Creative Writing Commons^™

A Literature Review On Substance Related Grief And Expressive Art Therapy Support Groups, Holly N. St. Cyr

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

In the year of 2017, 18.7 million Americans aged 18 years or older were reported to have a substance use disorder and the pervasiveness of substance related deaths escalated (McCance- Katz, 2017). Researchers have examined how grief experienced by substance users and their loved ones is often disenfranchised by social stigmatization, loss of support, and feelings of regret, blame, humiliation, and shame. According to Valentine, Bauld, and Walter, (2016) “bereavement following a drug or alcohol related death has been largely neglected in research and service provision, despite its global prevalence and potentially devastating consequences for those concerned,” (p. 283). Studies …

The Battle Of The Powers: Newly Obtained Benefits From The Revitilised Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, Scott Halsted

Master's Projects and Capstones

The Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement would have been the most sizeable free trade agreement in history. The agreement was set up by the Obama administration as an economic benefactor plus geopolitical tool to maintain the balance of power in the Asia Pacific region, rivaling the power of China. However, numerous politicians within the Trump administration, plus multiple political opposers including Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders, were major advocates for the U.S. removal after realistically adjusted estimates of the TPP showed economic benefits not equating to original estimates. However, the United States withdrawal raises significant successes that can be …

The Boys With The Spare Keys, Katelyn Elizabeth Grisham

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

As human beings, we are constantly losing something: our keys, our wallets, our credits cards, or the mate to our favorite pair of socks. But what if you lose something that cannot be replaced, something that will impact your life in a permanent way? This collection looks at what it means to lose something life-altering; our sense of self, our friendships, our planned futures, our grasp on reality. Some things cannot be replaced. From trust fund kids to a dad preparing a Christmas tree for his daughter, this collection will explore the idea of what we can (or cannot) afford …

Middle Car, Christopher Daniel Crabtree

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Middle Car is a collection of poems written during my course of studies at Missouri State University, and illustrates my evolution as a writer through a consistent focus on story. The poems explore the everyday, fantastical, often unexpected, and sometimes forced frictions between people and or environment, which cause moments of meaning and resonance. The poems collected here are introduced by and an essay advocating for the preservation of story through narrative and situates my work in a neo-Romantic position in a post-Deconstruction world.

Mutts: A Collection Of Short Fiction, Shane E. Page

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

This thesis begins with a critical introduction about narrative closure, as opposed to traditional narrative resolution, in fiction. I cite the work of John Gardner, T.S. Eliot, Milan Kundera, and Charles Baxter to explore the functions of motif, objective correlative, and symmetrical composition, focusing on how these three ideas inform effective characterization. I argue that narrative closure achieves equally if not more satisfying endings by prioritizing characterization above all other aspects of plot. After the critical introduction, you will find works of short fiction and flash fiction. A common theme among the longer, more traditional stories is the process through …

How To Water The Body, Taylor M. Lorenzo

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

This thesis begins with a critical introduction about metamorphosis, both literal and figural, in short fiction. I analyze essays on metamorphosis by Marc Chenetier and Stanley Corngold and apply them to my work as well as other works which are influential to my own writing style and form, including Lydia Davis. Metamorphosis in literature is a reaction of the human condition of resistance to an end. In utilizing transformation, writers can explore the longing humans experience to continue themselves while revealing deeper truths about written subjects. After the critical introduction, you will find flash fiction and poetry. My work is …

The Resurrection Of Nora O'Brien, Abigail Elizabeth Benson

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

There is a cave, hidden in the hills, that brings the dead back to life. Its power is the driving force behind the blood feud between the Walshes and the O’Briens that lasts for generations. Jeremiah Walsh, a young boy growing up just after the civil war, is entrusted with the location of the cave and its secrets. But when he kills to protect his family legacy, he is stricken with guilt and questions his loyalties. His story parallels Nora O’Brien’s, a teenage girl who moves to the Ozarks with her family after the death of her grandfather. As she …

At Least Buy Me A Drink First, Ali Renee Geren

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

This is a collection of poetry that focuses on relationships and how those relationships shape our identities. The collection begins with a critical reflection on the poems in the piece and the way that they interact with pop culture and other contemporary poetry. Although the piece is not divided into sections, the poems deal (primarily) with three types of relationships: romantic/sexual, mother/daughter, and patient/caregiver.

