Creative Writing Commons^™

Maya Binyam, Raymond Carver Reading Series, February 12, 2025, Maya Binyam

Raymond Carver Reading Series

A video recording of Maya Binyam reading on February 12, 2025, as part of the Syracuse University Creative Writing Program's Raymond Carver Reading Series.

Hari Kunzru, Raymond Carver Reading Series, March 19, 2025, Hari Kunzro

Raymond Carver Reading Series

A video recording of Hari Kunzro reading on February 26, 2025, as part of the Syracuse University Creative Writing Program's Raymond Carver Reading Series.

Hayan Charara, Raymond Carver Reading Series, April 2, 2025, Hayan Charara

Raymond Carver Reading Series

A video recording of Hayan Charara reading on April 2, 2025, as part of the Syracuse University Creative Writing Program's Raymond Carver Reading Series.

Claire Messud, Raymond Carver Reading Series, April 23, 2025, Claire Messud

Raymond Carver Reading Series

A video recording of Claire Messud reading on April 2, 2025, as part of the Syracuse University Creative Writing Program's Raymond Carver Reading Series.

Natalie Shapero, Raymond Carver Reading Series, January 29, 2024, Natalie Shapero

Raymond Carver Reading Series

A video recording of Natalie Shapero reading on January 29, 2025, as part of the Syracuse University Creative Writing Program's Raymond Carver Reading Series.

Christopher Brunt, Raymond Carver Reading Series, February 26, 2025, Christopher Brunt

Raymond Carver Reading Series

A video recording of Christopher Brunt reading on February 26, 2025, as part of the Syracuse University Creative Writing Program's Raymond Carver Reading Series.

Nebo: Volume 1, Issue 1

NEBO: A Literary Journal

Nebo Literary Journal is a dynamic collection of contemporary fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction that highlights emerging voices in literature. Curated by Arkansas Tech University, this issue features a diverse range of storytelling, lyrical expression, and thought-provoking essays that explore themes of identity, human connection, and the power of narrative. With contributions from talented writers across genres, Nebo serves as a creative space for literary exploration and artistic expression. Whether through evocative poetry or compelling short stories, this issue invites readers to immerse themselves in the richness of modern literature.

Bruce Smith, Raymond Carver Reading Series, December 3, 2025, Bruce Smith

Raymond Carver Reading Series

A video recording of Bruce Smith reading on December 3, 2025, as part of the Syracuse University Creative Writing Program's Raymond Carver Reading Series. Running time: 26:36.

Paula Saunders, Raymond Carver Reading Series, October 29, 2025, Paula Saunders

Raymond Carver Reading Series

A video recording of Paula Saunders reading on October 29, 2025, as part of the Syracuse University Creative Writing Program's Raymond Carver Reading Series. Running time: 31:41.

Lidia Yuknavitch, Raymond Carver Reading Series, September 24, 2025, Lidia Yuknavitch

Raymond Carver Reading Series

A video recording of Lidia Yuknavitch reading on September 24, 2025, as part of the Syracuse University Creative Writing Program's Raymond Carver Reading Series. Running time: 24:51.

Debbie Urbanski, Raymond Carver Reading Series, September 10, 2025, Debbie Urbanski

Raymond Carver Reading Series

A video recording of Debbie Urbanski reading on September 10, 2025, as part of the Syracuse University Creative Writing Program's Raymond Carver Reading Series. Running time: 39:18.

Carroll Beauvais, Raymond Carver Reading Series, October 22, 2025, Carroll Beauvais

Raymond Carver Reading Series

A video recording of Carroll Beauvais reading on October 22, 2025, as part of the Syracuse University Creative Writing Program's Raymond Carver Reading Series. Running time: 32:33.

Francine J. Harris, Raymond Carver Reading Series, November 12, 2025, Francine J. Harris

Raymond Carver Reading Series

A video recording of francine j. harris reading on November 12, 2025, as part of the Syracuse University Creative Writing Program's Raymond Carver Reading Series. Running time: 37:40.

