We are happy to announce Jameson O’Hara Laurens as the winner of the Ping-Pong Free Press Poetry Prize 2016: Judge, Melissa Broder. Her collection MEDÆUM was published Fall of 2016, here is a poem from this outstanding collection. Congratulations Jameson!
INVILE
In my back patch
blackberries coagulate through sticky skins
You can’t pick them without drawing blood.
Each year the house hidden at the far end in the bramble
slinks an inch farther away.
What is the opposite of an exile? An invile?
Sweeping the clay with her robes,
curing swaths of shorn grass
with a train of her grieving?
Not yet alive are the hills with their howling.
The sky scowls.
Three dogs told me in a dream.
A bird opened the Bosphorus for his crossing.
A bird flew into the house.
History about as light as a loadstone.
The soul of the proprietor is worn thin.
The partriarchs are dying off
but no one can pull the keys from their clutches,
rigor mortis crisps, & their
lips & gates smack shut.
I see them here outrunning
what they didn’t know still ran in their veins
Outrunning sleeves they forgot they were wearing
so long they spill over their limbs and to the ground.
Don’t try to affect airs.
Get out of my light.
pc: P. Bouclainville
Regarding the creation of her book, Laurens writes that she was already working on a series of persona poems when she discovered that the voice of Medea rang especially true to her: “I felt that it needed to speak through one of my characters. [Moreover,] what if we recognized that her crimes are metaphorical?… Like any enemy, Medea was easier to label as a murderess than she was to truly understand as a character who transformed from ingenue to warrior, to outcast, to mother, to sorceress, to murderess.”
The result, Laurens states, is: “a manuscript on misbehavior. Its intention is to investigate with empathy the peculiarity and rage that inhabits the Medea of Greek mythology. It also allows for the uncomfortable notion that she is incarnate today in women who,… caught between duty and true nature, are faced with impossible choices.”
Jameson O’Hara Laurens completed her MFA in poetry and translation in 2014, and has collaborated with artists, choreographers, and translators. She is fortunate to call a bilingual secondary literature classroom her professional home, and has recently received research sabbatical and leadership grants for teaching projects. Having grown up in the West, she has an ongoing concern for the natural world, and for all things apiary. She became a feminist writer by necessity. Her work has appeared in Enclave, Alexandria Quarterly, Hawkmoth, and Poet Republik. MEDÆUM is her first collection.
Alice, the main character, in the book Go Ask Alice which dives into the mind of a young girl growing up in the 1970’s. Alice deals with inner demons that many are faced with insecurities, a lack of knowing who she is, and a yearning to belong. While she feels completed by the drug scene and partying her life away, she later realizes this lifestyle causes more problems than she had to begin with. Through her struggle Alice loses herself on an even deeper level to the grasps of drugs and sex only to fail at maintaining her sobriety.
I’m not very familiar with characters from fiction but the one I do remember from my childhood are the Powerpuff girls more specifically Bubbles. She was the one that was very sweet, but when it came to fighting crime or just to protect her city she would give it her all. She was the character that when both of her sisters had a fight she would come between them to make mends with each other. She as well as her sisters they are protagonist on the shows. The show revolves about them protecting the people from their city from danger. These powerpuff girls are not ordinary girls, they were made by their dad who made an experiment and created them and they have super powers. These girls only use their powers for good.
He lives in a hole beneath the ground, but his house was not dirty, but a beautiful home where happiness and safety can be found. He is a man with a heavy build, and due to his stature is often mistaken as a child, and for the excessive amount of hair on his feet he is compared to a rabbit. He is the central character, and my favorite character in the book. In the beginning of the story he is apprehensive to what Middle-earth has to offer, and by the end of his journey he becomes a new Bilbo Baggins.
V.Provencio
A part of the swirling smoke of the consort, darkness, she is a silver crescent in the sky. Chaos born, she creates light, though light is not she. Star trails fall behind her great black wings, and tattoo her very bodice. Her power strikes fear; even unto the lightning wielder. Night is she, and she is Nyx.
– T. Hunt
One character that has always stood out to me is Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. The reason she stood out was because they portray her as a little girl who does not know what she is doing, or does not know much. When she first lands in Oz, she is clueless as to how she is going to get home, but then realizes her true potential when she defeats the witch. She finds her self worth and is able to see what she can really do. She starts off as a girl who does not know what she is capable of and this represents how most women are seen as delicate, petite, and incapable of doing things, and the fact that she is the one that gets herself home, and gets the tin man a heart, the lion his courage, and the scarecrow his brain, shows that we too as women are strong and independent. The movie is one of my favorites, and Dorothy was my favorite character.
