2020 Creative Writing
Welcome | Argumentative Essays | Multi-Modal Projects | Writer Interviews
The selections featured on this page are creative pieces, meaning they focus on narratives or storytelling. The pieces range from poetry to longer stories and cover a wide breadth of topics from imagined Spanish colonizers to post-apocalyptic society. Each piece is captivating and engaging, exploring different facets of lived experiences, both real and imaginary.
After browsing our creative writing selections and author bios (when provided by the writer), scroll down to listen to the writers perform their works. We also encourage you to visit our Writer Interviews page to hear some of our authors discuss their writing process.
Creative Writing Panels
“Love and Vera”
Love and Vera follows Natalie, a young woman working as a receptionist in a doctor's office, as she navigates her relationships in the wake of her mother's death. Grappling with the loss proves difficult for Nat, and she seeks escape in an affair with her boss until she realizes that her mother has left her with one last lesson in the form of an old friend.
Kaitlin Joshua, Class of 2021
Bio: Kaitlin Joshua is a junior double majoring in Economics and Medicine, Health, and Society, and minoring in Creative Writing. In both her writing and her research, she is interested in the relationships, wellbeing, and social networks of and among women and girls. She is from Madison, Mississippi.
“Common Cold”
While caring for a significant other, the narrator is reminded of being sick as a child, and recalls remedies her mother used to soothe her. The nostalgia brought on by this memory prompts the narrator to consider that an act as simple as caring for someone while they are ill (be it a friend, child, or romantic partner) can evoke a universal type of love that may be carried from childhood to adulthood.
Gabby Seberger, Class of 2022
Final Portfolio
This piece was curated over the course of last semester as I focused on understanding desire, pain, self-contemplation and black womanhood as they exist interwoven in my life and the lives of the people I have loved and experienced. Take from it what you will.
Daniella Ndubuisilke, Class of 2022
“The Ripper”
"The Ripper" is an inventive, feminist take on a classic murder mystery that has baffled the world for centuries: the "Jack the Ripper" murders. This story takes readers on a riveting journey through 19th-century London that explores class, sexism, prejudice, and the psychology of one of the world's most infamous serial killers.
Katie Radulovacki, Class of 202
Bio: Katie Radulovacki is a junior majoring in MHS with a minor in Creative Writing. When she isn’t presenting at the Undergraduate Writing Symposium, she enjoys playing ultimate frisbee with VUDU (the Vanderbilt womxn’s team), volunteering with VSVS, conducting research in the BSIRL lab, and leading tours as a Vanderbilt tour guide.
“The Disappeared”
Dr. Cecily Clarke is alone at American Outpost 58. The rest of the known civilization, including Cecily's girlfriend, lives at the Base in Greenland. On Cecily's last day at the outpost, she makes a startling discovery that changes the course of her life and the lives of those at the Base.
Kate Louthain, Class of 2022
“Wilt the Flowers, Devour the Bones”
Set during the fall of the Spanish empire in Latin America, a group of native Hondurans follows a group of colonial Spaniards into the rainforest as they search for a lost city rumored to contain riches.
Lauren Furman, Class of 2020
Bio: Lauren is a senior from Alamo, California double majoring in Creative Writing and MHS. When she is not studying, she enjoys hiking and volunteering at the local women’s shelter.
Writer Performances
“Love and Vera” by Kaitlin Joshua
In this video, Kaitlin reads “Love and Vera”, which follows Natalie, a young woman working as a receptionist in a doctor’s office, as she navigates her relationships in the wake of her mother’s death. Grappling with the loss proves difficult for Nat, and she seeks escape in an affair with her boss until she realizes that her mother has left her with one last lesson in the form of an old friend.
Visit our Writer Interview page to hear Kaitlin talk about her writing process!
“The Disappeared” by Kate Louthain
In this video, Kate reads “The Disappeared”. Set in a post-apocalyptic world, this story follows a scientist at a research base in North America. Separated from her girlfriend, the protagonist conducts research expeditions in the surrounding area. One day, she makes an unusual discovery that changes the course of her life.
Final Portfolio by Daniella Ndubuiski-Ike
In this video, Daniella reads from Final Portfolio, a collection of poems focused on understanding desire, pain, self-contemplation and black womanhood. The poems conjure images of nature and reimagine religious themes.