To Our Readers,

This year has prompted a lot of changes, both among the Trinity population as a whole and within the Creative Writing community. The entirety of Trinity Review activities have been remote this year, from community engagement to open mic nights to publishing the issue you’re reading now. Even so, we are proud of our incredible community and of the work we’ve been able to accomplish as editors this year. We loved staying connected with our peers through our virtual open mics, where we heard from seasoned seniors and talented first-years alike. Many of last year’s pieces, published under current co-Editor Rebecca Kroger, were selected for republication in the plain china anthology. Most of all, we want to celebrate the writers, artists, photographers, and creatives of all kinds who have thrived this year, and we are proud to present their work. The pieces in this issue include introspective personal reflections, gripping adventure stories, melodic and insightful poems, beautifully composed photographs, and art pieces brimming with ingenuity.

Both co-Editors are graduating and leaving the Trinity Review this year. Rebecca Kroger has been co-Editor for two years, not only publishing last year’s issue but also transitioning to remote virtual work for this year’s. She is going on to pursue a graduate degree in Art History at the University of Texas. This is Hannah Friedrich’s first and only year as co-Editor, and she is going on to law school at the American University Washington College of Law. We want to thank our advisor, Dr. Kelly Carlisle, for her constant support, and the Creative Writing interns, Samantha Rodriguez and Natalie Intihar for their help organizing our events. Lastly, we want to say goodbye and thank you to the warm, inclusive, inspiring creative community at Trinity, and wish the next set of editors good luck!

Hannah Friedrich and Rebecca Kroger, co-Editors

Short Stories

The Waves……………………………………………………………..Natalie Intihar

The Waves is a short story about the complications of relationships and indecisiveness. This story shows the power of poor communication and how it feels when love isn’t truly reciprocated.

Home for Christmas………………………………………………Elizabeth Motes

“Home for Christmas” is a story of three strangers who unexpectedly meet at a hotel on a stormy Christmas Eve. As the night goes on, each of them is forced to confront things about themselves they would rather not.

The Outlaw…………………………………………………………………Jorge Larach

Short period piece about a boy growing up in the conflict between law and crime in late 19th century America.

It’s a Bit Chilly…………………………………………..Marielle Anne Sambilay

A brief piece comparing the idea of prose and poetry

Have You Ever Been in Love?………..,,,,,,,,,………………..Gwen Kaliszewski

This piece is a flash fiction, 300 words long. I used a place I love and a feeling I had for a friend when I was younger to write a little story

Untitled……………………………………………………………..Kennice Leisk

This short story is inspired by the genre of flanerie as well as works such as Edgar Allan Poe’s The Man of the Crowd, Fyodor Dostoevsky’s The Double, and Sadegh Hedayat’s The Blind Owl. It is a comedic and suspenseful story about a young woman who loves books and has a tendency to let her curiosity get the best of her.

Xenophobia………………………………………………………….Xander Hancock

Growing up as an “effeminate” guy always made me feel like an outsider to my own gender. Guys were supposed to be tough, rough, crass, or whatever else society dictated. But I wasn’t; I was different. And so, I was shunned– seen as Other. I blamed myself for the longest time, until I realized later in life that it wasn’t my problem. It was theirs, and their unhealthy definition of masculinity. So, I consider this a letter to xenophobic men, and xenophobes in general, to wake up and smell the “man”-doesn’t-mean-anything roses.

Poetry

Bedsheet………………………………………………………………..Matthew Barton

This poem was written for Professor Jenny Browne’s Poetry Writing class last fall. It has been revised since.

Until the Earth is Kind…………………………………………….Ray Curtis

I tried to express the lazy lull of September. Those end-of-summer evenings seem like the heat and heaviness have always been and will never leave, but change is stirring in the coolness of the shade and in the first and final breaths of breezes. Trees prepare to shake off their heavy green wealth, and it seems all the earth is breathing deeply before settling in for the deep and desolate cold. In the hidden warmth of the underground, life grows and waits for the day that it can emerge into a gentle world.

To Worry…………………………………………………………………Jessie Metcalf

This piece attempts to emulate anxiety

Sixteen……………………………………………………………..Gwen Kaliszewski

One day in November I had a conversation with some co-workers about aging: What age we think about ourselves as, and if our inner voices ever change. This inspired me to write this poem.

Today, March 27th………………………………………………Gwen Kaliszewski

I wrote this one night in March, after a particularly hard day during the weeks we were sent home from college and my sate was shut down.

My Purple Heart………………………………………………………Meg McDonald

This poem details the complexities of love after heartbreak through the lens of the military award, the Purple Heart, and the use of different colors of heart emoji in a text conversation.

Museum Art (Part I and II)………………………………………..Caroline Wolff

This is technically two poems, but I view them as companion pieces and thus as a cohesive unit. This poem showcases one of the most troubling dualities of my personality: an unyielding confidence and “invincibility” that I carry in public (Museum Art I) versus a more sensitive, fragile, and scared-to-trust self that exists behind closed doors (Museum Art II).

Silly Wraith Crushes Fruit……………………………………..Mackenzie Cook

This is a little poem I wrote last winter about identity, and also fruit.

The Gravity of Her……………………………………………………Caroline Wolff

This is the first love poem I have ever written about a female in which I discuss the infinite and unbound nature of my attraction to her. This is a poem largely about sexual awakening, as it was written in a time when I was first starting to embrace my bisexuality.

Visual Arts and Miscellaneous

Window I and II: A Portrait of Greenery and A Portrait of Storms……………………………………………………………………Grant Peterson

Framed glimpses of a darkening world.

