Poetry Commons^™

A Poetic Call For And A Reflection And Commentary On Clarity, Understanding, Hope, Courage, And Compassion, Carroy U. Ferguson

Psychology Faculty Publication Series

Finding a published poem I had written as a teenager, titled “The Heavens Weep.” this article uses that poem as the basis for a commentary that reflects on the state of the world today (2026),  As a commentary, the article uses the poetic and metaphoric words in the poem as a relevant "reality check" for what is still going on today.  In essence, the commentary is about a call for Clarity, Understanding, Hope, Courage, and Compassion, or what I call Archetypal Energies, Higher Vibrational Energies that operate deep within our individual and collective psyches to creatively urge us to "see" …

The Reclamation, Peter Njagi Mwangi, Charles E. Becknell Jr

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

This poem stages a classroom conversation about language, knowledge, and the study of Black history and thought. Through dialogue between a professor and a student, the conversation reflects on a central question within Africana Studies: why are indigenous African languages rarely included in how the field teaches, writes, and shares knowledge? While colonial languages such as English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese function as practical tools in the modern university, the poem raises the question of what may be missing when African languages remain largely absent. Drawing on ideas like Ubuntu and Sankofa, the poem imagines Africana Studies as a living …

Tùn-Scene And A-Futurism: Biomythography, Opacity, And Posthuman Imagination, Minglu Du

Masters Theses

Grounded in the author’s position as a Chinese feminist, this thesis examines how East Asian women, as well as East Asian-coded femininity more broadly, are objectified and othered within futurist visual culture in the age of artificial intelligence. Through an engagement with ornamentalism, techno-Orientalism, and posthumanism1 , it argues that the persistent figure of the feminized humanoid cyborg continues to reproduce colonial and patriarchal structures of desire, rendering marginalized bodies as fetishized and violable surfaces. In response, the thesis develops Tùn-Scene, a biomythographic artistic framework and the first experiment in what the author provisionally names A-Futurism. Drawing on Donna Haraway’s …

Constellate, Liz Fisher, Elizabeth Fisher

Past Student Achievement Day Conference Posters and Presentations

Chapbook of original poetry and prose, including select translations by Elizabeth Fisher.

Modernism’S Wild Child: The Interplay Of Modernist And Children’S Literature, Rachel Riffel

All Master's Theses

Within literary criticism, American and British modernism are often characterized by the disillusioned writers and creators who established an elitist literary community during the early 20^th century. This period is also distinguished by the Harlem Renaissance highlighting Black art, culture, and writing. Gertrude Stein, T. S. Eliot, Langston Hughes and Arna Bontemps are well-known for contributing core texts to modernism and the Harlem Renaissance that expressed existential themes and developed experimental techniques. What many readers don’t know, however, is that these authors and many other contemporaries wrote stories and poetry for children. In this thesis, I explore the children’s …

Summers In Pacoima, Ariel E. Menendez

Regeneración: A Xicanacimiento Studies Journal

Summers in Pacoima by Ariel E. Menendez.

The Game Of Chance, Alieth Caceres

First-Gen Voices: Creative and Critical Narratives on the First-Generation College Experience

Through my first semester at college, I was faced with the capability of not coming back due to being from a low-income family. Being a first-gen, I didn’t have anyone to guide me and I went from place to place begging for something to hold on to. My biggest goal for my family and I is to graduate from college and it is unfair that this opportunity will come short only because of financial problems. In some moments I felt all was lost, some telling me that I couldn’t and should just give up. All the connections I had reached …

Breaking Barriers First-Gen Experiences, Fiorella Salazar, Alondra Hernandez, Alieth Caceres, Aolanni Jimenez-Gonzalez, Alberto Martinez, Karol Martinez, Jesus Arias, Julian Melendez Miranda, Gabby Flores, Isabell Lachinpour, Jefferson Ramos, Annette Gomez, Zahir Pineda, Alejandra Rodriguez, Carla Bueno

First-Gen Voices: Creative and Critical Narratives on the First-Generation College Experience

In Breaking Barriers: First-Gen Experiences, first-gen students showcased their stories through poems, art, research, and personal reflections. Every story reflects resilience and creativity as they navigate their educational and personal journeys with a first-gen identity. These are stories that we can connect to and learn from to further build bridges for future generations in The First to Go Program!

