Creative Writing Commons^™

An Inevitability, Elizabeth Burger

Diamond Line Undergraduate Literary Magazine

No abstract provided.

The Harbinger, Emma Bracken

Diamond Line Undergraduate Literary Magazine

No abstract provided.

Contributors, Diamond Line Editors

Diamond Line Undergraduate Literary Magazine

No abstract provided.

Acknowledgements, Diamond Line Editors

Diamond Line Undergraduate Literary Magazine

No abstract provided.

Letter From The Editors, Diamond Line Editors

Diamond Line Undergraduate Literary Magazine

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents, Diamond Line Editors

Diamond Line Undergraduate Literary Magazine

No abstract provided.

Echoes Of Neon, Evan Meyers

Diamond Line Undergraduate Literary Magazine

No abstract provided.

Diamond Line - Spring 2025, Diamond Line Editors

Diamond Line Undergraduate Literary Magazine

No abstract provided.

When The Siren Sounds, Madelynn H. Morgan

Persimmon Creek

Growing up being the daughter of a fire fighter was not easy. I had a very absent father growing up, and this was due to his work in the fire service. Through this reflective essay, I discuss what growing up as a first-response family was like, and how it has shaped me into the adult I am becoming.

Scramble, Jillian M. Canady

Persimmon Creek

Scramble is an exploration of resilience and the human experience, this essay centers around one powerful word, intertwining memories of family, struggle, and personal growth. It reflects on the choices we make and the messiness of life, capturing the enduring spirit that drives us to keep moving forward. Through storytelling, this piece invites readers to ponder the complexities of existence, revealing how a single word can encapsulate our deepest struggles and triumphs.

Wulver In Appalachia, Wylan Blair

Persimmon Creek

A poem about a mysterious figure who comes to the aid of a mountain community.

The Stereo Skips, Maryssa H. Mckinney

Persimmon Creek

"The Stereo Skips" is a reflective poem that captures the chaotic and emotional experiences of a child navigating family struggles and religious expectations on a typical Sunday morning growing up in their household. Through the recurring image of a skipping stereo, the poem emphasizes the dissonance between external appearances and internal turmoil, as the child reflects on their relationship with God, the absence of their father, and the contradictions in their family life. The stereo's skips serve as a metaphor for the interruptions and unresolved emotions in the speaker's world.

Tsenacommacah, Wylan Blair

Persimmon Creek

This poem is about the area that was once called Tsenacommacah, the Powhatan people, and the horrors of the centuries that followed 1607.

Whiplash, Jillian M. Canady

Persimmon Creek

Whiplash is an abstract poem that emphasizes emotion and imagery over narrative clarity. Through the juxtaposition of a moth and a neon sign, it delves into themes of struggle and transience, blending surreal elements—sickly slouching figures, flickering candles, and woven snakes—to create a landscape of sorrow and light. With fragmented language and rhythmic shifts, the poem invites deep engagement and personal interpretation, culminating in a sensation of rapid motion and transformation, challenging readers to find meaning within its evocative chaos.

Girls Are Coming Out Of The Woods (Title Taken From Tishani Doshi), Jillian Canady

Persimmon Creek

This evocative haiku, inspired by Tishani Doshi’s poem, Girls Are Coming Out of the Woods, beautifully captures the essence of resilience and emergence. It portrays women as powerful forces, symbolized by roaring fires and vibrant sunsets, evoking warmth and intensity. The detail of "pink painted toes" adds a playful yet bold touch, blending femininity with strength. This concise piece invites readers to reflect on the dynamic spirit of women stepping into their own, embodying both elegance and fierce determination.

Warmth, Brandi E. Shuler

Persimmon Creek

The short story Warmth is about an unnamed character who encounters a violent fire elemental. It is an experimental piece about what it feels like to experience a traumatic burn and what the character went through afterward.

Undefinitive, Lan Mu

MFA in Visual Art

My thesis project, Undefinitive, examines the cyclical process of destruction, transformation, and rebirth through installation, ceramics, and text. With a deep unease toward my own gendered body, I investigate how vulnerability, both physical and psychological, can become a site of resistance and empowerment. Drawing from feminist theory, Chinese mythology, and stream-of-consciousness narratives, my work explores the monstrous and the fragmented as inseparable states of one’s becoming. Through references to body art, speculative fiction, and queer theory, I reimagine femininity and queerness as forces capable of dismantaling societal structure and forging new modes of existence.

Set in a post-apocalyptic world where …

Imaginary Friends: Engaging The Unconscious Mind Through Picture Books, Cleonique Hilsaca

MFA in Illustration & Visual Culture

“Imaginary Friends” investigates the potential of the ‘imaginary friend’ as a narrative device in picture book storytelling. By combining the research of Marjorie Taylor on ‘imaginary companions’ and Lois Rostow Kuznets on ‘toy animals’ in literature, I seek to give form to the concept of the imaginary friend, to then explore the phenomenon further by delving into the intellectual heritage of the imaginary and the unconscious mind. To explain how the imaginary friend works as a visual metaphor in illustrated narratives, I borrow principles of image-making and their effect on children, as discussed by Martin Salisbury, Morag Styles, and Molly …

Transmutation, Sam Berger

MFA in Visual Art

My artistic practice is about change itself. I am inspired by the doubling and layering effects that came out of Surrealist Photography. Scale, fracture, and doubling are intentional components of my process. I combine those methods to create complex works of art, focusing on the untamable light that I hope to capture when making my images, which often are self portraits. Poetry is an integral element of this thesis text as well as my art making process. Through my poetic work I hope to offer my audience a glimpse into how I see and experience the world. This thesis text …

How Kirby’S Return To Dream Land Deluxe Subverts Narrative Expectations, Kelley I. Hale

Aurora

The Kirby series has been around for over 30 years, and very little has been done to research it. This is a shame, as I believed (and still do believe) the series has a lot to offer in terms of research. For this paper, I analyzed Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe, a Switch remake of the Wii game Kirby's Return to Dream Land. I analyzed the cutscenes found within the game using fantasy theme criticism. I did this to explore how the game subverts narrative expectations, as well as show that Kirby games have value when it comes to …

Two Fawns, Siena Maciej

Studio One

In 1978, Patricia and Leonard Percello endowed this prize to honor Patricia’s parents, Louis and Mary Wagner-Berger, and to support college students who are interested in writing short stories and novels. It is designed to encourage and reward excellence in creative writing at the College of Saint Benedict. The Wagner-Berger Prize for fiction is the first scholarship of its kind at the College of Saint Benedict. It is a scholarship awarded annually to the CSB student who submits the most original, previously unpublished short story. All submissions are judged by a committee of English & Creative Writing Department members, and …

We Are Not Birds, Vicki Roberts

Studio One

No abstract provided.

The Painting, Hannah Gouge

Studio One

No abstract provided.

Voices, Julie A. Ferraro

Studio One

No abstract provided.

Just In Case, Daniel Dahlquist

Studio One

No abstract provided.

2019-At A Refugee Center In Tijuana, A Man Prepares His Plea For Asylum, Thomas Nelson

Studio One

No abstract provided.

Mothers Plus Babies Are "Othered" [A Kouta], Gerard Sarnat

Studio One

No abstract provided.

Tv Eye, John Grey

Studio One

No abstract provided.

Provenance, Jan Wiezorek

Studio One

No abstract provided.

Circe, Timothy Dodd

Studio One

No abstract provided.