What would you be willing to do to get back to your significant other after twenty years of separation? In Epic: The Musical, Odysseus, King of Ithaca, discovers exactly how far he is willing to go to return home to his wife. Epic is based […]
“If Santa isn’t real, what else have you lied to me about? The Easter Bunny? What about the Tooth Fairy?” These were the words that ten-year-old me screamed at my parents in the middle of the meat section of a H-E-B. For clarification, H-E-B is […]
I remember The gull’s cry as he wheels above salty shore, A cloak of mist wrapped round sand and sea, The crunch of sand beneath boots and the clink of mail, driving rain, Long marches under heavy packs and long nights on the cold ground, […]
Every time I look at the sky, rumbling lacrimation starts to coddle my tear ducts. It always used to be like that. Maybe the shade of my eyes is too light. The sun peeks through the window to my soul, or should I say the […]
Heavy rain falls against my skin. I can’t feel much else. My cat stares at me through the window curiously. She doesn’t understand. Would she ever understand? It’s been three years since you’ve passed, and I still can’t fathom the fact that you don’t get […]
Deep darkness encompassed, encroached, and enforced its power upon the landscape and all who dwell there. Engulfing the sidewalk, road, hillsides, and city, the tenebrific night left nothing untouched. It smothered the branching trees and harnessed the endless sky. The condescending darkness weighed down on […]
Come Lord Jesus, be our gue- wait, no that’s meal time… Now I lay me down to- is that too childish? Should I be past impersonal memorized prayers? I mean, I feel like everyone just talks now. I should be praying like everyone else… Heyyyy […]
It’s no wonder Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department resonates with a writer like me. For years, faithful Swifties have been acknowledging Taylor Swift as a poet. Lyrics from her two pandemic albums, Folklore and Evermore, captivated not just her usual audience but many sworn-never-to-become-Swifties, […]
I had not stood up for hours. My legs were squished, but I could not have cared less. My head was stuck in a book, and I was splendidly happy. I heard footsteps coming down the hallway, and poked my head out to see who […]
“When you are young they assume you know nothing.” – Taylor Swift I know that 20 isn’t old. I know that most people perceive me as a teenager. I know that I probably won’t be viewed as a real adult until I’m closer to 30. […]
There I was, standing in a plush, grassy field on a scorching afternoon in the summer. Perspiration blanketed every square inch of my body and slowly trickled down my forehead, bringing the sunblock I had spread over my face into my eyes. I squeezed my […]
I had this notion when I was little that adults were boring and uninteresting. They never seemed to have any fun. In fact, they always seemed to take fun away. Bedtime is at 9:00. No splurging in the candy aisle. Shoes must be worn outdoors. […]
Sitting on the carpet, falling asleep on a cream painted windowsill. I was a velvety little girl, with sour candy veins It was naptime, but my eyes were winking, young Crept to the glass and looked at the children Searching for blue eggs, round heads […]
How wonderful a state of consciousness is. An aspect of every living being – the proof of our humanity. Throughout history, it has been a pillar upon which we can strive. Work can only be properly done with proceeding slumber. There could be no change […]
Why is it that artists since the dawn of recorded civilization have constructed their works upon the archetype of the dreamer and the dream? Let us define “dream” not only as an ideal which rules our passions and pleasures—a synonym for “aspiration”—but as an epitome […]
3AM and the rain was beating a soprano drum beat down on the roof outside my window. The thunder chimed in with the bass, and the lightning with that glitzy, snapping flute, and chaos never sounded so much like rich jazz. So it was the […]
Have you ever been asked what you like to do in your free time? Did you ever respond with reading and get snarky remarks such as “Oh I never read. I don’t remember the last time I read a book, maybe it was in high […]
Sigma Tau Delta’s Convention was an extraordinary experience! I had the pleasure of traveling to another state to listen to other students’ enlightening facts and opinions on well-known and not-so-well-known literature. Over the course of three educationally enlightening days, those students covered topics on their […]
Memorial Library recently hosted a book club session featuring The Book Thief. After attending and having an interesting conversation about the unique omniscient narrator in this story, I was reminded of a paper I wrote for College Writing I. In this piece, I was supposed […]
About the piece: I wrote this piece for my Reading As Writers Across Media class with Professor Angie Johnson. We had to imitate works from three different poets: Michael Torres, Sandra Cisneros, and Brian Doyle. This particular piece is based off of “A Very Short […]
Mr. Richard Blanco is a former engineer turned poet and has found great success. He received both his undergraduate degree as well as his MFA in creative writing from Florida International University and has gone on to publish five successful collections of poetry including Looking […]
This is the time of year for reflection. The sun-soaked, breeze-cooled April evenings are punctured with carilloning birds and the scent of burgeoning lilacs. These expectant days, teetering on the verge of tulips and triumph, always seemed ideal for meditation on renewal and redemption. The […]