– A. Santa Cruz
Feyre is the main character in the book A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas. Feyre is the child of a single father and a sister to two fairly annoying and mean sisters. Her family heavily rely on her to hunt and gather food, so you can imagine that her character carries a lot of responsibility. She is a very brave and strong female character and ends up in a lot of life or death situations where she manages to always get through them. What I really love about her character is that she knows how to defend herself with or without weapons from all of the wicked fae creatures she comes across!
A historical character comes to mind: King David.
When he was in the situation where he was about to fight Goliath, a giant. The bible describes him as valiant because he wasn’t able to carry an armor of how heavy it was for him. But in him was not the trust of his own strength but in who he was fighting for. It is stated that he offered himself because he trusted that God would help him.
This wasn’t the only event he was know for. Throughout his life he served and praised God with prudence and a conviction that God was his one and only true God.
He is carefree and generally kindhearted. He can be easily amazed and easily confused by the simplest things. His stomach is like a black hole as he can gorge himself to levels beyond one’s imagination. His childlike nature gives the impression that he is naive at a glance. When necessary however, he shows an unstoppable sense of determination, optimism and commitment. His name is Monkey D, Luffy, the captain of the Straw Hat Pirates. He is a man who will go above and beyond to stand up for his comrades. His body is also made of rubber.
Henry de Tamble from the novel The Time Traveler’s Wife is one of my favorite fictional characters. Henry Tamble is faced with a rare genetic disorder, which is later known as Chrono-Displacement, causing him to involuntarily travel through time. Henry began these unpredictable, and sometimes-dangerous travels at the age of five. His destinations are tied to his subconscious, traveling to places and times related to his own history. A possible cause for Henry’s disorder may be the likelihood of stress. Among other things, Henry battles with the complexities of love.
One of my favorite characters is Adrian Ivashkov from the Vampire Academy series and the spin-off Bloodlines. I outgrew this books and genres but he is still one of my favorite characters. In the books, he is known to be a party boy and irresponsible but throughout the books, his character is vastly developed. Adrian faces addiction and mental health problems including bipolar disorder and hallucinations but in spite of that proves he is a compassionate caring and a brave person. He is one of my favorite characters because he is not scared to defy social standards and rules. Despite dealing with mental issues, the death of his aunt, imprisonment of his mother, and kidnapping of his girlfriend he manages to stay positive and keep on fighting.
Buffy Summers is the main character(The Chosen One), in the series/comics “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”. Buffy was living in LA at the time in 1996 when she was “activated” as the slayer at age 15. She ultimately moved to Sunnydale, which funny enough she comes to learn is known as the Hellmouth where vampires and other supernatural creatures such as demons, zombies and later on the first “pure” evil roam. She becomes its protector but at first does not want to accept her responsibility, she eventually embraces it and becomes one of the best and longest slayers to live, despite “dying” twice. Ironically enough too she ends up falling for a vampire. Buffy at the time broke a lot of stereotypes by being such a strong, independent and empowering female character. To this day the popularity grows and her effect on showing women can be strong too still stays. Oh and she saved the world, a lot.
Garret Weir is a seventeen-year-old living in a zombie filled world after an apocalypse occurred decades before. His parents are scientists and he is just as smart as they are, very hardworking, and very innocent in a sense as he is under the impression that they are the only living beings left in the world. There’s also a twist, Garret was born a twin but his brother did not survive in the “living” sense. No, his twin brother is a zombie parasite attached to his back that only Garret can really communicate with. The book is called “Little Dead Man” by Jake Bible and was released in 2014, a year that, for some reason, I was heavily into al things zombies.
One of the main characters of Puella Magi Madoka Magica is Homura Akemi. While initially shown as a cold and untrusting character, by the end of the show, she is revealed to be a main cog moving the story forward. Homura is a magical girl with the power to stop and even turn back time. As a magical girl, her job is defeat witches or monsters trying to consume innocent people. As long as she does this, she can continue being a magical girl. So when she first appears discouraging Madoka from being a magical girl, it appears that she wants all of the killing to herself. However, by the end of the show, it is revealed Homura is from various futures and in each future she comes from Madoka has died. So in actuality Homura has been going back in time over and over to prevent Madoka from selling her soul to become a magical girl.
Asking me to describe one of my favorite fictional characters makes my mind want to explode! I have too many. However, since I am reading The Illustrated version of Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone. Then I shall go with Harry. Harry Potter is introduced as a young boy of ten whom when he turns eleven; gets introduced to a world of magic. He is a clumsy awkward boy growing up with broken glasses and baggy clothes. He is bullied by his older cousin and treated bad by his aunt and uncle. He is curious because the wizarding world is new to him. He has the best intentions and is brave. His friends mean the world to him and he is loyal. He is a bit of a trouble maker though. He is talented and a natural when it comes to flying on his broom. Late to class and not a bookworm. He is easy to relate too. Harry Potter becomes a great wizard not just byhimself but because he’s surrounded by great friends.
