Addie
Adkins
English: Professional & Creative Writing
Senior Capstone Portfolio
For my BA in English: Professional and Creative writing, students were tasked with creating a capstone portfolio showcasing some of the work done over the course of the program. Originally created in OneNote, this is a creative presentation of the content found in that portfolio. Two of the writing samples found on this page are still unfinished longer creative works, so keep that in mind.
Author Bio
ADDIE ADKINS
Who is Addie Adkins?
Addie Adkins is a professional and creative writer from Eastern Washington. Raised by a single college-student mother, she fell in love with books and language arts from an early age. Addie's professional writing preferences include journalistic articles, opinion-editorials, and business writing. In addition, her creative writing preferences include creative non-fiction, romance, social realism and magical realism. While a student at Central Washington University, she participated on the student run newspaper The Observer in several capacities, including Copy Desk Chief and Opinion Editor. During spring quarter 2022, she also served as Summer Orientation Issue Editor where she produced a 40 page newspaper issue.
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Works in this portfolio include an analytical essay employing a cultural and historical lens to a poetry chapbook, a creative work-in-progress chronicling a complex familial dispute, and a professional poetry submission.
Context Notes
Assignment Prompt – Copied from original assignment
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Write a critical essay (5-7 pages): Paper 1 is on poetry from the first half of class. This essay will allow you to delve more deeply into topics and issues raised in discussion. You should choose a specific and focused topic, construct a strong thesis that makes an argument about the literary text, use evidence from the literary text, and refer to at least 3 secondary sources to provide the historical and cultural context to support your argument. Your primary objective is to analyze the literary text, and your secondary objective is to place the text into its historical and/or cultural context. Essays must be submitted in digital Canvas. I will comment on your papers in digital format and return them for your review.
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Chosen Topic
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Discuss the way Chicano/a identity is defined (in relation to the individual, the minority
community, or the dominant white culture). In what ways do specific social forces work to
construct or deconstruct that identity? How is this identity represented (as coherent, divided, multiple, hybrid)?
Casa de Negro:
Destabilization of Chicane Identity Due To White Culture Domination
When I was young, the concept of identity was hardly discussed, especially where I grew up in “countryside” eastern Washington. Little town America has little room for the likes of me, a now self-identified quasi-Chicanx writer who knows little about their Hispanic heritage but isn’t white passing enough to be considered “just American.” In high school, U.S. History class briefly introduced me to the Chicanx movement of the 1960’s, and until that day, I had no clue there were other identities to choose from. The Chicanx movement, spurred on by a bid for equal rights for Mexican Americans and dependents of land grantees whose grants were being denied by the U.S. Government, moved to take back agency over what was once considered a racial slur, according to Karen Juanita Carrillo, an author and photographer who researches African American and Afro-Latino history. Denotatively speaking, Chicanx means to be born in the United States of Mexican descent, but connotatively, I find it means something a little different to each one of us. Casa de Negro by Karla Y. Maravilla explores many aspects of identity in several poems, including the Chicanx identity. Maravilla not only explores identity in these poems, but there is also an exploration of the dominance of white culture and how it diminishes Chicanx identity. I will explicate two poems in Casa de Negro that show how dominate white culture in the United States destabilizes Chicanx identity with use of symbols and language. These two poems are “Border Crossing” and “Notes from the Hopyard.”
Context Notes
Assignment Prompt – Taken Directly from Assignment Page
For the Final Portfolio, you may choose to revise Story 1 or Story 2. In the portfolio, please include the following:
1) ORIGINAL Draft w/my and/or peer comments and your reflection statement
2) the FINAL Revised Story, with highlighted revisions
3) a self-assessment paragraph explaining your revisions and giving the story a grade using the assessment criteria below. Note that this is your opportunity to tell me why you decided not to take peer or professor suggestions if that is the case.
4) an annotated bibliography of works that you think influenced this story
NOTE THAT WORD COUNT FOR THE FINAL IS 2,000 MIN TO 4,000 MAX WORDS.
Revision Plan for Paper #2: Creative Writing Piece
My plan for revision on this piece is to either complete the story, or to bring it to a place where I can conclude the first part of the story, knowing it will continue on in a second part. There is a natural episodic type ending point I could end it at for this purpose as I’m almost positive this will become a 50,000+ word work, and I’m not sure that will be appropriate for the purpose of this portfolio. I do have another story I could use in place of this work that would more than likely be shorter, but I feel this work shows more growth in my writing. Another thing I would like to do while revising this piece is see if there is anything I can cut and possibly find a new angle to take it from. My instructor mentioned this story line might be too overdone, and to find ways to surprise myself and the readers. I think taking more time to work on the main characters development will help with that.
Fury of the Huntress
(Work In Progress)
Chapter One
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Rays of light peaked through mossy branches; birds chirped happily at the warm weather, most likely, the last of the year. Tendrils of snow cover reached down the twin mountains, dusting the hillsides, and promises of winter whispered across the bright November sunrise.
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Selene took no notice of the changing colors of the horizon as she drew in a slow breath and held it. Looking down the scope, she saw the target clearly.
Context Notes
***Note: For the purposes of this website, not all components of this poetry submission portfolio are included***
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Assignment Prompt – Summarized from original assignment
For the Final Portfolio, you can gear it towards submitting creative work for publication OR towards applying for a reader/editor position.
Final Portfolio Check-List (in order)
1) Cover Letter: Addressed to the genre editor
2) Bio (within cover letter): in third person beginning with full name.
3) Work Sample: For poetry include at least three poems, for prose, one essay or short story.
4) Journal/Magazine Selection Rationale: One paragraph on why you selected the journal/magazine and why you think your work/you are a good fit
5) CV
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Revision Plan for Paper #3: Professional Piece
My plan for revision on this portfolio is to treat is as a brand new submission work, or possibly applying it towards a reader/editor position. I plan on finding a new journal or magazine, find a more polished work or revise the creative piece included. If I decide to gear it towards an editing position, I plan to find the best fit and polishing this piece to the point where I would feel comfortable using it to apply for a job.