About the piece: I wrote this piece for my Advanced Writing class as a sophomore in college. I really loved the Warriors Cats books as a child, and still love them today, so I chose them as my topic. It was a really challenging piece […]
About the Piece: “Walls” was originally a poem called “A Hill in Vernon,” but I wanted to try and see if I could write it as prose, while still keeping the flow and lyricism. This piece is about my childhood home in Vernon Hills, a […]
Rating 4.75/5 If you’re looking for (and I’m sure you are) an American adventure novel that will keep your wheels turning months after reading it, look no further. Amor Towles becomes a third-time author with this brand new novel The Lincoln Highway. His first two […]
Enjoy this stunning performance of Brahms’s Requiem on YouTube. Rest. Isn’t that something we could all use more of? As college students, how often do we fall into the trap of being harried and stressed to the last degree; forgetting to engage joyfully in our […]
I’ve always hated shots. I mean, honestly, who doesn’t? The raw trepidation of the whole process is absolutely terrifying. It all starts with going into the doctor’s office, with the small gleam of hope that maybe, just maybe, I won’t have to get one this […]
Recently I began watching the hit HBO show Euphoria. The show centers around a teenage girl, Rue (Zendaya), who is addicted to opioids and is surrounded by horrible things like sexual assault, pornography, and toxic masculinity. I can’t say that I was excited to watch […]
Ruth Kennedy is a Junior English major and theater minor. This essay, written for her Advanced Writing class this January 2022, features a reflection on a memory from her first year in college. The image cover of this article was taken by her on that […]
Author commentary: I am a passionate devotee of poetry, but sometimes I feel as if words refuse my sainted efforts to wrest them into lines and meter. For this reason, the concept of a prose poem appealed to me as I attempted to express my […]
It goes without saying that A Christmas Carol is a beloved holiday classic. It’s set on repeat year after year in the form of movies, stage performances, and the like. However, I’ve come to realize that there are obscurities about the novel and author that […]
A year ago, I was going through an identity crisis. I was only a semester and a half away from graduation, and the pressure to have a plan for what comes next was getting to me. More than this simple question, I had to consider […]
On Monday, October 4th I was working in the Writing Center covering a shift for Maida Jaspersen while she attended the annual Red Eye Film Festival for which she collaborated on the creation of a film. Since I was working for her and was therefore […]
Rating: 4.5/5 If you need a book that will make you feel emotional, this is the book for you. Girl in Pieces deals with difficult topics such as depression, self-harm, addiction, and human trafficking. Although the topics are somewhat upsetting and might cause the reader […]
Author’s Commentary: In Spring 2021, I took Reading as Writers Across Media. One exercise we did was imitation writing, where we looked at books we had read throughout the semester and tried to imitate an author’s work. I was drawn to the unique segmented format […]
Inkwell contributors Jenna Wahl and Libby Kassuelke recently had the opportunity to interview the women at work behind the scenes of the fast-approaching Bethany production, The Snow Queen. Emily Kimball and Maren Boucher take a walk through the set and behind the scenes as they […]
“‘Hateful day when I received life!’ I exclaimed in agony. ‘Accursed creator! Why did you form a monster so hideous that even you turned from me in disgust? God, in pity, made man beautiful and alluring, after his own image; but my form is a […]
Between bites of very-late-night tepid ramen, in an attempt to escape my never-ending internal to-do list, I’ve been reading a lot of Mary Oliver’s poetry. Her work is a comfort object akin to warm milk, and I prefer my belly to be full of it. […]
After Inkwell’s Release Party in September, Hannah Dosch was able to catch up with former Managing Editor, Sydney Kappel. 1) How has English shaped your view of the world? I think that English, if anything, is a good exercise in empathy. I think reading works […]
Thursday, September 16th, was truly a night to remember for Sigma Tau Delta. This national honor society is dedicated to students who are passionate about the English language, literature, and writing. We were itching to move beyond our four walls and find our first linguistical […]
Within the span of two weeks (or so), a talented group of Bethany students collaborate to create an original show: Theatre Physics. The short preparation time and experimental nature of the skits set the performance apart from most shows that Bethany’s theatre department puts on. […]
Sandra Oh, Nana Mensah, and Holland Taylor in The Chair. Eliza Morse/Netflix The Chair, Netflix’s new original TV drama-comedy, has been a topic of debate since its recent August release. The show centers around Dr. Ji-Yoon Kim (played by Sandra Oh) the newly established chair of the […]
When was the last time a craft book was on the New York Times Bestseller list? Not sure, apart from George Saunders’ A Swim in a Pond in the Rain (2021). The book takes several classic Russian short stories and considers them from a writer’s […]
This past spring, with sat down with Ezekiel Grabau to talk about his story “Linoleum Tiles,” featured in our spring 2020 issue. 1) Where did you get the inspiration for “Linoleum Tiles?” My inspiration for “Linoleum Tiles” came as always from my personal experience. I […]
