Each edition of a literary journal is something unique and special, like an ice cream cone with sprinkles. Each sprinkle (story) has a different flavor. The book starts from the book cover and goes all the way to having a diverse set of authors presented in the journal each time with an array of poems, … Continue reading Why Read Literary Journals
Halloween is just around the corner. You can tell it's coming by the smell of pumpkin spice in the air. To prepare for my favorite holiday, I recently busted out my collection of stories by Edgar Allan Poe. And just in case anyone else is disappointed with Netflix's selection of scary movies, I have compiled … Continue reading The Best Edgar Allan Poe Stories for the Halloween Season
Happy Halloween creative writers, English majors, and literature enthusiasts! It is that time of year again—my favorite time—when everything creepy and disturbing is embraced and everyone suddenly becomes horror fans. I love this sudden shift because it gives me a chance to geek out about my love for those eerie short stories and novels. I’ve … Continue reading Spooky, Scary, Short Stories and Books To Get You In the Halloween Spirit
A few months ago, when I was suffering through winter finals, I had this little image of how my summer would go. I pictured me, my laptop, birds chirping, and much needed writing time for those larger projects that had somehow fallen through the cracks. With jobs, an internship, summer classes, and social life, the … Continue reading The Beauty of the Writing Prompt
I fell in love with flash fiction a year ago, and often use it when I’m stuck on a longer piece but don’t want to stop writing altogether. If I’m working on a larger piece of writing and get stuck, I like to write a flash fiction piece. When I do, I take a current … Continue reading One thousand or less: how to write flash fiction
March was Women's History Month, a month in which people celebrate women and all of the incredible things women have done throughout history. At first I was skeptical about what this would actually mean. It seems like celebrating minority groups for a month at a time leaves a lot to be desired. What happens for the rest … Continue reading 20 Great Books Written by Women
The Winter 2016 issue of The Oakland Arts Review is here! We would like to thank everyone involved, including all of the creative undergraduate students from across the globe who submitted their work, and the very hardworking undergraduates who were part of bringing the journal together. The OAR would not have been possible without … Continue reading The Oakland Arts Review is here!
One of the most amazing things the Internet grants people is the opportunity to show their work to an extremely wide audience. The Internet is a way for people to explore and share their ideas and imaginations, which especially benefits aspiring comic artists. I absolutely love webcomics, because they are all so diverse and imaginative, … Continue reading Jumping In Part 2: Webcomics
Sarah Holtkamp is a sophomore at the University of North Carolina - Asheville. She is one of the featured fiction writers for the inaugural issue of the Oakalnd Arts Review. You can read her short story, "Desert Stars," in the OAR coming out soon. - Bethany Olson You start and end your story, “Desert … Continue reading Interview with Sarah Holtkamp
As a writer, one of the most difficult things to deal with is writer's block. There is nothing more frustrating than wanting to write something, finding the time, and having nothing come to mind. I typically experience writer's block when trying to start a new project. No matter how many ideas I may have, there … Continue reading Creative Writing Prompts
