Creative Writing Commons^™

Texas Gothic, Taryn Uribe Turner

Art Theses and Dissertations

The emotional and the ecological combine to create my body of work titled, “Texas Gothic.” My thesis tells the stories of my oil paintings created through personal connections to a variety of landscapes, animals and experiences that share the setting of Texas.

Desire and regret take shape as animals and figures not fully formed or real. Unreliable narratives of the past are entangled with present tensions to create a painting that haunts and stalks.

And yet, there is hope!

Through nostalgia and sweetness and burdens, my paintings confront a shrouded future. The contradictions of time passing are explored in my …

Queerform/Ing, Matthew Solon-Lee Weimer

Art Theses and Dissertations

My artwork is situated within and around vessels and the Queer Homoerotic World and explores sexuality as a Demisexual within them. This is accomplished through the two processes of my creation, Minivague and Queerform/ing: balancing sexual tension and explicit expression, while subverting traditional norms and stereotypes with queerness to distance oneself from stereotypical Gay Art. Altering/emphasizing makes the artwork more romantic, lighter, whimsical, softer, and tender than the figure/s and the situations actually are. The process is also emphasizing what one sees or wants to be seen. The Pink Boy becomes a celebration of intimacy of any form. I discuss …

With Love, ; An Interdisciplinary And Intersectional Look At Why Creativity Is Essential, Theo Starr Gardner

Whittier Scholars Program

My Whittier Scholars Program self-designed major, Teaching Creativity, is a mixture of Art, Literature, and Education classes. My research and praxis classes have been focused on the ‘how?’s and 'why?’s of creativity, so it felt only right that my project should be a constructivist, generative project. The project I have been working on throughout my time at Whittier, and that has just fully come to fruition on April 11th, 2024, was a solo art gallery/open mic event entitled ‘With Love,’. With Love, was conceptually inspired by the research I’ve conducted on creativity and creative arts education over the past few …

Between Magic And Realism: The Ashes Of The Forest, Guzide Erturk Guzeldere

Student Research Symposium

My presentation is on a novel, The Ashes of The Forest, which is my undergraduate honors thesis and was published in Turkey on March 8th of this year. What if birds had disappeared from the earth? In which direction could you go to find them? If the sea receded from your shore and never returned, what would you do? The narrative centers around the mysterious events in the seemingly ordinary Mossy Village along the shores of the Aegean Sea, the tensions between the characters, and their inner reckonings. When the sea withdraws far away, the main character, Azra, a young …

Coming Out, Letting Go, Getting Naked: A Community Engagement Arts Based Project, Tim Aumiller

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Creating a healthy sexual minority identity remains a challenge in the 21^st century, despite significant advances in social acceptance and civil rights. Sexual minorities are more likely than cis gender heterosexuals to be exposed to traumatic events, and experience shame and mental and physical health symptoms as a result. Despite this, sexual minorities do overcome obstacles to develop resilience. While the coming out process looks different depending on the background of the individual, many gay men find connection and build community through this often difficult process where even rejection may play a part. The author found connection and community …

Melissa Tuckey, Melissa Tuckey

Green Humanities: A Journal of Ecological Thought in Literature, Philosophy & the Arts

No abstract provided.

Sequence, Cole Swensen

Green Humanities: A Journal of Ecological Thought in Literature, Philosophy & the Arts

No abstract provided.

The Continual Emergence / Of Suppressed Histories, Linda Russo

Green Humanities: A Journal of Ecological Thought in Literature, Philosophy & the Arts

N/A

Salt: A Tribute To Ghana's Fishers, Vanessa F. Jaiteh

Green Humanities: A Journal of Ecological Thought in Literature, Philosophy & the Arts

This poem is a tribute to my fieldwork on fisher safety, labour abuses and human rights violations in Ghana’s fisheries.

"Drone," "Attempting To Persuade The Musk Ox You Are Not Unlike Not A Threat Not Other", Elizabeth Bradfield

Green Humanities: A Journal of Ecological Thought in Literature, Philosophy & the Arts

No abstract provided.

Letras 16

Letras

No abstract provided.