Universe Of Things: A Human Presentation Of Food-For-Thought., Madeline Halpern

Bachelor of Fine Arts Senior Papers

I present this statement under three loose categories: People, Objects and their Environment. I consider People as human, Objects as art objects, domestic objects, and food, and Environment as the shared space of the former groups. Food directs this statement as I present each concept and creative process as a metaphorical dish. Material exploration carried me from a direct practice of reorienting acrylic paint and questioning object functionality through personified sculptures into theoretical thesis work in which I use interpersonal relations and the idea of consumption to translate tactile, gustatory and olfactory sensations into digital film. In this meal I …

For Cheryl: The Long And The Short Of It, Rachel Lebo

Graduate School of Art Theses

Short stories are an indirect way of creating a truth by showing instead of telling. They are a way to observe and communicate a single idea. A short story for me is a vehicle for hiding my truth behind a character, exploring myself in the safety of an identity that is not my own. When I read Chunky in Heat, author A.M. Homes and I hide together behind her character, Cheryl, and find solidarity.

The following writings, paintings, and sculptures are collaborations between myself and the women of short story fiction. Those women being the authors, the subjects, and …

Promethia 2018-19

Promethia

No abstract provided.

Things That Happened, Christian Chase

Senior Theses

This creative writing thesis contains a collection of short stories by Christian Chase.

• A Whole Lot of Nothing
• Grand Artistic Vision
• Architecture
• Hanging Around
• Silent Life
• A Special Dread
• Snowbound

"Are You There, Dog? It's Me, Riley": Poems, Riley Christine O'Connell

Canterbury Scholars

The end product of Riley O'Connell's Canterbury Fellowship, these poems, ranging in topic from family and loss to love and dogs, were composed over the course of Riley's four years at SCU, included but not limited to her time at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford University, where she taught creative writing therapy for her Canterbury.

Writing On Basho's Pond, Clark Lunberry

English Faculty Research and Scholarship

Matsuo Bashō (1644–94) is Japan’s most well-known haiku poet; and Bashō’s poem about the old pond, the jumping frog, and the sound of water is Bashō’s best-known haiku. Indeed, this haiku, like Bashō himself, is known well beyond Japan, long ago attaining through its many translations a degree of international recognition. However, in Japan, awareness of Bashō, and of his frog haiku, goes well beyond simple recognition, having long ago absorbed itself into a broader and more complex form of remembrance and, with that absorption, a nearly reflexive response by many of those hearing it. Often, the mere mention of …

Decolonizing Playwriting Through Indigenous Ceremonial Performances, Jay B. Muskett

Theatre & Dance ETDs

This dissertation attempts to express the importance of storytelling within the Indigenous Theater framework. It does so by first analyzing the progression of the writer’s unique upbringing and analyzing the influences of story upon an indigenous identity. I will also attempt to describe the aesthetics of Native Theater along two lines of methodology which includes praxis described and developed by Hanay Geiogamah and Rolland Meinholtz. I will also explain how the script 1n2ian tries to follow those concepts of Native Theater to create a ceremonial performance that uses a blending of both methodologies.

Slotus, Alison F. Huntley, Michael F.X. Daley

Honors Thesis

When a paranoid, image-obsessed woman becomes Second Lady of the United States, she will protect herself and her family from the (often non-existent) eyes of the press no matter what - despite her three step-children’s protests.

Eulogy, Kim T. Allison

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Particular to the three short stories in Eulogyis the importance of place, as they are set in the fictional location of Potter’s Island, which is based on my childhood sense of Florida.Contradictions, complications, and disappointments can be uniquely tied to a sense of place. My own parents and grandparents moved to Florida when I was three years old, but where they lived, how they lived and worked, and what dreams they pursued was only partially an immigrant’s story of wanting a better life.

The past has weight—a weight that must be dealt with, for real people, and for …

Poem Begun On The Day Of My Father's Funeral And Completed On The First Day Of The New Year, Dean Rader

English

No abstract provided.

Mezze: A Short Story Collection-In-Progress, Leata Thomas

Master of Arts in Professional Writing Capstones

"Mezze" is a middle-eastern custom similar to "tea" in the United Kingdom or "happy hour" in the United States. A variety of little foods for snacking at the end of the day. My Capstone offers a variety of short stories for one's reading pleasure.What I like about fiction writing is the guilt free, guileless freedom to tell a little lie and then grow it into a really big one! My sole purpose as a fiction is to entertain. the reader may smile or chuckle. I certainly hope that one's heart will be lighter and that one will feel a bit …

Dee: A Feature Length Drama, Laura Angelyn Mccarter

Master of Arts in Professional Writing Capstones

“DEE” is a feature length drama about a young addict who pursues a career in music in an attempt to keep her brother’s memory alive after his untimely death tears her family apart. The story explores how the characters deal with drug abuse, loss, broken families, toxic relationships, and pursuing one’s dreams. The film will feature original indie rock music for several of the characters who write and perform their own songs. It’s A Star is Born meets Beautiful Boy.

