Fiction Commons^™

Okay, Kassie H. Bohannon

Honors College Theses

Okay is a minimalistic literary fiction short story cycle that examines the lives of Collin and Charlotte Grearson, two children who grow up with a working class status in a broken home, and their journeys to adulthood as they both respectively cope with their underlying mental health problems. The stories in Okay exemplify how refusal to seek help for a mental health problem, or the lack of support from others even if the illness is communicated, can cause a disconnect between family members, the worsening of the illness itself, and the eventual possibility of fatal conclusions. Okay is composed as …

Contemporaries & Other Inklings Collection Finding Aid, Taylor University

Finding Aids

The Contemporaries & Other Inklings Collection features a variety of rare books, pamphlets, and articles written by and about members of the Inklings and those who were their friends or inspirations. Please refer to the separate finding aids for these authors: C. S. Lewis, Charles Williams, Dorothy L. Sayers, George MacDonald, and Owen Barfield.
Last Updated: August 29, 2022

Atlas Planted, Annelise Belmonte

College of Computing and Digital Media Dissertations

In "Atlas Planted," the game world plays as a life theater production where the storyline is influenced by player and other characters in a metaphorical and literal gardening mechanic. The emphasis on selfish vs selfless action in regards to energy and foliage serves as a critique of social responsibility and objectivism, the philosophy developed by Ayn Rand where each person is their own hero. According to that philosophy, if everyone were free to pursue their own greatest desires without directly harming others, the whole world would be better for it. In the case of these characters, how they pursue their …

A Glass Of Fresh, Clean Water From Lake Baikal, Raluca D. Comanelea

Far West Popular Culture Association Annual Conference

"A Glass of Fresh, Clean Water from Lake Baikal" is the short story that I will read and discuss as part of the creative writing panel for FWPCA 2021.

Marilyn's Friend, Nancy's Kaddish, The Dispossessed, Valerie Silver

The Tuxedo Archives

My friend Marilyn has a girlfriend, Roaslind, who converses regularly with her late mother, but only while driving alone in the car. The chats are usually brief, slid in-between runs to the bank or the grocery store. Rosalind checks in with her mom about her day just as she always had, updates her on the latest goings-ons, asks for guidance when she needs it. Often, she gets answers. What is most remarkable to me about these conversations is how routine they have become in Rosalind’s life. She has found a way to accommodate the loss of her mother while continuing …

Monologue, Carina Romano

The Tuxedo Archives

I had to leave 'em, man.

It was s'posed to be a onetime thing-- one deal and it's done. We just needed a little extra cash, man, but it went so wrong. She had a gun man! A gun! She couldn't pay-- we told her to hit the road, but she wouldn't go, dammit, she fucking--

Kiss Me, Aiyana Ross-Beck

The Tuxedo Archives

It was the last weekend of the year and this party was in full flow. Beer pong, quarters and stupid card games were all going on in the different rooms of the house. Maia was alone wandering through the party until she see saw a girl dancing the middle of the floor. She was brunette, tall, and obviously drunk. She was dancing by herself to a Zedd song. Shaking her hips to the beat and to constant crowd encouragement. As Maia stood watching the girl she became memorized. The girl looked in her direction flashing beautiful green eyes and a …

I Cannot Make This Story Come Out Right, Kevin Coates

The Tuxedo Archives

I cannot make this story come out right. I walked in and he was dead. Dead is dead. Nothing I said or did at that moment could change a single thing. I could wish it; I could regret it. But I could not change it. He was dead on the floor, looking like he was uncomfortably asleep, stiff. He did not have on his favorite shirt. There was a small spaghetti stain under his left pocket, and I knew he probably hadn’t even seen it. How distressed he would have been to die with a spaghetti stain on his shirt.

Drink And The Devil, Richard Clark

The Tuxedo Archives

When he was twenty-eight-year-old the man began to have a recurring nightmare. He was on the London Underground with his wife, a little before Christmas. Lunch at Simpsons on the Strand had been followed by shopping at Harrods and Selfridges. They carried big bags of gifts and tasteless tidbits wrapped in cellophane and colored ribbon. They were happy, not a care in the world. As the train trundled along the tunnel beneath the Thames, the wife said she could hear the sound of rushing water. “Don’t worry,” the man told her, “the train is watertight.” They sat quietly but the …

A Day In The Life Of A Sales Associate, K. Michelle Sellers

The Tuxedo Archives

That moment you looked like Reese Witherspoon. You walked around, carrying many items in your hands. We went towards that hallway, the mirrors, the hot lights…fluorescent in fact. You kept trying on the outfits…that one in particular. Black slacks and the white button down shirt. What is it when a woman wears a white buttoned down shirt? The necklace you wore to accentuate it made everything flow...

