Dear Readers,

Welcome to our Winter 2022 Mini-Issue: Multiplicities of the Self! We’re so happy you chose to spend a few moments of your time with us as we celebrate the vigor and versatility of our authors and artists here at Trinity University. This small collection of poetry, prose, and photographs explores the complexities and nuances of our identities, how those identities are molded by our relationships with others, and how they change over time. We hope these artworks will resonate with you as much as they have with us.

We want to extend our deepest gratitude to all of our staff members and to our faculty advisor, Dr. Carlisle, for helping us make this issue a reality. We also want to thank Trinity’s Creative Writing interns, Dean Zach and Rachel Curtis, for their instrumental work in building and nurturing the creative community we hold so dear. Thank you to all of our contributors for trusting us to give your creations a home. Finally, we couldn’t have done any of what we do without each of you reading this now. Thank you for supporting The Trinity Review.

Wishing you a safe and pleasant holiday season,
Caroline Wolff & Macks Cook
Co-Editors In Chief
The Trinity Review

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Contents

Fiction

TW: Sexual Assault I wrote this initially as an ill-advised text at 3 a.m. and then thankfully decided to fictionalize it. I wanted to interrogate my assault as something that fractured my sense of self. Both as someone who was assaulted by someone who I was supposed to be able to trust in a community that was supposed to protect me, as well as someone who yearned for intimacy and romantic love, even up until very recently, and now feels disconnected from the prospect.

The Crow and the Ribbon …………………………………… Elizabeth Motes

The Crow and the Ribbon is a fiction short story about how two characters with little similarity find commonality in their intersection of identities – in this case, being a parent and loving their children.

They tried to turn me into a mouth ……………………………… Dean Zach

This piece is a short story which I’ve been working on for a while. It has its origins in a short story that I submitted for a contest about three years ago and then completely forgot about. Then, a few weeks ago, I randomly decided to work on it again, revised it, and sort of built a new story out of the husk of the old one. As far as inspirations go, the first sentence of this story randomly popped into my mind back then, and I thought it’d be interesting to make something out of it.

Nonfiction

Poetry

Coffee ………………………………………………… Lily Brennan

This is a short poem about a difficult relationship in my life.

texas mountain laurels ………………………………………………… Macks Cook

This is a poem I wrote after reading Toni Morrison last spring. It is very much inspired by San Antonio and Trinity’s blossom-filled spring campus.

Not Even Happiness ………………………………………. Bailey Judis

I was inspired to write this poem in observing western society’s disassociation from sadness. People do not want to let themselves feel sad for fear of being perceived as ill or unhappy. However, these feelings need to be brought to light. I believe that experiencing sadness can be part of letting one’s mind and body find healing, which can lead to happiness.

The Gemini Complex ……………………………………… Ryann Moos

The Gemini Complex is a poetry piece that details a break in self which is out of the speaker’s control, and that the speaker cannot fully understand. It examines the stark contrast between inner view and outward perspective, and how these conflicting opinions can cause psychological turmoil.

An Autumn Thought ………………………………………. Haniel Neves

When we are pulled apart in two ways, often through attraction, we tend to feel separate from our true self, debating whether one side is more favorable than the other.

i am trying to love the body you put me in …………. Caroline Wolff

TW: Body Dysmorphia. This set of poems is an excerpt from a longer piece which explores my conflicted and evolving relationship with my body as a disabled person.

Photography

Iowa Law Library I …………………………………………………………. Thao Dinh

Iowa Law Library II ………………………………………………………… Thao Dinh

Iowa City Hall III ……………………………………………………………. Thao Dinh

Iowa City Hall V …………………………………………………………….. Thao Dinh

Eiffel Tower In Autumn ………………………………………………….. Thao Dinh

Mons Klint Chalk Cliff …………………………………………………… Thao Dinh

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About the Artists

Kasey Barrett

Kasey Barrett is a sophomore and Anthropology Major pursuing a minor in Creative Writing. She is an avid reader who often forces herself to explore new genres. Kasey practices creativity through many mediums, such as poetry, short stories, and drawing. She has not yet been published, but plans to begin sharing her work with the world.

