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- All Subjects: creative writing
- Creators: Department of English
Description
“The Difference Between Paper Cuts & Exit Wounds” is a multidisciplinary body of work consisting of a manuscript, a short film, and a set of photographs. As digital culture expands, there are increasing possibilities for cross-genre work within the literary canon. The adaptation of visual mediums alongside the written word supports different levels of reader, and viewer, engagement. This visual and written manuscript permits the audience to experience the project at varying levels of intensity. “The Difference Between Paper Cuts & Exit Wounds” explores the self through fragmented lenses. The poems alone work with white space and experimental forms to create new shapes, new considerations, and new wonders. When put in conversation with the visual art, a poem becomes even more layered—providing alternate entrances to the subject matter. This manuscript is invested in the framing of concerns, of questions, and of thematic obsessions. Through the integration of multiple mediums, the poetic self and the agency of the speaker become multifaceted, apart from the written word alone. With the project’s film component, the curation of vignettes encourages a resistance of a linear narrative. Multiple clips are put on top of one another, with varying levels of opacity, creating multi-layered exposures within a second long clip. This represents the same fragmentation and deconstruction of a linear narrative that is prominent in the written manuscript. The work investigates memory as it distorts desire, frequently returning to how the body holds psychological and emotional trauma. With hybrid approaches to the subject matter, the manuscript illustrates the potential for intimacy to be soft and tender while simultaneously abrasive, triggering, and painful. It allows space for uncertainties, for co-existing conditions. By fracturing the expected forms of both standard poetic lexicon, and standard video narratives, “The Difference Between Paper Cuts & Exit Wounds” complicates the tendency for audiences to dissect art in hopes of reaching a single, definite interpretation. Instead, the body of work builds new spaces for engagement and inquiry.
ContributorsGoettl, Maxana Quinn (Author) / Ball, Sally (Thesis director) / Diaz, Natalie (Committee member) / Department of English (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
DescriptionThe Autobiography of a Mary Sue is the fictional autobiography of a fanfiction author, detailing her experiences in fandom and how they made her into her ‘more perfect’ aka more realized, modern self.
ContributorsTerasaki, Kimberly Midori (Author) / Ingram-Waters, Mary (Thesis director) / Cruse, Markus (Committee member) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Feminism has been the focus of many writers throughout the decades but has recently gained momentum in the eyes of the general public thanks to works like Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale. Feminist figure Hélène Cixous encourages women to empower themselves by applying feminist ideas to their writing, rather than remaining complacent in an oppressive society. Avalon strives to portray some of these ideas through the lens of Arthurian Legend. A feminist story set in an epic fantasy world, Avalon shows the struggle of marginalized groups in a patriarchal, discriminatory, and dystopian society.
The main character, Princess Alexandria, must navigate a world where the all magic is controlled by a power-hungry ruler, King Mordred. After he decides to pursue the Ruins of Kronos in order to gain control over time itself, the princess decides to intervene. Alexandria escapes the palace with her childhood best friend James, to stop him, nearly dying in the process, and finds a group of fairies who have lost their wings. The fairies help her discover the true origins and capabilities of magic, making her realize that she must restore it to the realm in order to stop King Mordred. Alexandria disguises herself as a man and joins the King’s Knights, befriending a rebel in disguise named Keith along the way, as she discovers her brother Noah may be on the King’s side. Together, they work to liberate lands oppressed by King Mordred’s rule, and by the Black Plague that Morgana has set upon them, all while uncovering the corruption present in their society.
The main character, Princess Alexandria, must navigate a world where the all magic is controlled by a power-hungry ruler, King Mordred. After he decides to pursue the Ruins of Kronos in order to gain control over time itself, the princess decides to intervene. Alexandria escapes the palace with her childhood best friend James, to stop him, nearly dying in the process, and finds a group of fairies who have lost their wings. The fairies help her discover the true origins and capabilities of magic, making her realize that she must restore it to the realm in order to stop King Mordred. Alexandria disguises herself as a man and joins the King’s Knights, befriending a rebel in disguise named Keith along the way, as she discovers her brother Noah may be on the King’s side. Together, they work to liberate lands oppressed by King Mordred’s rule, and by the Black Plague that Morgana has set upon them, all while uncovering the corruption present in their society.
