Creative Writing Commons^™

I'M Saving Money Now To Buy A Gun, Jacob Feiner

Student Publications

A nonfiction story

Poetry And Empowerment In Islam, Stephanie Kerr

Journal of the Symposium of University Research and Creative Expression

Project Mentor(s): Katharine Whitcomb

In this collection I hope to express the abundance of empowerment my religion, Islam, has given me. Before my conversion I, like many, believed some misconceptions about women in Islam but now I have gained confidence and discovered I am capable of more than I ever thought. In this community I have also met many Muslim women who feel the same sense of empowerment. Presentation recording available in the SOURCE 2025 playlist: https://www.youtube.com/@cwusource5518

A Not-Quite-Assessment Of Assessing Autoethnography: Ekphrastic Compositions On Quality, Clarity, And (Un)Certainty In Autoethnography, Aaron Hoy

The Qualitative Report

Taking an ekphrastic approach, this essay responds to and reflects on my reading of Assessing Autoethnography: Notes on Analysis, Evaluation, and Craft by Andrew F. Herrmann and Tony E. Adams. It has three parts. First, I summarize the book’s central chapters and discuss their practical uses, especially as prompts for in-progress autoethnographies. Second, using clarity as a point of entry, I explore a tension I felt while reading the book—between the comforting utility of specific criteria and the marginalizing power of criteria themselves. Finally, I share a found poem composed in response to the book and reflect on the impermanent …

'What The World Would Be': How Creating A Shared World Through Collaborative Roleplaying Helps Us To Deal With Real-World Challenges, Pablo Muslera

Staff Scholarship - Australia & Dubai

This article is in two parts: a creative prose artefact, and a critical exegesis situating the artefact in a wider context. It illustrates how roleplaying games explore community and identity, through a creative / critical lens. A prose dramatisation of a cooperative TTRPG (table top roleplaying game) session, played online over Discord and online gaming platform Roll20, juxtaposes the collaboratively imagined world, and the reality from which it is an escape. Themes of gender identity, isolation, precarious work and fluctuating health are explored within the timeframe of the Covid outbreak in Adelaide mid-2020, with the roleplaying session serving as a …

Fishing The Trout Pond At Dusk, Hilary Russell

Appalachia

No abstract provided.

I Went Climbing Today, Chris Kalman

Appalachia

No abstract provided.

Song Of Air, Todd Davis

Appalachia

No abstract provided.

April, Noah Davis

Appalachia

No abstract provided.

Just Description, Elizabeth Bradfield

Appalachia

No abstract provided.

Loon Lake Hex Hatch, Michael Garrigan

Appalachia

No abstract provided.

Hey You, Grant Clauser

Appalachia

No abstract provided.

A Peak Ahead, Christine Woodside

Appalachia

No abstract provided.

Books And Media

Appalachia

Reviews of: The Lions of Winter, by Ty Gagne; 109° Below, a film directed by Nick Martini; Losing the Garden, by Laura Waterman; Ditch Memory, by Todd Davis; Shinrin-Yoku, by Marcyn Del Clements; You Are Here: Poetry in the Natural World, edited by Ada Limón.

News And Notes

Appalachia

A Look Back at the Appalachian Mountain Club’s Long-Ago Membership Practices. 350th Year Since King Philip’s War on Talcott Mountain in Connecticut. Northeast Snow Survey Feasibility Study. All Out: AMC’s Action Plan for 2025-2030.

Alpina

Appalachia

Reports of mountaineering in the greater ranges in 2024 include President Donald Trump’s ruling that Denali be called Mount McKinley again. A flash ascent of Freerider on Yosemite National Park’s El Capitan. A century after he went missing, Andrew “Sandy” Irvine’s frozen foot encased in a boot was found on Everest. Drones and helicopters expand access to Everest. First ascent of the western ridge of Gasherbrum III. A pair climbs Pholesobi in Eastern Nepal. Climbers scale the east ridge of Lalung I in India. A new route is opened on Greenland’s east coast. In memoriam: Christopher Jones, 1939-2024.