Adelynn, Sari Shuler

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Adelynn follows a princess who is kidnapped from her wedding by rebels. After a failed attempt at escaping, Adelynn realizes a rebel named Kev is pretending to fall in love with her to learn information for the rebellion to use. Adelynn plays along, hoping to eventually take down the rebellion. As time progresses, and Adelynn’s parents don’t rescue her, she develops true feelings for Kev. When the compound is raided, Adelynn and Kev admit their feelings for each other and flee to a nearby city. In the city, Adelynn realizes her idealized perception of her kingdom is false. She chooses …

Storytelling In Interior Design: A Hospitality Case Study Based On Avatar: The Last Airbender, Katelyn Isaacson Bauer

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

Storytelling can function as a crucial element in interior design, offering a powerful means to captivate and engage individuals within a space. The allure of storytelling lies in its ability to evoke emotions, convey messages, and create memorable experiences. Humans are naturally drawn to narratives that transport them to different worlds, evoke nostalgia, or inspire. This fascination with storytelling has led to a notable increase in themed spaces across various industries, from amusement parks and hotels to restaurants and retail spaces. The integration of storytelling into interior design not only enhances the aesthetic appeal of a space but also serves …

In The Woods, Aron Liebig

Fiction MFA Theses

The anthology of 11 short stories delves deep into the intricacies of identity and the enigmatic landscape of the American South. Each narrative unfolds against the backdrop of the region, exploring the tangled webs of relationships, the weight of tradition, and the enduring struggle for self-discovery. In rural Mississippi, Kerry navigates the minefield of personal insecurities amidst simmering familial tensions, while Chris confronts the ghosts of his past, testing the resilience of their bond. Meanwhile, tensions escalate in a casino encounter between Javi and a predatory figure, unearthing deeper layers of trauma and prejudice, challenging societal norms and personal beliefs. …

Teleios, Sandra Edwards

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

This thesis is a collection of poetry that mixes formal and free verse in order to convey the speaker’s spiritual journey in content as well as form. The work introduces a speaker who is deeply religious and who expresses her spirituality in the form of formal poetry such as sonnets as she adheres to certain principles of faith. The use of form in the thesis represents her adherence to those principles, while breaking form is symbolic of her breaking away from those principles. Through the work, the speaker experiences a shift from frustration with the world and its apparent obfuscation …

Nonduality And Identity: An Exploration Of Form, Genre, And Perspective, Hannah Ritter

Honors Theses

This thesis utilizes hybrid forms of poetry and prose to examine questions of nonduality, perspective, and identity, simultaneously testing the boundaries of genre and form as a whole. The opening craft essay offers a more specific analysis of form and genre, particularly those of poetry / prose and fiction / nonfiction, while the creative writing demonstrates how such differentia are relevant to the art of creative writing.

Paradoks Determinisme Dalam Film Tenet (2020) Sebagai Refleksi Kesadaran Manusia Akan Waktu, Farobi Fatkhurridho, Suma Riella Rusdiarti

Paradigma: Jurnal Kajian Budaya

Time is a complicated object of study because understanding time is closely related to periodization, history, and memory. Film is a medium for presenting manifestations of motion and time in visual products that can be captured by human senses. Tenet (2020) is a film that displays temporal dimensions in terms of both creative ideas and packaging through its cinematography and narrative structure. Tenet presents the idea of overlapping time consciousness of the past, present, and future. A revolving door machine in the film is used to signify the paradox of determinism or the condition of characters suffocated in a time …

An Essential Guide To An Invisible Art: A Review Of The Invisible Art Of Literary Editing, Jennifer Pullen

Journal of Creative Writing Studies

Review of Bryan Furuness and Sarah Layden. The Invisible Art of Literary Editing. London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2023. 152 pages

Craft And Conscience: Writing And Social Justice, Janelle Adsit

Journal of Creative Writing Studies

Review of Kavita Das. Craft and Conscience: How to Write About Social Issues. Beacon, 2022. 320 pages.

“A Book Of Many Rooms”: Joshua Bennett As Personal Tour Guide Through Decades Of Spoken Word Poetry, Michael Baumann

Journal of Creative Writing Studies

Review of Joshua Bennett, Spoken Word: A Cultural History. Knopf, 2023. 304 pages.

The Making Of Instinct: A Review Of Marbles On The Floor: How To Assemble A Book Of Poems, Mitchell James

Journal of Creative Writing Studies

Review of Sarah Girgagosian and Virginia Konchoan, editors. Marbles on the Floor: How to Assemble a Book of Poems. Akron UP, 2023. 220 pages.