ContributorsMucino-Martinez, Gwendolyn (Author) / Moran, Stacey (Thesis director) / Sturges, Robert (Committee member) / Dean, The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
This Cannot Be Forest Bathing is a collection of poems that deals with how we see ourselves in the greater picture. Reflecting on one’s experiences and trying to project the future is challenging for a young person, and these poems are my way of accepting that life, and the future, are both ever-changing. The practice of “forest bathing,” known as shinrin-yoku in Japan, means to ‘take in the forest.’ This form of meditation and self-cleansing is associated with a form of therapy. Shinrin-yoku utilizes techniques or treatments that focus on bettering physical and mental health through nature. During a “forest bath,” the participant is able to relax through being outside; in calmness, one is able to think clearly. For my collection, I wanted to emphasize this self-reflection as a dark meditation instead of a stereotypically peaceful endeavor. The title is a manifestation of disbelief, as I realized ‘I am with nature, in a moment of rest, and should be enjoying myself, but I am lost and feel trapped instead of being found. I still think about who I am as an individual, my anxieties, and of the future.’ As I am usually inspired by nature, all of my works were written either in connection to, or physically within the outside world. I find closure and relief through writing, and I hope that my poetry connects people together in our dark moments, reminding the reader that they are not alone. In youth, we are lost but never alone, even in the most tumultuous of times.
ContributorsNino, Alexa Sophia (Author) / Ball, Sally (Thesis director) / Erin, Noehre (Committee member) / Department of English (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-12
Description
This grammar describes the inner workings of the language of the Fwonnel Peninsula, known in its English translations as Fwonnel, Arojaunzan, or, most succinctly, Arojun. Contained within this 288-page paper are sections dedicated to Phonology, Phonetics, Morphology, Syntax, Example Texts, and various other elements of the world that I have created. Arojun is a moderately analytic language that features a Verb-Object-Subject word order, a pronoun-tense auxiliary system, and two orthography systems with historic significance. Connected to the language and included within this paper are sections on original Calendar Systems, Music Theory and Notation, Naming Traditions, Geography of the Fwonnel Peninsula, Religions, Two Dictionaries, a collection of common phrases important to learning the language and interacting with the people, and an in-depth look at the full political and linguistic history of the Fwonnel Peninsula. The Sample Text section includes several lines of interlinear glosses translating popular scenes from television shows from English(or Japanese) into Arojun, videos of which were posted to my YouTube Channel, Agma Schwa, over the course of the past year. This language, and in essence, the entirety of the fictional nation of El Fwonk Casanosia, has been building up to this point since 2007, when I was only seven years old. I may have needed to occasionally bend over backwards to make the less logical, yet emotionally significant, parts of this language and history reach a point of satisfactory suspension of disbelief, but I believe that it turned out wonderfully. Either way, this project took a great deal of effort, by far the largest project that I have worked on in my life.
ContributorsCole, Robert Joseph (Author) / Van Gelderen, Elly (Thesis director) / Pruitt, Kathryn (Committee member) / Bjork, Robert (Committee member) / Department of English (Contributor, Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
In the event of a climate disaster, everything changes, but the places we’ve romanticized as a frontier will become new to us once again. New Sonoran is, in essence, an American story on a global problem. It draws on American pioneer/Old West/cowboy culture, the lasting effects of climate change denial, and the individualism that pervades American culture. I want to use this project to underscore the actual isolation of individualism, as well as create a new story that speaks to a problematic but evocative cultural history while accessing an uncertain future. For this project, I drew from a varied palette of media: comics, video games, and the pervasive cultural malaise that surrounds my current generation.
The work is based in anxieties, but its media influences are a strong indicator of tone and concept. At the very least, they helped me articulate why I wanted to work on a graphic novel on a post-climate change Sonoran. This desert that I’ve grown used to will change irrevocably, but it will be a new frontier to explore while the old will become a loss to mourn. This cycle of change is something I want to highlight in my work: we can worry, mourn, and fear, but there’s going to be something new.
New Sonoran is a graphic novel based upon the journey of Sage, a cartographer and anthropologist who travels the desert, annotating maps and studying a desert irrevocably affected by global climate change. As she catalogues the changes and losses in this new landscape, she learns how residents have adapted, and how people may still relate to the land.