Accidents

Appalachia

Reports of rescues and accidents in the White Mountains of New Hampshire from the warm months of 2024 opens with thoughts on the dangers of selfies. A 38-year-old hiker encounters trouble attempting a Presidential Range traverse in early May. A man breaks his leg and with the help of a passing Appalachian Trail thru-hiker crawls 0.3 miles to a trail junction for a helicopter pickup. An 84-year-old glider operator crashes into trees on a ridge west of Mount Moosilauke. A hiker struggles to cross the swollen Wild River after a period of storms. Trail runners suddenly must call for help …

Letters

Appalachia

Carl Svenson, helicopter pilot. Questions on whether Chris Roma could have retraced his steps on a fateful winter hike, with a response from Accidents editor Sandy Stott.

Skyline Sketches: "Luckily, I Remembered My Gloves", Laura Russell

Appalachia

In 1949, a Dartmouth student described a spontaneous climb of Mount Washington in a letter home to his parents.

Skyline Sketches: The Certain Slant Of Light, Daniel Hudon

Appalachia

Considering Emily Dickinson while climbing Mount Willard in autumn.

The "Boring Forest"? Canada's Boreal Forest Is Actually A Breathing Mass Of Life, Alicia J. M. Colson

Appalachia

An archeologist argues that the vast forested region of the Laurentian Plateau holds a soul and value of its own and does not deserve the disparaging attitude some hold toward it.

Matty's First Hike: Hiking Spain's Northwest Coast With A Baby And A Beagle, Katy Dycus

Appalachia

New parents venture along the coast of Galicia, from the Cliffs of Loiba to O Esteiro and back, with their son in a carrier.

The Wild Winds Of Fortune: Encounters After Falling On A Gentle Acadia Path, Elissa Ely

Appalachia

On a familiar and well traveled path, a hiker learns how easily one can fall and what happens when people stop to help.

The New England Trail, End To End In Five Days: A Running Couple Test Their Limits, Scott Livingston

Appalachia

A moment-by-moment narrative of a grueling run from Mount Monadnock in New Hampshire to Guilford, Connecticut from June 17 through June 22, 2020.

Barefooting The Northeast 111: A Hiker Discovers The Intensity Of Pinpricks, Grit, And Mud, Kenneth A. Posner

Appalachia

Climbing without shoes in the Catskills, then the Adirondacks, the White Mountains of New Hampshire, and Maine, he learned to focus on the here-and-now.

Over The Influence: Considering Scenarios Sponsored Adventure Influencers Find Themselves In, Mike Cherim

Appalachia

An experienced mountain guide sketches three situations—promoting clothing, going fast with minimal gear, and making the reaching of an iconic scene look easy—where social media influencers could misinform the public.

Navigation By Smartphone: A Field Geologist Argues That Devices Complement Physical Maps, Richard Allmendinger

Appalachia

An argument that smartphones—in the right hands, and with the right app—replace gadgets like alarm clocks, cameras, and weather radios and can outpace physical maps with the right apps.

Yes, Instagram Has Led To Overcrowding In Yosemite. That's Ok: A Professional Climber Reflects On The Bad And Good Of A Tourism Spectacle, Beth Rodden

Appalachia

Social media has Instagrammed the outdoors but also cultivated community. The crowds who flock to the park in February to see Horsetail Fall deserve to enjoy public lands, too.

Burning Solitudes: Mountain Storytelling In The Age Of Social Media Reproduction, Katie Ives

Appalachia

A deep exploration into the contradictions of recording mountain experiences while having them.

The Long Way Home: A Moment In Time Before Agony Ridge, Christine Woodside

Appalachia

An encounter with a father and son partway up New Hampshire’s Mount Lafayette suggests how to lead someone with kindness.

Appalachia Summer/Fall 2025: Complete Issue

Appalachia

Summer/Fall 2025 - Volume LXXVI, Number 2 - Issue #260. On the Ground and Screen: Stories of smartphones in wild places.