Little Candles for Cozy Nights…………………………………..Grant Peterson

A spot of warmth and light amidst the dark

The Two Towers……………………………………………………….Grant Peterson

Icons and hotels– tourism at its finest.

The Hourglass………………………………………………………….Hannah Hsu

This is an original piece I composed for my electronic music calls. Sound design and video editing by Hannah Hsu. Video accessed from public domain.

Summer Haze…………………………………………………………..Grant Peterson

Murchison Tower and Northrup stand in silhouette against a late afternoon sun.

Echolocation…………………………………………………………….Kate Nuelle

As I find myself spending more time online, and with COVID confining me to my own home, I discovered my interest in exploring the intersection of technology and domestic space. I created Echolocation after learning to determine the size of the room a speaker is located, and where, in relation to walls, they are. The piece is a part of a broader body of work about technology’s ability to mine data about an individual’s everyday life.

About the Artists

Matthew Barton

Matthew Barton is rising senior and Computer Science major at Trinity University.

Mackenzie Cook

Mackenzie is a queer poet and sophomore that has been previously published in Midwestern University’s Voices, CICADA, Blue Marble Review, Body Without Organs, High noon, and Lithium Magazine. They are also a parent of two pet rats, Idra and Twiggy, that they love with their whole heart.

Ray Curtis

I’m intending to major in BCMB and I love writing poetry. Even the most mundane aspects of life possess so much drama and beauty, and in these tiny yet worthy existences I find joy and hope.

Xander Hancock

Xander is a senior Marketing and Spanish Major just making their way through life. He enjoys the simple things like a kind smile, a compliment, and nice sunset. He believes kindness is one of the most important things one can give to another and tries to abide by that creed. In the end, he wants everyone – including himself – to live their life the way they want to, without anyone or anything holding them back.

Hannah Hsu

Hannah, born and raised in Houston, Tx, studies Music Education and Creative Writing. In addition to being a movie-talker, video essay enthusiast, amateur composer, and painter, Hanna writes songs, plays, poetry, fiction and nonfiction. Her poems have been featured in the 2019 and 2020 issues of the Trinity Review. Hannah is a mezzo-soprano, 2019 Rosalind Phillips Vocal Competition Finalist, an active member and coordinator of Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, a member of TU Chamber Singers, T.E.A.C.H. leader, and founder and Music Director of Soli Deo Gloria Singers.

Natalie Intihar

Natalie Intihar is a junior History and Political Science major and Creative Writing minor. She is from Lake Oswego, Oregon and works as one of Trinity’s Creative Writing interns. In her free time, she can be found reading, working out, or watching football. She is currently working on a collection of short stories and hopes to pursue a career as an author.

Gwen Kaliszewski

Gwen is a Sophomore Anthropology major and Creative Writing minor from Portland, Oregon

Jorge Larach

I’m a Spanish born freshman at Trinity who loves creative writing and computer science.

Kennice Leisk

Kennice is a English and Latin double major with minors in Creative Writing and Comparative Literature. She loves reading, writing, and music.

Meg McDonald

Meg is a sophomore from Houston majoring in Ancient Greek. She is a trumpet player in the Wind Ensemble and has a passion for singing, Classics, and film. Although she has enjoyed writing since she was young, this is her first piece in publication.

Jessie Metcalf

Jesse is a senior English major and (recently declared) Creative Writing minor. I am still trying to figure poetry out, but I enjoy writing even if I am confused half the time.

Elizabeth Motes

Elizabeth Motes (she/her) is a sophomore studying English and Creative Writing. She has previously published her story “Haunted” in the Trinity Review. She is passionate about writing fiction and aspires to pursue it as a career. Find her writing Instagram @emotes.writes

Kate Nuelle

Kate is a senior Art and Art History double major. She was born and raised in Austin, Texas. She is a photographer and illustrator for the Trinitonian and the Mirage, as well as graphic design intern for TU Press. Last summer, she was a PR and Communication intern with the San Antonio Museum of Art. She hopes to continue working as a designer and illustrator after graduation. In her free time, Kate enjoys doing mini crossword puzzles and doodling.

Grant Peterson

Grant is a senior Computer Science and Art double major from Boulder, Colorado. He enjoys photography, and sometimes writes poetry and short prose for fun. Tragically, photography has been his one reason for going outside lately.

Marielle Anne Sambilay

A sophomore English Major

Caroline Wolff

Caroline is a Sophomore Communication major with minors in Creative Writing and Linguistics. In addition to writing poetry and fiction, she loves to express herself creatively through drawing, singing, and dancing. In her spare time, when she is not writing, Caroline loves to scroll through TikTok, get lost in a good book, FaceTime her friends, and spend time with her tuxedo cat, Hayes. You can find more of Caroline’s creative writing on her Instagram page: @carolinemariewrites

About the Editors

Hannah Friedrich

Hannah is graduating with a BA in English and minors in Classics and Philosophy. She was a Writing Center tutor for 3 years. She is also a fiction writer and plans to pursue writing for a long, long time. This was her first year as Co-Editor. This Fall Hannah will attending law school at American University Washington College of Law.

Rebecca Kroger

Becca is graduating with a BA in English and Classical Studies. Alongside her work with the Trinity Review, she is a writing tutor at the TU Writing Center, and Co-Captain of Trinity’s Ultimate Frisbee team, Altitude. This fall, Becca will be attending the graduate school at University of Texas for Art History. She has really enjoyed working for the Trinity Review for the last two years and is looking forward to reading future issues.