Creative Writing Commons^™

The Rainbow Read-In: A Place To Build Community, Elizabeth Johnson

Kansas LGBTQ+ Leadership Symposium

The UMKC University Libraries held the second Rainbow Read-In (RRI) virtually in June 2022. Readers presented either their own works if they identify as LGBTQIA+ or works written by LGBTQIA+ authors. Nine participants presented and sixty people attended. Our first Rainbow Read-In included ten presenters and forty attendees in 2021.

The goal of this presentation is to share how we created a safe space to showcase works from within the queer community. The objectives of this program are to discuss the origins of the RRI, the formation of the committee, lessons learned, short- and long-term goals, potential areas for improvement, …

Lulling Waters: A Poetry Reading For Real-Time Music Generation Through Emotion Mapping, Ashley Muniz, Toshihisa Tsuruoka

Electronic Literature Organization Conference 2020

Through a poetic narrative, “Lulling Waters” tells the story of a whale overcoming the loss of his mother, who passed away from ingesting plastic, as he attempts to escape from the polluted oceanic world. The live performance of this poem utilizes a software system called Soundwriter, which was developed with the goal of enriching the oral storytelling experience through music. This video demonstrates how Soundwriter’s real-time hybrid system was able to analyze “Lulling Waters” through its lexical and auditory features. Emotionally salient words were given ratings based on arousal, valence, and dominance while the emotionally charged prosodic features of the …

The “Science” Of Story Structure, Diana Witt

Virginias Collegiate Honors Council Conference

Stories are immensely human. They help us learn and understand cultural and social contexts. The stories that we tell, see, and read have profound effects on our ideas and emotions, causing us to have visceral reactions. Stories are truly at the crux of how people relate to each other. In this talk, I will explore the necessary elements of stories and why they are effective. Storytellers across all mediums build plot and characters to make an audience care and draw them in. Authors and screenwriters have theorized about the main structures into which all stories fall. In modern media, story …

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

National Youth Advocacy and 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.

A Sign Of The Times, Zoe Roswell

CURCE Annual Undergraduate Conference

I drafted this short story for an assignment in my Creative Writing 102z course based on techniques we learned in class including estrangement but also it was inspired, in part, by Tennessee Williams’ “The Glass Menagerie”. Williams’ play touches on certain familial mental health struggles in each character that were deep rooted and I wanted to communicate the same effect. My story revolves around the present life and childhood of Charles, an underground boxer, who was orphaned at a young age due to both of his parents’ struggles with mental illness. Charles experienced his mother’s mental deterioration before and following …

What’S In A Name?: The Evolution Of The Female Identity In Shalimar The Clown, Jessica Barksdale

Undergraduate Conference on Literature, Language, and Culture

No abstract provided.

English Grammar: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly, Wendy Delk

Undergraduate Conference on Literature, Language, and Culture

No abstract provided.

Until Valhalla, Mr. Krebs, William J. Williford

Undergraduate Conference on Literature, Language, and Culture

No abstract provided.

Dawn Or Doom: The Risks And Rewards Of Emerging Technologies, Diana Hancock, Steve Tally, Gerry Mccartney, Michele Arthur

Purdue P-12 Networking Summit & Poster Session

Dawn or Doom is a free and open to the public conference at Purdue where we focus on benefits and risks surrounding some of the technologies that are both the most disruptive to current practices and being adopted the fastest. A collection of Purdue faculty experts and some outside speakers showcase their many perspectives related to this technology explosion, explore conditions that will foster innovation and investment into the next generation, and address the big-picture issues where both optimism and pessimism are warranted.

A Queer Poet In A Queer Time: John Milton And Homosexuality, Adam J. Wagner

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

Scholar David Hawkes refers to John Milton as a “Hero of Our Time.” Milton’s written works, including his poetry and political treatises, contain cultural and theological insight applicable not only to his 17th Century English culture, but 21st Century American culture as well. As homosexuality continues to enter the public sphere in Western society, many scholars are uncovering past insights about how sexuality has evolved. Milton’s literary texts provide insight into his own sexual orientation and how people viewed human sexuality post-English Renaissance. Homosexuality is a broad topic, but Milton’s works give insight into three main areas—homosexual sex, sexual orientation, …

Unsilencing The Voice Within: Expressive Writing As A Therapeutic Tool, Karla L. Sapp

National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference

Written words are a very powerful tool that is used to facilitate self-healing, awareness, and growth through the communication of one’s deepest thoughts, emotions, and desires. The purpose of this poster session is to provide mental health providers (community, school, criminal justice) with an overview of expressive writing, forms of expressive writing that can be utilized, and implications for professional practice with At-Risk Youth.

Buying A Rat Trap ... And More (Natural History Essays), Michele Patenaude

UVM Libraries Conference Day

Michele read her natural-history essay to us, about the rat in her backyard. She recorded its movements and actions, educated us about "rat the animal," as well as her thoughts about having "one of her own."

Wilderness, Kathryn E. Bucolo

Celebration

The collection of short stories I have written focuses on how people process (or do not process) tragedy, especially as related to themes of grief, memory, and faith. Most of the stories I have written are dysfunctional narratives in that they do not necessarily provide solid conclusions or solutions for the characters or readers, reflecting current trends in literature to move away from the didactic and moralistic in favor of the ambiguous and unstable, the hopeless and sorrowful. In "Wilderness", one of the pieces I wrote for my collection, Robert struggles with the death of his wife when he realizes …

Brain In A Jar: Writing About Alzheimer's Disease, Nancy Stearns Bercaw

UVM Libraries Conference Day

Living with, and writing about, Alzheimer's disease.