"Bird Brain" is an essay that was written for ENGL-3822-1, Lit Criticism: 20th Century—Literariness, which was taught by Adam Rovner. Within this piece I use Michael Chabon’s The Final Solution to talk about Russian formalism and narratology. Well, not talk, write. You must forgive me for using figurative language as an English major, it's just nice to use from time to time. You feel me? 

"Cracked Carnival Mirror" is an essay that was written for JUST-3742-1, Jesus in Jewish Literature, which was taught by Adam Rovner. Within this piece I talk about people, places, and things that I had just learned about. Quite fitting then that the piece's title is "Cracked Carnival Mirror" for the secondary and implicit meaning behind is that my perception is just that. It a "it takes one to know one" or "the Wi-Fi calling the narrator unreliable" kind of thing you know?

"Demise" is my Creative Thesis which is in partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree English and Literary Arts at the University of Denver. My advisor on this piece was Adam Rovner and the co-reader was Joanna Howard. Just a for warning, it is pretty grim and there is body horror so if that is not something you are alright with reading it may be best to skip this piece.

"Fading Zoo" is a short essay that was done for ENGL-2850, Literature of Utopia/Dystopia–Dystopian Fiction, which was taught by Billy Stratton. It is pretty short but the book it is on is quite horrific. I mean the title, Tender is The Flesh is a pretty good descriptor. In other words, don't eat the forbidden bacon and drink the mystery smoothies, they're people! Plus, humans shouldn't consume pee on poles, that's just weird. Leave the pee on poles for dogs to sniff.

"Fraying Thread" is an essay that was done for ENGL-2742-1, Modern Hebrew Literature in Translation, which was taught by Adam Rovner. As the class title probably conveys, I read this story as a translated work, which means that I didn't really read it. Luckily my professor did…at least I think he did. 

I probably put the definitive answer somewhere in my notes—which also have the information on how I wrote this piece—but as of writing this header they are inside my closet with all the skeletons and toy childhood lightsabers and I wouldn't want to get stabbed by a shoto wielded by spooky scary skeletons that send shivers down my spine, now would I? No, not at all. I'm totally not just procrastinating on digitizing all of my paper notes. After all, who would do that?

"Green" is an essay that was written for ASEM-2637, James Joyce's Ulysses, which was taught by Graham Foust. Funnily enough green is my least favorite color. Oh, and I also hate trees. That's right, I said it! Did I say this stuff somewhere else? Well regardless, I'm saying it now! Why do I dislike trees and the color green? It's because I liked them as a kid of course. That…among other reasons.

You really want to know? Okay, I'll tell you. First, green. Green makes me green with envy. It's everywhere, very few dislike it, and it is able to be paradoxical in nature without anyone seemingly minding. Green is the embodiment of nature, healthiness, etcetera, but it is also a sign of evil, poison, wealth, sickness, radioactivity, and even envy if you can believe it. It's two faced, like someone who hides crippling loneliness and ineptitude with humor and walls of text. 

Then there are trees and unlike the Lorax I don't speak for them. In fact, I like my thneeds, the thing that everyone needs. Oh and they are also overhyped. People talk about how they absorb CO₂ but deciduous trees expel it in the fall and other trees like pine trees are highly flammable in the summer on top of being susceptible to parasites. They also—with the help of soil and other flora mind you—only absorb on average 30% of the carbon dioxide that humans emit into the atmosphere each year and the oceans—which are blue and nobody gives enough credit to—absorb between 25-30%. They are also the main culprit behind the Devonian mass extinction. They have blood on their branches, I'm telling you and if a tree falls in the forest I'll hear it and cackle! I'll tell you what, some day, the green and trees will pay!

Actually, if I'm being realistic, not really, but if they did it would put a smile on my face.

"Lucy's Loss" is an essay that was written for ENGL-3900-2, Posthumanism, which was taught by Billy Stratton. Spoiler alert, Never Let Me Go is also a story that does not have a happy ending. It's kind of a "why are we still here, just to suffer?" story, but—as I alluded to early in this header—that's nothing new. Maybe that's the connecting tissue of my English major. I guess it's sort of like the broom closet ending, the broom closet ending is my favorite, after all. 

"Past & Present" is an essay that was written for ASEM-2637, James Joyce's Ulysses, which was taught by Graham Foust. Mom, come get the camera! Look I read  James Joyce's Ulysses aren't I cool? No? Reading Ulysses isn't cool anymore? Oh yeah, I guess I forgot about the memo. 

Anyway, this piece is one of three I did for the class. The other one that I posted here was "Green" and the last one is me mirroring Joyce's writing for a couple pages. Why is that one not up? Because, I don't want to put it up. It's like a bitter broccoli without butter. You can't make me put it up. I'm not going to "just eat it," no matter how many times that remix comes up!

