Volume 6 has arrived, fashionably late, epidemically late, world shatteringly, strange-new-normalizingly late. And with it stories, poems, essays, art and comics written by a new generation of artists struggling (and succeeding beautifully, heartachingly) to make something in a different world. Thank you to all our contributors, and to last year's staff, who did all this … Continue reading The Newest Issue of OAR Has Arrived!
By: Katherine See As a kid, I was a die-hard reader with an infinite imagination. One could’ve found me with a book in the stands at my brothers’ hockey games, in the car, even in bed late at night with a stolen flashlight. My love for poetry began in high school. The way I could … Continue reading The Game of Balancing Change, Pain, and Creative Writing
By: Alana Drasnin Ever since I was a small child, I’ve always been especially enamored with fantasy fiction. I love nothing more than to dive into a new world, one so different from our own. Within these wondrous worlds, I had never really noticed the hidden symbolism, pointing to anti-semitism, until I became older. Only … Continue reading Antisemitism in Popular Fantasy Novels
By Riley Becks Introduction To the average person—and by the average person I mean someone who has not yet had the pleasure of working in the writing world—the term “staff writer” seems easy enough to define: a person who curates written content for a business. And this definition, at its core, is accurate—but it’s not … Continue reading The Joys (and Horrors) of the Modern Staff Writer
By Antonio Verrelli “We are, as a species, addicted to story. Even when the body goes to sleep, the mind stays up all night, telling itself stories.” — Jonathan Gottschall, The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human I love this quote. It doesn’t need any scientific data to prove it’s true because, for the … Continue reading Using Narrative Storytelling on Your Next Job Resume
By Malaena Caldwell Recount a time in your life where you overcame adversity. Or, Describe a time in your life that has shaped who you are as a person. These are questions taken directly from multiple departmental-merit scholarships I’ve applied for during my time as an undergraduate student, and as I prepare my applications for … Continue reading The Problem with Scholarship Essays: Everyone Loves an Underdog
by Jeff Thomas It’s been a strange year. I don’t plan. It’s just not one of those things that I seem to know how to do. My life has advanced to this point mostly because I roll out of bed in the morning and choose to do things that I like doing. Some causality exists … Continue reading My Little Room
by Steph Wong Almost every writing teacher will say that good writers stick to strict routines and schedules, and that’s how to avoid writer’s block. In fact, in this capitalistic society, everything is very schedule-based. Sure, having a set time to write or a set word count to achieve can make you “disciplined”, but it … Continue reading Routines and Writer’s Block
by Jaclyn Tockstein As a senior in the Professional & Digital Writing major (with only a few weeks left until graduation), I'd like to tell a short story about the importance of creating space for the purpose of creativity. Like many of you, I went through most of my schooling believing I was perhaps a … Continue reading Creating Space
by Madeline Elier Reading is fundamental to the human experience. It gives us a space to learn about the world and begin to process how to exist and interact with others as social beings. Growing up, I read books like Charlotte’s Web, Alice in Wonderland, and Madeline, all of which portrayed a lifestyle that was … Continue reading Importance of Diversity in Children’s Literature
by Renee Seledotis Ernest Hemingway’s “Iceberg Theory” states that the deeper meaning of a story should shine through implicitly. Like an iceberg, the surface of the story, what is revealed to the reader, should be barely anything compared to what lies beneath. The more the author knows about the story, the fuller and richer it … Continue reading Hemingway’s Iceberg Theory: A Tool for Detail
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