Introduction [excerpt] Within this project, both the poetry and the short stories will enlist professionally trained craft that will speak volumes toward the maturity of the three separate levels of writing: poetry, short fiction, and hybrid stories inflused with poetry. The author constantly revises and takes special care in creating work that covers relevant expressions while also portraying abstract images in innovative and unique contexts in order to force readers to open their minds. The largest...

Introduction [excerpt] The Guided and Other Trips is the tenative title of the collection. I will continue to craft additional stories throughout the MFA, aiming for a completed manuscript for publication consideration. Each story is centered with a phyisical journey (Joyce to Long Island, Olivia to Saugerties, Benny to Philadelphia) that veers into the existential (Joyce in the midst of a mid-life crisis, Olivia facing the impending loss of her husband. Skye and Benny reckoning...