Annotated Bibliography

Sevilla, Tyler. “The Movement of The Cockroach.” BISIA 311 A. Creative Nonfiction Writing Workshop, Professor Dana Middleton, Winter 2023.

Tyler Sevilla uses a writing exercise by Aimee Nezhukumatathil in “Field Guide to Writing Flash Nonfiction.” Using facts about cockroaches, Sevilla uses cockroaches as a symbol of resilience and perseverance that we should all learn from and look to for inspiration. Despite the nature of how we view them as a species, Sevilla uses cockroaches to convey a message that allows the reader to see beauty in what others find disgusting and annoying.

I included this piece of creative nonfiction writing because the outcome of this exercise allowed me to creatively use cockroaches to explore my own personal identity. Seeing myself in a negative light just as most people see cockroaches, the point of this piece for me was to give credit where credit was due and appreciate or respect certain things about something that most (including me) found to be unwanted and bad. Which in a way allowed me to set the groundwork for trying to do the same for myself. This made use of two IAS objectives with critical and  creative thinking, and writing communication since I had to creatively find a way to bring personal meaning out of the facts that I had collected and write or communicate that personal meaning. I also used interdisciplinary research and inquiry to learn more about cockroaches for this piece. 

Sevilla, Tyler. “My Home.” BISIA 311 A. Creative Nonfiction Writing Workshop, Professor Dana Middleton, Winter 2023.

Tyler Sevilla uses the Japanese writing form of “Zuihitsu” to craft a piece of writing that embodies his innermost thoughts. Painting his own mind and struggles as a picture of a neighborhood through which he exists in. The loose and “go with the flow” type style and form of the piece helps to inform the reader of his thoughts and how they come off. Using different spacing to give a visual representation of silence and pauses between words while also using seemingly random insertions or topic changes and transitions to represent his state of mind.

I included this piece of writing because I was very intrigued and inspired by the free form of Zuihitsu. The lack of rules and encouragement to go with the flow of your mind and artistic thoughts helped me to delve deep into what was going on for me at the time of writing it. This piece utilized my creative thinking and written communication to express the lost and erratic state of my mind. Creating an explanation of my state of mind as a neighborhood of constant conflict that I had learned to just accept and deal with throughout my life. This piece explores my contentment and acceptance of my 

Sevilla, Tyler. “The Might of a Hero.” BISIA 311 A. Creative Nonfiction Writing Workshop, Professor Dana Middleton, Winter 2023.

Tyler Sevilla uses a writing exercise by Tessa Fontaine in “Field Guide to Writing Flash Nonfiction.” For the prompt “The Not-Knowing Structure” Fontaine encourages self exploration through unraveling and carefully exploring one’s obsessions. Sevilla’s topic of obsession in this case was super heroes. In this piece Sevilla wrote an essay delving into his idolization of superheroes and the ideas they represent for him. This essay explores how he came to look up to heroes in fiction, and how as he grew, so did his passion and desire to embody what he found so great in them.

I included this essay because it details a subject that I have a strong passion for and has been an inspiration throughout my life. Using Critical Thinking and Writing and Communication these IAS objectives helped me to solidify my stance on fictional heroes. Using carefully thought out reasoning and thought processing I found a proper way to express my deep admiration for the ideas behind fictional heroes. The truth behind the capes and magic. The realism and thematic messages hidden behind the fantastical and exaggerated nature of fiction. Delving into my obsession with heroes helped me to put into words why I’ve loved to look up to them for so long.

Sevilla, Tyler. “Self Portrait as a Blind Dreamer.” BISIA 310 A. Creative Writing: Poetry, Professor Dana Middleton, Autumn 2022.

In this piece Tyler Sevilla takes direct inspiration from the poem “Self-Portrait as So Much Potential” by writer Chen Chen. Taking an angle through the lens of existentialism, Sevilla explores his own place in the world and the value he sees within himself, or lack thereof. Sevilla uses this piece to express his own doubts and fears, for the most part talking about all the things weighing him down, but ending with a hopeful look towards the future.

