Creative Writing Commons^™

Loving Algorithms, P.J. Powell

Bryant Literary Review

My husband and I were watching TV with my mom late one night when my phone rang. It was her doctor calling to tell me we needed to take her to the hospital—now.

The Unvanquished, Marlene Olin

Bryant Literary Review

“Retirement is overrated,” said Morris.

My Father's Last Disappointment, Ellie Anderson

Bryant Literary Review

He had a name like cashmere, Kazimierz,

but changed it to Charles (and went by Charlie)

Grand Union, Ellie Anderson

Bryant Literary Review

I have a photo of Daddy

in front of the Grand Union Hotel.

Not Easy, Ellie Anderson

Bryant Literary Review

I was talking to my father,

“Don’t call me ‘the kid’ anymore.

Beyond Poland, Rosalind Goldsmith

Bryant Literary Review

Her body can’t escape the cold but her mind can. It casts up through the night, scattering itself into the sky over the Atlantic Ocean.

Watching My Daughter’S Tap Recital, David O'Connel

Bryant Literary Review

I think of Mrs. B, my typing teacher

that summer before high school

Nightly Feats Of Survival, Jonathan Greenhause

Bryant Literary Review

The infinite sky’s shrunk into a rectangle of wan light, the earth

cradling the captive like a clam clasps its pearl,

In The Night, A Song, Tyrel Kessinger

Bryant Literary Review

I wish I had the kind of shadow

that would carry my darkness

instead of only being its shape.

Adelaster, Deborah S. Prespare

Bryant Literary Review

To prevent herself from slipping into another chaotic downward cycle of panicked anxiety, she squashes the rising tide, drops in the toilet her pill-shaped companions, and sizing up her failing reflection, chooses the last-ditch, arduous path left to an imprisoned soul.

Absence Doesn't Soften The Grass, Yvonne Higgins Leach

Bryant Literary Review

Seeing that my dog is old and dying, my neighbor said:

That’s why I never got one. Truth is, they always die before you do.

The Family Bends, Jason Talbot

Bryant Literary Review

Evenings, sitting quietly

with grandpa

his hands, too much

for mice and rabbits.

The Family Bends Ii, Jason Talbot

Bryant Literary Review

Hands

once swollen in prayer, and

arms

stiff like branches,

whipping papier-mâché

heads.

Night In The City Looks Pretty To Me, Roger Logan

Bryant Literary Review

Allison was trying to come up with a version of that old joke. A kangaroo or whatever walks into a bar and the bartender says, “Say, we don’t get many kangaroos in here.”

A Welling, Carol Ann Wilburn

Bryant Literary Review

I embrace the lightness

of this Kentucky March

wearing not the edges

of a dim January

but the fertile shoots of April.

Airborne, Carol Ann Wilburn

Bryant Literary Review

Every change below

tells me I’m farther away

from him.

Heirloom, Carol Ann Wilburn

Bryant Literary Review

She lets go

of her secret

long held prisoner by the mahogany

four-poster

Not A Piece Of Furniture, Alex Smith

Bryant Literary Review

On the first day of the first job I got after Javier was deported, I tried to ignore the couple’s fighting.

The Cantaloupe From Peoria, Dane Cervine

Bryant Literary Review

In 1941, an Oxford policeman, while pruning his roses, scratched his face on a thorn. Ignoring the slight cut, it grew infected, spread, taking his eye and bringing him close to death.

Night Terrors, Patrick Bernhard

Bryant Literary Review

Kara turned away from the TV and glanced at the glowing wall clock. 2:56. She had now passed her previous record for staying up watching Night Terrors, which was 2:37.

I Am Here For You, Saoirse E. Doyle

Bryant Literary Review

Had someone met my six-year-old self at that sacristy door any one of the hundreds of times that neighboring farmer shoved me out when he was done, I would likely have fainted.

Live In The Mood, Mark Taksa

Bryant Literary Review

My toes under a bench, I could be floating

as I watch breeze bend the passersby.

A Wellbeing@Ksu Journey: Mapw Portfolio, Meghan Cooper

Master of Arts in Professional Writing Capstones

A process narrative and samples and complete works from my time in MAPW and as a GRA within the health and well-being departments at KSU. The portfolio showcases my journey as a communicator and professional writer and how it has impacted my current career.

Digital Storytelling In Higher Education: An Analysis Of Production Practices, Meagan Lowney

Master of Arts in Professional Writing Capstones

With the recent transition into virtual sharing formats due to COVID-19, it is important to explore the best digital storytelling practices to engage with audiences due to the lack of in-person interactions. By reviewing literature focused on storytelling techniques and the science behind developing a connection with an audience, in conjunction with a digital analysis of videos featuring KSU researchers showcased in the biweekly web series hosted by KSU's Office of Research, and interviews with viewers of the videos, my capstone answers (1) What elements of digital storytelling are effective in increasing audience engagement in an online live environment? and …

West Texas Ghost Story, Clayton Bradshaw

Far West Popular Culture Association Annual Conference

"West Texas Ghost Story" explores the negative impacts of capitalism and patriarchal society on the well-being of individuals and the ability of families to remain intact under duress of such oppressive regimes. It follows the story of a young man growing up around the oil fields of West Texas in the 1990s as his father begins to hollow out and become a ghostly figure. The young man turns to art as a therapeutic outlet for this loss, eventually making his way to Marfa. The ghost story in question becomes one of metaphorical and perceived experience for the young man.

Thank You Terror, 1, Mathias Svalina

Bryant Literary Review

No abstract provided.

Quickwrites And The Quest To Reverse Writing Reluctance, Jenna Dunn

Honors Projects

Current research suggests that students’ enjoyment of writing will positively impact their writing achievement (Graham, 2007; Bulut, 2017). Given this trend, the following study explores the extent to which quickwriting, a teaching strategy developed extensively by Linda Rief (2003, 2018) as well as Donald Graves & Penny Kittle (2005), impacts the attitudes of reluctant writers. A total of nineteen eleventh-grade students were interviewed in three focus groups. All of the students within the study experienced three weeks of regular classroom quickwriting along with one week of a quickwriting extension workshop prior to participation in the focus groups. Students were asked …

Sorrow, Healing, And Hope: A Braided Narrative, Abigail Maggi

Honors Projects

This project is a creative nonfiction essay about sadness. In the form of a braided essay, I weave personal narrative with insight and guidance from therapists, psychologists, and friends. In this essay, I share my experience of sadness and how I have processed my emotions during challenging times. The essay is split into three sections – sadness, feeling a little better, and hope – to share my story, the skills I learned that helped me move through sadness, and my decision to choose hope despite and amidst the struggles.

God Mansplains Anger To Me, Amy Lawless

Bryant Literary Review

No abstract provided.

Mosaic: A Lifetime Of Poems, Emma F. Bowen

Honors Projects

In hopes of providing a clearer picture of the aging process and its effects on our personalities, follow this collection of poems through diary-like entries of individuals navigating their lives from daycare, heartbreak, and loneliness. The impact that development can have on our psychological well-being and brains is fascinating and feels familiar. Why do we see the world so differently when we are young? As we grow older, what is so important that makes us shift how we view ourselves and our environment multiple times? It is often seen that each generation shares like-mindedness throughout their lives – why?