and self-determination. This narrative weaves together lessons from emergence theory, Indigenous systems of education, and gift economies to tell a story of a life-sustaining education system that is grounded in the understanding that knowledge is a gift.

Mistletoe Blooms: A Proposal Of Method, Petra Ellerby

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

The intellectual product housed within this two-part document is the result of an attempt both to engage with unaccustomed formats—fine art, design—and to do justice by a set of idiosyncratic methodological tenets that have played a pivotal role in my personal trajectory, my own internal history of ideas. In spite of its compound nature, the project remains faithful to a fundamentally humanistic spirit: it is an allusive study in cross-disciplinary thinking, an affective attempt to summarize, define, communicate, and defend one specific way of seeing and understanding. At its core, my capstone serves as a venue (even an excuse) for …

Fragments Of The Dark: Essays On Heritage, Anxiety, And Spirit, Nicholas Diaz

Department of English: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

“I am the war my family forgot to mention.” With these words from my essay, “My Parents Never Taught Me About My Ancestors,” I stake my position in the struggle for happiness. In a series of five experimental essays, I aim to reflect upon my assimilated white, working-class upbringing in the US Midwest and the emptiness with which it has left me. Deploying fragmentary essay forms, elements of memoir, question-and-answer, quotation, prayer, and other devices, I hope to pose destabilizing questions about our understandings of whiteness, masculinity, ancestry, and faith. Questions which, I hope, can help us (particularly those of …

I, Discomfort Woman: A Fugue In F Minor, Seo-Young J. Chu

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Dissertation Chapters Underway: 10,000 Shards, Or Opening And Activating Depth: Handicraft, Value, And The Work Of Art (Shards 00000-00001), Christopher Southward, Christopher Southward

Comparative Literature Faculty Scholarship

Dissertation Chapters Underway: 10,000 Shards, Or Opening and Activating Depth: Handicraft, Value, and the Work of Art (Shards 00000-00001), Christopher Southward

Writing Workshop In Prose, Brenna E. Crowe

Open Educational Resources

A prose workshop where students write a lyrical essay, a satirical essay, a personal essay, an informational interview, and a portfolio.

Satirical Essay Assignment Prompt & Calendar, Brenna E. Crowe

Open Educational Resources

Assignment description with calendar and hyperlinked model & craft essays

Engl 211w: Intro To Nonfiction (Points Of Entry And/Or Exit Wounds), Heather Simon

Open Educational Resources

We will explore the notion of creativity as it pertains to new ways of engaging familiar topics and carving out frameworks for exploring uncharted territory. We will actively read and respond to works of creative nonfiction to enrich our understanding of structure, style, and language. Assigned readings will demonstrate how creative nonfiction can encompass a variety of forms (think: reportage, braided essay, erasure, visual essay) and draw from both research and experience to offer a unique perspective and elicit an emotional response. We will develop our own creative nonfiction toolbox through a series of reflections, creative exercise, and projects. We …

Facets Of Feminist Biography, Joanne E. Gates

Presentations, Proceedings & Performances

This is a brief overview of how I continue to be engaged with research on Elizabeth Robins in the context of other women writers, post-retirement. The presentation's subtitle might be phrased as "From my study of the one-woman show in graduate school to creative and poetic approaches as emerita researcher." I maintain the Elizabeth Robins Web at JSU and have presented two papers (virtually at recent SAMLA conferences) since leaving the classroom. I outline several of my creative approaches to women's biography through my academic career. I am particularly interested in the format of several poetry collections that piece together …

Reading The Gaps: On Women’S Nonfiction And Page Space, Amie S. Reilly

English Faculty Publications

Recently, I read Maggie O’Farrell’s book I am I am I am, wherein she writes seventeen different essays, all describing ways she has nearly died. Each essay is named for a part of the body and, in parenthesis, the year the event that nearly killed her occurred. Certain body parts are used more than once (“Lungs,” for example, since there are three occasions when O’Farrell nearly drowned). After reading, I was stuck on the idea that she broke her body up into pieces in order to tell a complete story, that some parts needed to be touched twice, that …

Finding Your Inner Drag: How Drag Culture Helped Form Freedom Of Expression For The Lgbtq Community, Sylvia Zobel De Ayala

Pop Culture Intersections

This research paper discusses the history of the LGBTQ community, the effects of the drag community and the comparison to the behaviors and attitudes from the past to the present. This article goes in depth to different scholarly articles that help understand the history of the LGBTQ community. This article will also discuss personal stories and experiences that describe the emotional aspect of the moments of history mentioned. The three main topics discussed in this paper are the Stonewall Riot, the AIDS epidemic and the uprising of the transgender community. After understanding the history and the present attitudes, they will …