Constantly munching on carrots.
This magical critter isn’t afraid of confrontation.
Wanted dead or alive.
The critter doesn’t hide when its open season.
The critter bends and twist the laws of physics.
A silly wabbit some may think
yet in the end it’s nowhere near the heat
The critter always finds new ways to outsmart his opponent.
it portrays as the animal in distress yet its hunter is the only one humiliated in the end.
Then you hear the critter say “What’s up, Doc?”
Bugs Bunny
Dean Winchester is one of my favorite fictional characters and one of the two protagonists of the American drama television series Supernatural. He is portrayed by Jensen Ackles. Dean hunts demons, spirits, and other supernatural creatures with the help of his younger brother Sam and occasionally with their friend and Father Figure Bobby Singer and, since season four, his friend the angel Castiel. Dean is known for handling a large number of weaponry and his signature looks or black shoes, a dark leather jacket and dark shirts with dark blue jeans. He is also known for driving a signature black 1967 Chevrolet Impala Sport coupe, and which he occasionally sleeps in and has a large stash of guns in the trunk.
Queen Elizabeth I, was a shrewd ruler. It was declared she was married to her kingdom. She never married and remained until her death in 1603, the virgin queen. She was quite calculating as evidenced by her unwillingness to name a successor. The queen had no heirs and there was much concern that civil war would break out in the event of her death. Elizabeth was one of the most educated women of her time. Her intelligence was not strictly academic and her cunning spared her life on more than one occasion. Elizabeth was indeed, an expert queen.
-M. Goodrich
Vegeta is the main antagonist of the first chapter of Dragonball Z. He is from a race of conquerors that came to earth but was defeated by the series main charter Goku and his group. Though vowing revenge Vegeta eventually becomes part of their group but still have resentment towards earth and Goku. He is a selfish, vain, arrogant, and proud person. His only care is for himself. Many situations became worse because of Vegeta. Most of the group dislike Vegeta except for Goku. Vegeta eventually settles down with one of the earthly but still struggles to find happiness.
She lived in a beautiful castle. You would think there was
Nothing but happiness. Little did you know that to her
It was anything but beautiful.
She woke up to the demanding voices of her stepmother
And stepsisters. “Do this, do that, bring me, take me” is
All she heard day and night.
She scrubbed floors, washed clothes, cooked meals,
But never complained.
Little did she imagine, one day her life would change
From one day to another. Everything would be as
Beautiful as she imagined.
Astrid Hofferson is 20 and her name means Divine Beauty. She’s a warrior of Clan Hofferson of the Hooligan tribe there in Berk. She is 5’9, has blue eyes and one thick blonde braid. She is sarcastic, tough, athletic, beautiful and very determined making her extremely hard to impress. Astrid is also kind, caring, understanding and intelligent making her second in command in Dragon Defenders. She is in a long term relationship with the new Chief of Berk, Hiccup. She loves riding her Deadly Nadder Stormfly. She’s competitive and besides her fist Astrid’s weapon of choice is an axe.
One character that has always stood out to me and fascinated me is that of Violet Baudelaire from A Series of Unfortunate Events. Violet not only kept her family sane and protected them from their vile twisted uncle whom became their legal guardian after their parents passed away but also ensured that they had a happy life away from this mad man of an uncle called Count Olaf. The protagonist Violet along with her brother Klaus and sister Sunny, went through hell and back (figuratively) to ensure Count Olaf would cease the day of existence and stop becoming their legal guardian as he was only interested in their fortune. These children especially Violet are true examples of never giving up as they did not give up until Count Olaf got what he desevered!
She is young, adventurous, curious, limited in her venture. She has known one life and one life only. She dreams of the outside world, even though she has never been. She is not one bit apprehensive, she is willing to give It all for just one second in the life she dreams. She has hair as red as a rose, eyes as blue as the ocean, skin as fair as the sand and a spirit as free as the ocean.
My childhood dream character, I always felt this character was a direct replica of me! Ariel from the little mermaid! ❤️
Proximity and sweetness comes at a price, all three tied to the same scale.
History like a magnet clipped to our shoulders, locking onto our own experiences and sometimes the experiences of those around us. There’s always a collection of dust that accumulates when carrying such a load, often unnoticed or unacknowledged until it’s too late and even then the blindness remains fixed. However, sometimes the light bulb flickers on and we’re able to perform that overdue dusting and rid ourselves of all those things we’ve unintentionally hoarded.