Moments As They Pass, Jesus Armenta

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

This is a creative project titled “Moments as They Pass.” It’s an anthology of poetry with over 106 original pieces, spanning over 135 pages. These pieces all center on the thematic elements of existential philosophy and its intersection with beauty, time, and concept of self. Each poem will explore a particular facet of existentialism. The anthology will be broken up into chapters that reflect each concept accordingly. There is a dialogue that occurs within each piece that will encourage readers to reflect on their own lives and how they navigate their own search for meaning. Ultimately, this creative …

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 …

Hand Me Downs And Other Stories: A Flash Fiction Study, Sarah Stephen

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

Flash fiction is generally classified as short stories fewer than one thousand words and has surged in popularity since the 1980s. Its contemporary roots cause it to be a highly experimental genre through form, content, and narrative techniques. This portfolio is both a critical study and creative exercise on flash fiction. It includes reflections on technical and creative flash fiction books that discuss what defines the genre and how it is exemplified by specific authors, as well as personal responses on the author’s understanding her own writing process and how she can apply flash fiction conventions to her work. This …

Power And Vulnerability: How We Can Be Influenced, Christopher Fohl

Line by Line: A Journal of Beginning Student Writing

I watched the ballet and started thinking of parallels I could connect with historical events.

Editor's note: This paper received third prize ($25).

Power And Vulnerability: Basis For Revolution?, Katlin Pistone

Line by Line: A Journal of Beginning Student Writing

Throughout the semester, our history class explored the differences in relationships including political, economical, and social aspects. I found one of the most compelling comparisons to be how people of vulnerability have historically suffered because of their circumstances yet are able to learn that within their vulnerability comes strength and change. After the themes of power and vulnerability were presented to us in preparation for our trip to the ballet, I was able, during the production, to draw many similarities. After narrowing my topic to a certain event in history that explored these ideas, the Haitian revolution, I began to …

'Dracula: Bloodlines' And The Role Of Women, Audrey Binzer

Line by Line: A Journal of Beginning Student Writing

The writing process began after attending the Dracula Bloodlines ballet. While watching the performance, the integral role of women stood out to me and I decided it would be a good topic to write about. From there, it was a pretty easy process. I used the program to help support my ideas and make the essay complete.

Editor's note: This paper received first prize ($100).

Reconstruction's First Election: Various Interpretations Of The Lasting Significance Of A Grant Victory, Shannon M. Stanforth

Line by Line: A Journal of Beginning Student Writing

This paper was completed during the Spring of 2018 for my ASI 120 course. The assignment was a multi-phased historiography paper centering around the topic of Reconstruction. To begin preparing for the writing of the historiography and to gain a better understanding of the historical context and political unrest surrounding the task of Reconstruction, I read Eric Foner’s A Short History of Reconstruction. Foner’s book provided me with the knowledge to begin writing my topic proposal and introduced me to the influential event of the Election of 1868. I was interested in exploring the consequences and effects of the …

The One, But Not The Only, Lauren Durham

Line by Line: A Journal of Beginning Student Writing

For this particular assignment, we had to reconstruct the main points that Plotinus, an ancient philosopher and educator, presents in his work titled the Enneads. In order to reorganize and retell his elaborate ideas appropriately, we had to come to understand the text in a way that would make our own interpretations easy to convey to audiences. In addition to reconstructing the Enneads, a comparison between a previously read creation story and Plotinus's ideas had to be made. After numerous in-class discussions, I established a logical order to present Plotinus's various cosmological entities. I felt that beginning with the …

The Body And Blood: What Was And Is At Stake In The Protestant Reformation, Anna L. Biesecker-Mast

Line by Line: A Journal of Beginning Student Writing

This paper is an explanation of Robert A. Orsi's concept of presence from the introduction and first chapter of his book titled, History and Presence. Before writing any paper for a class, I thoroughly review the syllabus for the assignment. Based on the requirements listed in the syllabus, and on the discussion we had in seminar about the Orsi text and Dr. Smith's lecture on the religious origins of modernity, I drafted an outline of my paper. Throughout the process of creating my outline, I considered various organizations for my explanation as well as a few different arguments I …

Coaching Styles For Boys’ And Girls’ Sports Teams, Jack Murphy

Line by Line: A Journal of Beginning Student Writing

The writing process for this article began when my English 198 teacher assigned our third major essay, instructing that it was to be on the topic of gender and include original research. Being a lifelong athlete, I decided to investigate how coaching styles might differ depending upon whether one is coaching boys or girls. With this in mind, I set out to interview the coaches that I know so as to gain their insights and approaches to coaching. I developed a set of questions and interviewed four coaches of varying ages who had coached girls and/or boys at different levels. …