What is that? Stop stalling and cut to the chase, what is this piece about? The past and present running in tandem with a scene from Ulysses, of course. You want more specifies? No problem, just click on the branches in the photo and read all about it. If you don't want to you could always make like a tree and get out of here. 

"Pink Tickets" is a short essay that was done for ENGL-2850, Literature of Utopia/Dystopia–Dystopian Fiction, which was taught by Billy Stratton. Within it, I talk about the pink tickets in Yevgeny Zamyatin's We—which is the translated version of the Russian novel—and how said tickets relate to a modern context. It is basically me going wee wee wee all the way home about how commodified and isolating modernity is. If reading whinging is your thing then by all means click on the flowers and read on.

My poetry was written in many classes, ENGL-1000-2, Introduction to Creative Writing; ENGL 2001, Creative Writing-Poetry; ENGL-2010-1, Creative Writing-Fiction; and ENGL-2012-1, Creative Writing-Fiction 2 being among them, but it was also done on my own time. I intend to one day make a book of poems where I describe the meaning behind each one, but that shall be done at a much later date. What? You want a joke/reference? Poetry is a serious business I'll have you know. Very serious.

"Sights' Sorrow" is an essay that was written for ENGL-3900-2, Posthumanism, which was taught by Billy Stratton. Within it I talk about, unsurprisingly, posthumanism. What about posthumanism? How artificial intelligence is going to be like "Detroit: Become Human," "The Terminator," or "Her" pretty soon. They're watching you because our houses see, always watching, always.

"Shattered" is a creative piece that was written for ENGL-3010-1, Advanced Creative Writing, which was taught by Patrick Cottrell. Interestingly enough, this piece has close parallels to another piece within this portfolio "Alone." You might even say that "Shattered" is a sort story adaptation of it…well partial adaptation. It ends pretty close to where the reader/watcher thinks "don't touch the mirror." I intend to write a whole book about this someday, and if I have to I will spend every day of the rest of my life attempting to create. I know it is my destiny to make stuff, but you know, destiny is a funny thing. After all, you never know how things are going to work out.

"Shovels. Dirt. Death." is a creative piece that was written for ENGL-3010-1, Advanced Creative Writing, which was taught by Patrick Cottrell. As you can no doubt guess, this story has a very precarious circumstance befall the characters within it. Spoiler alert for the next sentence, just in case you care. Some of the characters choose to stay and get impaled or eviscerated by icicles, while some say "no thanks I choose life." As for the context of this story, it is in a world I have been making for well over a decade. I actually have written a couple books on it. Not published of course, and they were made when I was a child, so they aren't very good. Yeah...I probably should edit those someday. Eh, nah, I'll just post them here and be embarrassed by their quality. It'll keep me humble.

"White Torture" is a creative piece that was written for ENGL-3010-1, Advanced Creative Writing, which was taught by Patrick Cottrell. This story is about, you guessed it, white torture. If you don't know what that is you haven't been paying attention to advanced interrogation techniques that the United States has invented and exported to the rest of the world. Wake up sheeple! Anyway, the basics of the story the second-person focalizer starts the story by thinking "they didn't pay the electric bill;" then, when the lights turn on the thought process shifts to "no get those lights off off turn them off they're too bright turn them off, turn them off;" finally, the story ends with an obsession with the poop hole in the cell like a cat scratching at a red dot in hopes to catch it.

"Recurring Rebellion" is an essay that was done for ENGL-2850, Literature of Utopia/Dystopia–Dystopian Fiction, which was taught by Billy Stratton. This essay is, unsurprisingly, about civil unrest and conflict. Basically, it is me looking at dystopian-eqsue things and saying "I hate so much about the things you choose to be." If that interests you as much as it interests me, then read it and we shall see if we agree.

"Reflections Within Eyes" is a short essay that was written for ENGL-3900-2, Posthumanism, which was taught by Billy Stratton. It's about Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? which is the origin for the movie Blade Runner and—spoiler warning—how one particular man named Rick—one of the protagonists no less—doesn't know where they are, what they want, and he doesn't have money, but he does have a very particular set of skills, skills that he has acquired over a not so stellar career, yet skills that make him a nightmare to androids like them. He considers not looking for them or pursuing them, but he decides against it, he looks for them, he finds them, and he kills them. Oh and yeah, he feels a little guilty about doing so. And he has intercourse with one he isn't hunting. And he traumatizes a dude named John. Oh and he may or may not have mistaken a synthetic frog for a real one. There you go, it's all spoiled, just like someone who still lives at home with his parents…wonder who that could be. Hopefully, if things change about that, I remember to change this header 👀