-Story excerpt-

Mary: A Creative Biography Of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Through The Lens Of Her Interpersonal Relationships, Julien-Pierre E. Campbell

University Honors Theses

Mary is a creative thesis told in first-person vignettes spaced throughout Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s entire life. The work seeks to function as a creative biography, fictionalized but exploring the very real and impactful interpersonal relationships she held dear. Mary Shelley was an incredibly multifaceted person. She was at turns daring and iconoclastic, reserved and private, outgoing and adventurous, deeply depressed and bitter. She worked through much of her personal trauma and turmoil in her novels. She had trauma in spades. Three of her four children died young. Her mother died giving birth to her. Her beloved elder sister committed suicide. …

C.S. Lewis Collection Finding Aid, Taylor University

Finding Aids

The C. S. Lewis Collection features a variety of books and articles by and about Lewis. It also includes letters and manuscripts written by Lewis, as well as rare and first editions of his books.
Last Updated: August 29, 2022

“In The Midst Of Experience:” Civic Education Through Narrative Creation, Jeff Spanke

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

Through employing a narrative, reflective approach, I discuss how the experience of working with international students during a summer institute informed the developed and implementation of a civically minded project in a college Young Adult Literature seminar. The project sought to frame "America" as an actual teenager, relative to other, more "adult" countries in the world, and asked students to construct a conventional YA narrative featuring America as the primary character. Through this narrative, I explain the various successes of the project and ultimately argue that students' stories and original compositions offer a viable mechanism for progressive, democratic citizenship education …

George Macdonald Collection Finding Aid, Taylor University

Finding Aids

The George MacDonald Collection features a variety of rare books, letters, and serialized fiction written by MacDonald, as well as scholarship and articles written about him.
Last Updated: August 29, 2022

Futurs Utopiques Et Dystopiques : Comment La Fiction Aide À Penser L’Évolution, Ivan Magrin-Chagnolleau

Presidential Fellows Articles and Research

Cet article aborde le thème des futurs utopiques et dystopiques tel qu’il nous est transmis à travers la philosophie et la fiction (littérature et cinéma), et montre comment ces notions nous aident à penser l’évolution. Il propose une exploration historique des termes « utopie » et « dystopie », agrémentée d’exemples appartenant à la littérature, à la philosophie et au cinéma. L’article souligne aussi l’importance de réhabiliter l’utopie comme moyen d’inventer un futur radicalement différent.

Rose, Andrea Marion

CLAMANTIS: The MALS Journal

No abstract provided.

The Perfect Puff, Briana Williams

CLAMANTIS: The MALS Journal

No abstract provided.

A Great And Glorious Blood, P.F. White

CLAMANTIS: The MALS Journal

No abstract provided.

Big Brave Dog, Meghan Kelleher

CLAMANTIS: The MALS Journal

No abstract provided.

On The Roman Road, Tim Fish

CLAMANTIS: The MALS Journal

No abstract provided.

Blackmail, Fernanda Poblete

Arrow Rock

No abstract provided.

Lawthy: Holding Flowers, Bailey Pittenger

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The research and design of this dissertation involves four parts: 1) Bridges to Care Work in the Sick Room, an essay that begins bridges across care genealogies, foundational literature on nursing and sick rooms, and applications of care work and care logic via local protest, civic, and community engagements; 2) “Writing Lawthy,” which is a process-based approach to literary and social sciences research on “writing on memory loss” and dementia narratives that center personhood and autonomy; 3) Lawthy: Holding Flowers, a fragmented novel created by first-hand accounts of caregiving, a 1981 journal, and fiction; and 4) appendices of local city …

Return Of The Monster, Michael Edele

Arrow Rock

No abstract provided.

Hei, Daniel Biegelson

Yalobusha Review

No abstract provided.

Volume 53 (2021), C V. Davis, Anna Grace Jones

The Broad River Review

The 2021 edition of The Broad River Review was edited by C. V. Davis and Anna Grace Jones.

COVER PHOTOGRAPHY: Guilherme Bergamini, Dolabela Engineer

THE RASH AWARD IN FICTION: Alan Sincic, The Sinkhole

THE RASH AWARD IN POETRY: John Blair, Eclogue 4: The Woodpecker

POETRY: Estelle Bajou, I Never Learned to Pray; George Bandy, The Ever-Changing City & Life, 1938; Michael Beadle, My Mother’s Rock Collection; Peter Bergquist, Journey; Robert Beveridge, A Salt Rifle; \Vivian I. Bikulege, Read the Water; Adam Burgess, Phantom; Camille Carter, Georgia O’Keeffe, From the Faraway, Nearby, 1937; Kenneth Chamlee, Vision; Sharon Charde, Almost; Stephany L.N. …

Litmag 2020-21, University Of Missouri-St. Louis, Kathryne Johanna Watt

Litmag

Litmag’s goal is to nurture the creativity of the students, staff, and alumni of UMSL by increasing awareness of diverse literary and artistic talent. We aim to provide an inclusive, professional, and high-quality publication free of charge to UMSL and the local community

Portrait Of A Queen With Dirty Martini, Covered In Cat Hair, Natalie Tombasco

Yalobusha Review

No abstract provided.

Arrow Rock Literary Journal, Issue 13

Arrow Rock

No abstract provided.

Connection, Tevye Schmidt

Arrow Rock

No abstract provided.

Et Cetera, 2019-2021, Marshall University

Et Cetera

Founded in 1953, Et Cetera is an annual literary magazine that publishes the creative writing and artwork of Marshall University students and affiliates. Et Cetera is free to the Marshall University community.

Et Cetera welcomes submissions in literary and film criticism, poetry, short stories, drama, all types of creative non-fiction, photography, and art.