Popular Culture’S Grip On The Lgbtq Community, Connor Grogan

Pop Culture Intersections

The purpose of this research is to identify the causes and consequences of forming groups within this cultural sphere, specifically focusing on the LGBTQ community. I would contend that the inclusion and exclusion of this marginalized group which exists within a larger community can be promoted or amplified by hegemonic forces through the use of popular culture and mass media. Firstly, with regards to this paper, I will identify what hegemonic power dynamics are within the context of the thesis, as well as what it means to be a marginalized group without much force within a power dynamic. Secondly, I …

Blood Sugar: A Collection Of Essays On The Highs And Lows Of Diabetes, Annalisa Morganelli

Honors Program Theses and Projects

As soon as I began working on this thesis project, I knew that I wanted this collection to focus on the different aspects of my life that have been affected by me having type one diabetes. The diabetic experience is one that has been underrepresented—and arguably, misrepresented—in popular media. The four non-fiction essays in my collection aim to add my personal experience to the existing literature, showing that while diabetics may have similar experiences, these experiences can also be vastly individualistic. Additionally, while I share my own stories, I explore the general chronic illness experience and how ableism and misunderstanding …

Evading Oblivionland, Caitlin Faria

Honors Program Theses and Projects

When I initially started this project, I hoped to tell stories in genres that I love while exploring the impact my father has had on my life. Although I prefer to write fiction, the nonfiction essays of this piece show who my father is through my eyes as well as provide me with the space to explore and find words for my own fears of losing him one day. The fictional stories interwoven throughout also show how my father inspires my writing even when it does not directly involve him, or a character exactly like him. For example, my dad …

"Dear Stanford: You Must Reckon With Your History Of Sexual Violence" By Seo-Young Chu, Seo-Young J. Chu

Publications and Research

In 2000 a Stanford professor raped me. My rape is now older than I was. (I’m still not as old as he was.) The more time passes the more I’m struck by Stanford’s apathy and fecklessness about sexual violence. I wrote a letter asking Stanford to stop compounding the abuse and to reckon with its rape culture. This letter—including the “Incomplete Compilation of Links to Sources Documenting Stanford’s History of Sexual Violence, in Chronological Order”—should be mandatory reading for administrators, faculty, students, alumni, and stakeholders at both Stanford and CUNY. #MeToo #MeTooAcademia

Antología Volumen Ii: Cuento, Poesía, Relato, Microrrelato Y Testimonio, Jose Higuera Lopez, Carlos Aguasaco

CUNY Mexican Studies Institute

La Feria Internacional del Libro de la Ciudad de Nueva York es un espacio donde se promueve la riqueza expresiva de la literatura en español en Estados Unidos. Las obras inéditas que se compilan en este volumen expresan la gran diversidad de texturas y acentos que dan cuenta de la infinitud de nuestra lengua.

La Antología de la FIL Ciudad de Nueva York es uno de los proyectos fundamentales dentro de las iniciativas de nuestra Feria, y su objetivo es proveer un espacio de visibilidad y desarrollo para las voces emergentes, así como un punto de encuentro para escritores y …

Anatomy: The Makings Of Me, Janey Locander

Women's and Gender Studies: Student Scholarship & Creative Works

Anatomy & the Makings of me:

(A Chapbook)

Back in 2020 quarantine took a mental toll on many, including myself. I was already overwhelmed with academics, personal issues, and an overall pessimistic outlook. For years I've struggled with my body image, and for the past year or so I've been trying to improve on my self-love and acceptance. Taking back my body and my feelings towards it by keeping centered on my thoughts, not the thoughts of others. Hence the concept for this chapbook project.

Anatomy is a look at all the squishy bits of matter and emotion I’ve been …

La Cultura Familiar: Una Exploración De Herencia Y Memoria A Través De Comida, Alexandria Pizzino

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Esta investigación explora las conexiones entre la comida, la memoria, y la cultura familiar. La investigación duró cuatro semanas, y fue completada a través de entrevistas orales y de demostración con cuatros personas. Cada entrevistade pudo escoger una receta principal de su familia y contar una narrativa sobre las memorias asociadas con esta comida para contribuir a la formación de un libro de cocina y memoria. Las entrevistades eran representantes de las zonas sur y centro de Chile, de ciudades y zonas rurales. Incluyó la participación de tres mujeres y un hombre. Cada entrevistade tenía una manera única de usar …

Yahweh’S Benevolence Vs. Anat’S Malevolence: A Comparative Analysis Of Judges 4–5 And Col Ii 1–Col Iii 2, Michaela Misantone

Senior Honors Theses

The actions of ancient Near Eastern warrior gods are often depicted as acts of vengeance, greed, and brutality, serving selfish ambition and never-ending power struggles. These gods and their warfare ethic dominated the worldview of the ancient world in which the events of the Old Testament took place. The actions of the Hebrew God are often included, even emphasized, in discussions of ancient divine warfare today. There are supposed similarities between the actions of war gods like Anat from the Ugaritic pantheon and those of Yahweh from ancient Israel. Unfortunately, this has led to the present-day belief that the God …

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 …