Avery Finch

Avery will graduate Trinity University with a Bachelor’s in English, December 2022. They have been published in the Trinity Review, High Noon, and The Windward Review. They are applying for graduate school.

Elizabeth Motes

Elizabeth (she/her) is a senior English major and aspiring novelist. Her work has previously appeared in the Trinity Review and the Outrageous Fortune magazine. Her story “When a Door Closes” has also been featured in the Venus Rising anthology, available to purchase on Amazon. She runs a writing Instagram (@emotes.writes) where she shares updates on her projects and writing tips.

Dean Zach

Dean Zach is a junior English major and creative writing minor. He is from Pearland, a suburb just south of Houston. While he’s on campus, he copy edits articles for the Trinitonian and serves as president of the Trinity University Film Club. While he’s off campus, he spends most of his time inside watching movies and stuff like that, but he also enjoys running, hiking, and going on road trips, especially in the Mountain West.

Thảo Đinh

Thảo Đinh (she/her/hers) is a senior International Studies Major, International Development concentration and Creative Writing Minor from Hà Nội, Việt Nam. She is the founder and president of the Bullet Journal Club at Trinity, among many other campus involvements. This fall semester, Thảo is studying abroad in Copenhagen, Denmark. She recently received the International Education award for outstanding international student. Her writing, art, and photography has been published in previous Trinity Review issues, along with other literary magazines. Her first short film produced this year was also chosen and screened at two film festivals. Thảo appreciates the beauty in everything and loves helping others see the beauty within themselves.

Lily Brennan

Lily Brennan is a sophomore who intends to major in Communication and minor in creative writing. She has loved writing for as long as she can remember, and hopes to make it a part of her life always.

Bailey Judis

Bailey Judis is a junior at Trinity University, double majoring in Communication and Disability Studies with a Minor in Creative Writing. She is a self-published author of nonfiction and was a Scholastic Arts and Writing Awards Gold Key recipient in 2020. Bailey is from Austin Texas and is a competitive swimmer and triathlete. She enjoys big family gatherings, surfing and writing poetry in her spare time. 

Ryann Moos

Ryann Moos is a sophomore who is planning on double majoring in Sociology and English, as well minoring in Creative Writing. Ryann loves to write for her own enjoyment whenever she has the free time, but she has never had a work published before. She is very excited to share her poetry in The Trinity Review; her work means a lot to her, and she hopes that any reader who stumbles across it finds comfort in her writing.

Haniel Neves

Haniel Neves is a sophomore organ performance major who also studies the piano and harpsichord here at Trinity. He is an avid collector of 78rpm records, pre-1940s sheet music, old photographs, and antique newspapers, and very much enjoys immersing himself in historical perspectives. He also has a good-sized wardrobe of vintage attire, with suits and shirts from the 1940s-1980s, and too many 50s bowties and ties to count. Every one of his interests seems to go wonderfully hand-in-hand. More of a slow and old soul himself, he seems to go about life from a completely different perspective than most people.

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About the Editors

Macks Cook

Macks (they/them) is a senior English major and poet. They also serve as one of the 2022-3 co-Editors-In-Chief for the Trinity Review. Their most recent work can be found in underblong, The Trinity Review, High Noon and The Luna Collective. They adore their cat, Boo, and large cups of watered-down McDonald’s Coke. You can find Macks on Instagram @mothmacks.

Caroline Wolff

Caroline (she/they) is a senior Communication major triple-minoring in Creative Writing, Linguistics, and English. Her work, which consists of both poetry and prose, centers around themes of coming of age, self-empowerment, queerness, chronic illness, and mental health. Passionate about creating safe and uplifting creative communities, Caroline has served three years on the Trinity Review staff and is one of the 2022-2023 co-Editors-In-Chief. When they aren’t writing, you can find Caroline reading entirely too many romance novels, dancing to the same three songs on repeat, and spending time with her cat, Hayes. If you’d like to read more of Caroline’s work, check them out on Instagram: @carolinemariewrites!