The work is based in anxieties, but its media influences are a strong indicator of tone and concept. At the very least, they helped me articulate why I wanted to work on a graphic novel on a post-climate change Sonoran. This desert that I’ve grown used to will change irrevocably, but it will be a new frontier to explore while the old will become a loss to mourn. This cycle of change is something I want to highlight in my work: we can worry, mourn, and fear, but there’s going to be something new.
New Sonoran is a graphic novel based upon the journey of Sage, a cartographer and anthropologist who travels the desert, annotating maps and studying a desert irrevocably affected by global climate change. As she catalogues the changes and losses in this new landscape, she learns how residents have adapted, and how people may still relate to the land.
ContributorsBarbee, Amelia Bernadette (Author) / Soares, Rebecca (Thesis director) / Schmidt, Peter (Committee member) / Department of English (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Last fall, I went with my mom to pick up my grandmother from her assisted living home in Gainesville, Florida, and drive her down to St. Augustine for the biennial family reunion. On the way, between talks of who was cooking dinner and stops at fruit stands, I asked my grandmother how she had met my grandfather. She told the story, including how she was on a date with Granddad’s brother when she met him, and I asked for more stories. Nanny recounted everything from near shipwrecks to brothers separated by war, and I realized that before I dedicated myself to fiction, I wanted to write about my own life. To record some of the moments and events that have built me, including some of the ones that tore me down before they allowed me to gain anything from them. The name of this memoir originated from my forever habit of finding and staring at the moon when I need a reminder that the world, and life, is bigger than the present moment.
ContributorsChalmers, Anne Marie (Author) / Wells, Corri (Thesis director) / Boylan, Rachel (Committee member) / Department of English (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05
Description
This work of creative nonfiction explores the life of the writer's great-grandmother, Madge Richardson, and her sister Annie Richardson Johnson, as daughters of polygamist families and members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in the religious colony of Colonia Díaz, Chihuahua, Mexico. The piece depicts several highs and lows in the late 19th to early 20th century pioneer town, with an emphasis on the mass exodus and devastation that occurred during the Mexican Revolution.
ContributorsGadberry, Emily (Author) / Ison, Tara (Thesis director) / Irish, Jennifer (Committee member) / Historical, Philosophical & Religious Studies (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
DescriptionA collection of chronological, interconnected short stories following the lives and changes of a family throughout the 20th century, connected through the generations by unifying objects carried in from story to story.
ContributorsGilboa, Inbal (Author) / Bell, Matt (Thesis director) / Soares, Rebecca (Committee member) / Department of English (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Drawing on existing scholarship as well as primary analytical materials, the research within this report demonstrates Wile E. Coyote's character is reliant on human connectivity and is evocative of the human condition, reflecting his disciplined and stylized design he possesses. Comprised of literary, film/media, and rhetorical elements, this report illustrates how Wile E. is an individual whose character holds various influences that provide dimensionality to his existence. The research within this report is both primary and secondary through observational recordings about the cartoons Wile E. appears in and through thorough analysis of texts elaborating on the elements comprising Wile E.'s character. Primary research from the initial observational recordings provides direction for the secondary research after viewing multiple cartoons and films containing Wile E. Coyote in his Warner Brothers Studios appearances and noting unique moments in his cinematic career. The notes from this viewing of Wile E. in his natural "habitat" drive the secondary research to focus on specific aspects of Wile E.'s character through the analysis of supporting texts which ultimately leads to the findings within this report. Research in the fields of literature, film/media studies, and rhetoric shape the analysis of Wile E.'s character as this report studies the various components compiled within the cartoon coyote. As a multifaceted individual, Wile E. illustrates a complexity within a stylized character that allows viewers to connect to his plights and to identify with his struggles. Through his emulative form, Wile E. embodies vital elements of character creation that allow him to become a memorable and prominent character that resonates in viewers and artists. From Wile E. Coyote's example, future generations of story tellers, regardless of their medium, can learn how to create similarly iconic and timeless characters within their works. Such stories can then contribute significant additions to popular narrative and characterization.
ContributorsGarza, Christopher Aaron (Author) / Baldini, Cajsa (Thesis director) / Mack, Robert (Committee member) / Sandler, Kevin (Committee member) / Department of English (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05