Seeking The Unspoken: Examining Queer Subtext In Storytelling, Morgan Stevens-Reidy

Postgraduate

This exegesis aims to examine the techniques of subtext that are used to determine creative decisions in narrative structures on various forms of fictional screen media with a specific focus on storytelling in an animation context and the creative mediums used to form it. The major focus of subtextual storytelling that is investigated during this exegesis is the themes and narratives used throughout the LGBTQ+ community and the diversity of its influences upon hidden signs within stories, which was studied through the process of creating the foundation of a short film with the use of methodological approaches such as practice-led …

Stress To Success: A Children's Book About Handling Stressful Situations, Marina Pennycuff

Honors Projects

For this project, I investigated the importance of bibliotherapy with school-aged children through the construction of my own children’s book that is focused around social-emotional aspects that are important for development. In particular, this children’s book was focused around different stressful events that can occur in a child’s life. This project allowed me to have a hands-on approach in researching this central topic. Another major goal for this project was that it granted me the ability to create a physical copy of a book that I will be able to use as a tool in my future career working with …

Earth Needs Help, Rhiannon C. Barto

English Department: Research for Change - Wicked Problems in Our World

Humans destroy earth by polluting the atmosphere and wiping out other living things. Climate change is a human created problem that is increasing the rate at which the damage is occurring. The temperature is increasing at the fastest rate that it has in 10,000 years. With change happening this fast, it is hard for nature and animals, including ourselves, to adapt. Climate change is one of the biggest things causing this change and it is crucial to take action before it is too late. We need to stop deforestation, stop CO2 emissions, and stop the use of fossil fuels. The …

(Fun)Ction: Developing Games From A Narrative Standpoint, Julian Barocas

English and Creative Writing Summer Fellows

My goal with this project has been to deepen my understanding of why people play games, how to make games narratively compelling, and what technical methods are effective in play. This has allowed me to investigate both the technical, scholarly assessments of board game dynamics while also exploring their real-world applications, successes, and weaknesses. Building on my research, my project has culminated in a full prototype of an original board game that has both narrative structure and an engaging gameplay structure. I have also produced a reflection paper on the experience and an annotated bibliography of my research texts and …

Another Perspective: Telling The Hero’S Story Without The Hero, Renee Hopper

Honors Projects

Can a YA story be effectively told through the lenses of side characters that typically exist to further the main character’s plot? What gives a side character agency? How do you make a hero without ever getting close to them through the narrator? This Honors Project seeks to answer those questions through a YA-style novella in which four different "side characters" tell their stories, and the hero's point of view is never followed.

Forgiveness, Freedom And The Inmate Issue, Taylor Smith

Master of Arts in Professional Writing Capstones

Forgiveness Freedom and the Inmate Issue:

It is no secret that the United States has a mass incarceration problem. The war on drugs, traffic violations, and the Three Strikes Law, are just pieces of the systems being used to repeatedly place people behind bars. What we are facing now as a society is the repercussions of reintegrating under educated, digitally literate, mentally abandoned individuals back into society. In addition to post jail operatives like parole fees, fines and probation scheduling are re-sentencing these individuals into a society they no longer relate to, that socially struggle to adapt to and that …

Willowcreek Middle School Alternative Program: Successfully Working Through Trauma, Debra B. Ekdahl 6061

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

Willowcreek Middle School in Portage Indiana is not your typical alternative school. We offer trauma informed practices in place of student expulsions. A safe structured environment, reduced class time, academic strategies, mindfulness, yoga, and community service, all help to provide the educational and social/emotional support necessary to help students at risk reach their potential and eventually transition back to the traditional classroom.

Solitary Solidarity: Vignettes Of The Appalachian Trail, Noah L. Booth

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

This past Summer, I spent two months solo-hiking the first third of the Appalachian Trail. I completed 737 total miles, starting at Springer Mountain in Georgia and continuing through North Carolina and Tennessee, before finishing my journey in central Virginia. I am no stranger to backpacking, but the rolling Blue Ridge Mountains of the Southeast were completely foreign to me. Throughout this two month excursion I kept a daily journal, logging everything from mileage and geographical features, to encounters with wildlife and humans alike. Over six months have elapsed since I completed my journey and, having had plenty of time …

Pitiless Cruelty: Cynicism, Capitalism, And Gambling In The Writing Of Mario Puzo, David Schwartz

Executive Vice President & Provost Faculty Research

The Godfather made him a wealthy man, but Mario Puzo’s long years as a struggling writer and childhood in New York City’s Hell’s Kitchen conditioned him to treat money—and those who made a great deal of it—with suspicion. This paper explores how Puzo’s cynical views of capitalism were buttressed by his experiences as a self-described “mildly degenerate” gambling, and how they are expressed in both his fiction and non-fiction.