Investigating The Relationship Between Noun Classes And Plant Folk Taxonomy In Chasu Language Of Kilimanjaro Region In Tanzania, Peter Rabson Mziray

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

The current study investigates the relationship between noun classes and plant folk taxonomy in Chasu (G 22). The study focuses on two objectives: the first objective is to describe the plant folk taxonomy in Chasu and the second objective is to determine the relationship between noun classes and plant folk taxonomy in Chasu. Data were collected from rural villages in Same and Mwanga districts by using free listing, field interviews (jungle-walk-and-identify), and written texts containing Chasu plant names. The findings reveal that Chasu folk taxonomy reflects different ethnobotanical categories; including a unique beginner which is mmea/mimea ‘plant(s)’, and three life …

A Little Piece Of Her Dies, Keturah L. Hancock

Gatherings

This poem explores the emotional labor of being authentic in spaces not built for women of color. This poem specifically addresses the experiences of Black women. Often, Black women find themselves torn between maintaining peace and being themselves. The poem addresses concepts such as tone policing, code-switching, and expression. It honors Black women in academia who feel they have to shrink themselves to be seen. There is a sense of safety that comes with fitting in and not making waves in a predominantly white space. However, this poem offers an alternative, calling Black women to stand up for those who …

"Breaking Barriers: First-Gen Experiences", Julian Melendez Miranda

First-Gen Voices: Creative and Critical Narratives on the First-Generation College Experience

Journey to college as a first-generation student, navigating challenges and self-doubt.

First Gen Voices, Jesus Arias

First-Gen Voices: Creative and Critical Narratives on the First-Generation College Experience

Looking back at my first semester, I’ve made some truly fond memories. Starting off with an amazing group of people in the program and going on our retreat helped me find a community I could rely on. This community has remained by my side, even during challenging times, and for that, I’ll always be grateful. Whether it was tackling escape rooms or being part of First Year Seminar, the first-gen community has shown itself to be incredibly strong and tightly connected.

The First Generation, Alberto Martinez

First-Gen Voices: Creative and Critical Narratives on the First-Generation College Experience

My poem basically describes how I feel as a first-generation student is. Many of us including myself, felt as if we were alone, not knowing if we have someone by our side, but through our experience, we do share a common ground. First to go is a place where we all can share that and is a place where we do not have to be alone but have the support of those around us who can relate to how we feel.

Roots, Aolanni Jimenez-Gonzalez

First-Gen Voices: Creative and Critical Narratives on the First-Generation College Experience

This poem closely focuses on my experience and acceptance of my first-generation identity. Language is a symbol of my heritage from my family and how I carry hope and resilience as I navigate my everyday life. I want to depict my journey through language and how it serves as a powerful source to communicate with my loved ones and others. While appreciating the roots and strength of my family and striving to live out my dreams and be the first of many to come.

Balance, Alondra Hernandez

First-Gen Voices: Creative and Critical Narratives on the First-Generation College Experience

Through the poem, I wanted to explain my journey as a First Gen student who was struggling to balance school and work. I also wanted to represent the many students who are facing the same fight everyday. My hope was to show encouragement and motivation to keep going.Making sure to remind yourself to live each day knowing you're doing your best.

First Doubts, Carla Bueno

First-Gen Voices: Creative and Critical Narratives on the First-Generation College Experience

As first-gen students, we often struggle with the identity and responsibility of being the firsts to navigate through the unknown. With this, doubts of our ability to succeed come naturally and these can be consuming. My advice is to not be afraid of using resources available and asking questions as these are the first steps into finding our way in institutions not built for us.

Dreams To Reality, Annette Gomez

First-Gen Voices: Creative and Critical Narratives on the First-Generation College Experience

Beneath the shade of the trees, I reflect on the weight of my family’s dreams and the determination it takes to pursue a degree. The clear blue skies and open spaces remind me that possibilities are just as boundless, even when the roads feel steep. Here, amidst the peace and beauty I find the strength to strive as a First-Generation Latina student.

A New Beginning, Jefferson Ramos

First-Gen Voices: Creative and Critical Narratives on the First-Generation College Experience

The purpose of my reflection is to demonstrate to other individuals, especially first-generation students, my experience with the college process, along with the obstacles I faced, the doubts, and everything that comes along with being the first person in your family to attend a higher education institution in the United States. In my reflection, I describe the process that I experienced, from the very beginning of high school to the start of my college journey. To finalize my reflection, I leave the reader with three important tips I have learned along the journey: being resilient, not being afraid of new …

My Experience, Gabby Flores

First-Gen Voices: Creative and Critical Narratives on the First-Generation College Experience

This essay reflects personal experiences starting college and navigating new environments that are new to me.