I included this piece because I felt like I got to once again explore my internal struggles. In fact most of the pieces I’ve chosen are explorations of my internal struggles. It’s almost therapeutic in a sense as it allows me to gather my thoughts and think critically and creatively about the things that weigh me down. Which gives real life applications to the IAS goals of Creative Thinking and Writing and Communication. In this poem I refer to myself as the blind dreamer by expressing the perceived pointlessness of my dreams and goals, while expressing that despite the possible pointlessness, my dreams will not change.

Sevilla, Tyler. “Overwhelmed.” BISIA 310 A. Creative Writing: Poetry, Professor Dana Middleton, Autumn 2022.

In this piece Sevilla uses prose poetry to write a surreal narrative that expresses the feeling of being overwhelmed. Using the randomness of prose poetry, Sevila finds a perfect opportunity to convey his feelings in a way that feels nonsensical at first. But when understanding the consistent theme of nothing feeling right, and constantly being pulled from place to place without being able to make sense of things, we get a chance to feel how overwhelmed Sevilla feels within his mind.

I chose this piece because it was in a sense fun to write. Of course to meet the IAS objective of Creative Thinking, Writing and Communication, I couldn’t be straightforward and just say “too much is happening and I feel lost and confused even in the comfort of my own bed.” Instead I used this assignment to write just as confusing and nonsensical as my life felt at the time. At the same time I was able to convey how lost I felt in my own life, even during simple moments of comfort.

Sevilla, Tyler. “Only From Falling, Can We Rise.” BISIA 310 A. Creative Writing: Poetry, Professor Dana Middleton, Autumn 2022.

In this poem, Tyler Sevilla utilizes the form of a sonnet to effectively and simplistically convey a life lesson he has learned. Breaking away from the existentialism and self exploration of personal struggle in most of his works, Sevilla this time takes the time to provide a thoughtful and honest view on life that he has learned over the years. Sevilla argues that struggle is necessary to stimulate personal growth and strengthen identity.  

I included this poem because it’s one of the few pieces I’ve written that focus less on being an outlet for my personal struggles and tries to be more hopeful and positive about the things I’ve experienced and been through. While I’m honest about the hopeless feelings, bitterness and pain I’ve felt, I used this piece as a way to find value in my struggles. By the end, I come to the conclusion that we all will fall every now and then, but falling gives us the opportunity to rise.

Sevilla, Tyler. “There’s Something Missing.” BISIA 207 A. Introduction to Creative Writing: Words, Stories, Dialogues, Professor Dana Middleton, Autumn 2020.

This creative writing piece by Tyler Sevilla reminisces about the past and the loss that occurred on the way to the present. He relates the feeling to being freed from a cage, arguing that when we’re young the cage is safe but we long for freedom. But once we have the freedom to leave the cage we find ourselves faced with difficult truths, and because of that we can no longer return to the safety we had when we were caged. The cage is used as a metaphor for childlike innocence with the freedom from that cage being a metaphor for the transition to adulthood.

I included this piece because it represents a common thought I find myself coming back to. When things are difficult, which they often are, it’s easy to look back and think about what was easier in the past. But by the end of the piece I tried to be more hopeful, expressing my view on how despite the difficult life outside the cage, we have the chance to fly once we leave it. This piece utilized the IAS objectives of Creative Writing and Writing and Communication.

Sevilla, Tyler. “My House.” BISIA 207 A. Introduction to Creative Writing: Words, Stories, Dialogues, Professor Dana Middleton, Autumn 2020.

This piece by Tyler Sevilla is a deep dive into the most prominent pieces of his mind and personality. Sevilla isolates the parts of his personality that he struggles with, but must ultimately come to accept and work with. Writing them as roommates characters, Sevilla’s description and exploration of his house and his roommates are a metaphor for his own mind and the parts of his personality within it.

This was a fun piece for me to explore and I included it because it was a piece that I worked on all throughout the quarter. Using the IAS objectives of Creative Thinking and Writing and Communication I used this piece as a way to thoroughly explore my fear and my anger and the way I’ve had to learn to live with them. Treating them as roommates, my writing helped me to think about how I’ve come to understand those pieces of myself and my effort to work towards being more whole by working with them instead of shutting them out or hating them.