Pagan Winter, Samm Willard

Sophia and Philosophia

Isn’t this a lovely place to pick apart your lover’s face
Some say the river bank’s a sacred place
Others think that’s such a silly thing to say
But I would never try to prove them wrong on such a blissful day
The colors of the leaves will soon have changed
The yellows and the greens will fade to gray
But I will lose a quiet hour to the darkest day
A pagan winter’s on its way
I will see the death of God before it’s Christmas day
A pagan winter’s on its way
Well isn’t this some lovely clay …

The Toxicity Of Otherness, Justin Malone

English Department: Traveling American Modernism (ENG 366, Fall 2018)

This article discusses the dangerous philosophical principle of Othering, wherein a group of people are ostracized for being different from the majority. While categorization of information is a fundamental aspect of how the brain works, the categorization of people homogenizes their complexities. In doing so, a group is seen as a single entity, rather than individuals, which strips them of their humanity. After a group has been Othered, society will inevitably invoke some method of forced displacement upon them. Additionally, the article emphasizes the importance of affected individuals telling the stories of their experiences with oppression from Othering. Sharing one’s …

The Influence Of Individualistic Ideas On American Mobility, Markus Magiera

English Department: Traveling American Modernism (ENG 366, Fall 2018)

In this paper I showcase the influence of individualistic thinking ranging back as far as Age of Enlightenment on the development of mobility in America since the eighteenth century. My goal is to identify the factors that shaped the evolution of travel. In order to do so I start by analyzing texts from the early nineteenth century, where travel by foot was the common thing. Next I focus on new means of mobility; first the bicycle, and later on the automobile. I aim to convince that modernity's main instigator was the change in thinking brought forth in the Age of …

Collecting Words And Weaving A "Living History" With Dr. Harvey Frommer, Haley Johnston

CLAMANTIS: The MALS Journal

n/a

The Edugametional Podcast Episode 1: Souls Games And Information Literacy, Brian Zabell

Master of Arts in Professional Writing Capstones

Abstract:

This Capstone project includes a 53 minute podcast audio file and a reflective memo detailing what sparked my interest in the topic along the journey I went through to get to where I ended up to create the podcast.

The podcast is developed the first podcast of a series about using peer-reviewed research articles to argue for educational gaming in the classroom, the merits of finding scientific and cultural literacies in educational gaming, understanding the value of why certain video game mechanics work and why, and how video games in general can retain educational value to a player.

This …

Fading Landscapes: The Culture Of Exile And The Open Road, Marc T. Rentschler

English Department: Traveling American Modernism (ENG 366, Fall 2018)

This article seeks to analyze the complex relationship between material culture and hegemonic constructions of ideology along with their tendency to make their way into larger institutional apparatuses of society. For this study this interaction is explored through the symbolic construction of the american roadways and a selective. Drawing on Jack Kerouac’s On the Road, Baudrillard’s America, and William Least Heat Moon’s Blue Highways, this work attempts to combine critical perspectives on the formation of public space with the events of these works in order to formulate how the ideological values which are subsumed by the representational space of ‘The …

Chronicle, Tara Mettler

Poetry MFA Theses

A collection of original poetry by Tara Mettler.

Teaching Creative Writing In The Age Of Common Core, Casey Unverferth

Honors Projects

The core of my honors project includes a 12-day unit plan for teaching creative writing in the form of narratives. I created lessons for 12 days, created the materials needed for each day, and created a website where my work has been displayed for my future classroom. The website link is: teachcreatewrite.weebly.com. All materials for the unit plan are broken down by day, and I chose to expand upon 3 days in a short lesson plan template.