Deceiving Angels Ii, Alejandra Rodriguez

First-Gen Voices: Creative and Critical Narratives on the First-Generation College Experience

I share a dream with my family. The dream of graduating from college, getting a good job, and living a better life. A life where we won’t be financially tied down. I am now attending Loyola Marymount University and pursuing a degree in Animation. I’m the first in my family to pursue a degree in Film & Television, and even though I can’t help the thoughts that I should be doing something more “impactful,” I know that it’s my passion and that it is the combined efforts of my family and those who have helped me, that led me here. …

Trailblazin, Zahir Pineda

First-Gen Voices: Creative and Critical Narratives on the First-Generation College Experience

My "trailblazin" collage is just a collage of me and my brother as we grew up. It was just us two for the majority of our childhood and we were always pushed to make the most of our education here in the US. Growing up I always relied on him, and he made sure to be there to guide me and help me learn from his mistakes. Fast forward to now and we're both at LMU together, and the same way he trailblazed the path for me, I hope to do for my two younger siblings. It symbolizes what has …

Introduction

First-Gen Voices: Creative and Critical Narratives on the First-Generation College Experience

No abstract provided.

Family Dynamics In Everything, Everywhere, All At Once, Isabell Lachinpour

First-Gen Voices: Creative and Critical Narratives on the First-Generation College Experience

This paper was originally a submission for my general psychology final. The prompt for it was to analyze any topic covered in class and connect to any form of fictional media. I chose to study the social psychology behind the relationships of immigrant parents and their children, connecting it to the movie Everything, Everywhere, All At Once by Daniel Scheinert and Daniel Kwan. I especially picked this movie because of how connected I felt to the characters in the movie as I have gone through some of the same experiences they have and know many immigrant children that have felt …

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 …

The Years Of Blood [Excerpt], Adedayo Agarau

Poetry

Winner of the 2023-24 Poetic Justice Institute Editors Prize for a BIPOC Writer

ISELE MAGAZINE | EDITOR'S CHOICE: 25 MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS OF 2025 THE MODACULTURE | 10 ANTICIPATED AFRICAN BOOKS OF 2025 OPEN COUNTRY MAGAZINE | ANTICIPATED BOOKS OF 2025

In this unflinching debut collection, Adedayo Agarau confronts the harrowing reality of ritual killings and child abductions that have terrorized Nigeria from the turbulent pre-democratic era to the present day. Set against the backdrop of rural Ibadan, The Years of Blood plunges readers into the depths of collective trauma where "memory forsakes the body at the point where fear …

Feelings That Drive, Kayla M. Jackson

LSU Master's Theses

Feelings That Drive is an interdisciplinary, multimodal thesis that blends poetry, personal narrative, lyrical essays, and spiritual reflection to explore the complex intersections of Black identity, memory, trauma, resilience, and healing in the contemporary American South. Framed in five thematic sections—Worn, Anxiousness, Desperation, Hopeful, and Restored—the work traverses emotional and geographic landscapes, most notably the author’s home in New Orleans, to trace the cumulative effects of racialized trauma, familial rupture, and spiritual seeking. Through nonlinear storytelling and form-breaking verse, the thesis confronts experiences such as anti-Blackness in institutional spaces, gendered violence, economic precarity, generational silence, and the haunting …

Kabyle Poetry, Ali Akkache

Journal of Amazigh Studies

Kabyle poetry.

Halfrican, Marcella Landri

Journal of Amazigh Studies

N/A

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.

Famílias Indigenas Entre Mundos: Standing In Pachakuti, Living In Chi’Xi Within The Constellation Of Their Comunidad De Saberes, Ymasumac Marañón Davis

Dissertations

To be Indigenous is to be la luz del mundo, to stand in your light and spread your sunrays, no matter winds or clouds of colonization that strive to dim you. This qualitative study explored ways Indigenous Latine families negotiate a sense of place within onto-epistemological realities and their home culture of learning and Western education. This research is desire-based (Eve Tuck, 2009), creating our own project of modernity, grounded in one Indigenous family’s experience within their Andean community. Drawing from Critical Latine Indigeneities Framework (Blackwell et al., 2017) and Chicana Feminist Epistemologies (Bernal, 1998), using an Entre Mundos methodology, …