"Give 'Em Something To Talk About: Love, Generosity, And Wonder In The Portrait Of The Artist Workshop", Florence Gonsalves, Matthew Vollmer

Journal of Creative Writing Studies

This article argues for the employment of an alternative approach to the traditional writing workshop model called “Portrait of the Artist” (POTA). First, we acknowledge the historical and theoretical underpinnings of the dominant Iowa model, and engage with scholars who practice pedagogies that challenge the “gag-rule.” Second, we introduce POTA, which dismantles and reimagines the foundations of a traditional creative writing workshop by emphasizing curiosity rather than suspicion, dialogue rather than imposed silence, process over product, and person over piece. The outcomes lead us to conclude that POTA workshops are necessary, especially for marginalized student-writers most harmed by antiquated practices …

Creative Writing In A University Bridging Program For Underprivileged Stem Students, Glen Retief, Yolandi Woest, Nosipho Mthethwa

Journal of Creative Writing Studies

Underprivileged and additional-language students struggle to access university-level STEM instruction in English. Yet efforts to bridge academic readiness gaps often founder on ineffective instructional approaches. This study used student questionnaires and writing sample comparisons to investigate the impact of weekly creative writing lessons on students enrolled in a STEM-focused, university bridging program for high school students in the Black working-class township of Mamelodi, South Africa. Our tentative results suggest that creative writing teaching may have a significant role in building confidence, written communication skills, intellectual community, and improved program retention. However, further research is needed.

Analysis Of Narrative Arcs Of College Writers’ Creative Writing: Implications For Engaging Creative Writing Across The Curriculum, Justin Nicholes

Journal of Creative Writing Studies

Creative writing across the curriculum (CWAC) represents one especially meaningful college-writing experience in various settings in higher education (Nicholes “Creative Writing across the Curriculum”; Creative Writing across the Curriculum; Hanauer “Meaningful Literacy”). To further understand experiences of CWAC from the perspective of student authors, this study linguistically examined two sets of texts from undergraduate writers: 221 works of creative nonfiction (CNF) and 43 works of science fiction prototyping (SFP), composed in first-year and advanced writing courses at one predominantly White, public Midwest US polytechnic university. LIWC-22 was utilized to produce descriptive statistics characterizing the narrative arcs typical in each …

A Proposal: Healing Impacts Of Writing Groups On Cancer Survivors, Cassandra M. Normand

Journal of Creative Writing Studies

Those diagnosed with cancer not only suffer from the disease itself, but also psychological distress, including feelings of hopelessness, anxiety, and depression. Writing groups have been found to positively impact attendees’ well-being, including decreasing anxiety, depression, and other psychological symptoms. Despite the benefits of writing groups, little research examines the impact of cancer survivors attending writing groups. This study utilized previous literature to create a curriculum for a writing group specifically for cancer survivors. This curriculum was then pilot tested with a group of cancer survivors in May and June of 2022. Psychological symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress were …

Teaching Poetry To Med Students? A Conversation With Owen Lewis And Abriana Jetté, Owen W. Lewis M.D., Abriana Jette

Journal of Creative Writing Studies

A Narrative Medicine curriculum is now generally part of medical education to promote capacities for reflection, observation, engagement, and empathy. The impact of this curriculum is furthered when students are given specific arts training in a limited, but focused, way. This paper details the approach of an intensive poetry reading and craft course embedded in a broader Narrative Medicine curriculum

Body And Art As Message: An Experience With Chronic Pain, Writing, And The Mind-Body Connection, Mitchell R. James

Journal of Creative Writing Studies

This introduction to the special section of Volume 9, Issue 1 of the Journal of Creative Writing Studies on writing and mind-body connection uses memoir to emphasize the important relationship between writing and the management of chronic pain.

Closing, Sarai Devi Dasi, Vivian Jameson

.RAW Journal of Art and Design

No abstract provided.

Contributors, Miranda Kowalski

.RAW Journal of Art and Design

No abstract provided.

'Dreamscape_01' & 'Across The Universe A.I. Version', Ryden Secor, Sarai Devi Dasi

.RAW Journal of Art and Design

No abstract provided.