This past spring, we sat down with Kaci Schneidawind to talk about her work featured in the spring 2020 issue of Inkwell. 1. Both of your published pieces in Inkwell are creative nonfiction essays. What draws you to writing in this genre? I had never […]
Writer Commentary: In the spring semester of my sophomore year at Bethany, I was in a class called Reading As Writers Across Media, and in this class, we spent time reading various books, one of which was Mary Oliver’s American Primitive and that is where […]
This piece was written about a game Gabe attended in 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Naturally we feel rather nostalgic reading it today. *** MINNEAPOLIS–Ra-Ding! Ra-ding! My friend and I scan our tickets to enter Target Field’s right field plaza, security watching closely, greeters […]
This is a question I ask myself sometimes; What is my yield? If you are interested in writing, it is a helpful question. What do I have to say and what do I have to offer? I ask this often when I write, but it […]
Like many other young adults, I still hold on to a great many ideals when I think about the way the world should work, especially when it comes to my chosen field of English and literature. As a student, I am constantly becoming more and […]
On November 7-8, the Minnesota State University’s Good Thunder Reading Series hosted St. Paul-born poet Danez Smith. Smith’s most recent book Don’t Call us Dead earned the United Kingdom’s Forward Poetry Prize for Best Collection and also contended in the United States as a finalist […]
Year: Senior Major: Studio Art Sophia Weisensel has always loved art. What started out small with princess doodles eventually turned into a full-fledged passion. She was influenced by her high school teacher who sparked excitement in her and pushed her to grow. At that time, […]
On December 3rd from 7-9 pm, come to the Viking Village in Old Main to play pool, air hockey, and other games, eat food, and support a wonderful scholarship at Bethany. Live music will feature Daniel and John Halvorson. There will be a raffle with […]
Photo credit: Bethany Lutheran College It is another weekly installment of a Bible study in the observation room of Honsey Hall, titled the South Lantern for its lighting style. During the day, one can gaze out of its two-story tall windows upon a soccer field […]
Almost a month has passed since Bethany Lutheran College put on yet another successful Theatre Physics show. However, this year’s performance was particularly special in that it marked the 25th anniversary of Theatre Physics. Since 1994, the BLC Theatre Department has been entertaining audience members […]
When I first entered the cozy classroom of my Literature Studies course as a freshman in college, I thought I had already mastered the art of reading. I had read about Shakespeare’s love birds and men costumed as women, Dickens’s snowy streets and his bloodied […]
While most people have to find a work-life balance in their lives, Becky DeGarmeaux is free of that problem. In the Ottesen Museum, a small building located by the Bethany Lutheran College Seminary, Becky DeGarmeaux is in her element, surrounded by rich church and synodical […]
When I was a little boy, my babysitter claimed that even when I was three, four years old I loved to just draw and would sit at the kitchen table and draw all the time. I didn’t think I did it more than other kids, but she said […]
Proksch’s Pretzels: An Oral History by Hannah Bockoven Professor Nicholas Proksch’s office is underneath the Chapel. He teaches Religion courses at Bethany Lutheran College and often walks to get to campus to get work done, even on Sunday afternoons, and preaches for Chapel. On a […]
Falling Off Angie Johnson Grandpa’s in bed. One leg lies soft across the sheets and three of his toes hang ash-black from his foot like lumps of coal and he dares me to touch one. I am eleven. Grandmother slaps away my outstretched hand and […]
Staff member Zayne Engel sat down with alumn Lydia Lonnquist days before Graduation to find out more about her process and plans as an actress Who inspires you to be an actress? Honestly, no one. I have actors and actresses that I enjoy seeing, […]
No fairytale princess is as memorable as beautiful Snow White. Gail Carson Levine, however, does not portray blood-red lips and pale white skin as beautiful as the tales would let you believe. No, in her novel Fairest, Levine casts her Snow White figure, Maid Aza, […]
All I knew about Nick Kaminsky before I met him was that he was a history professor and author, so I imagined him as an older man with grey hair, glasses, wider build and a low voice, a very stale personality and quite possibly a […]
A black limousine crawled up to the emptying research building. The chauffer unfolded himself from the front seat, adjusted his cap forward on his head, and took his place at the car’s back door to await his passengers. A well-dressed young couple with a map […]
A Love by Alyssa Shields -after Brian Doyle’s “A Sin” Fell in love yesterday, in chapel, at ten. I sang with a boy, whose voice grabbed me by the ears, he surprised me so greatly that I stopped and thought, and when he stopped to […]
Unlike many students involved in plays and musicals, I began Oklahoma! as a complete theater novice. While others were brimming with excitement to audition for their desired parts, I was content to test out the waters of musical theater. Due to my friends’ enthusiasm for […]
When I was asked by The Well to reflect on my experiences as a published author, the timing of the request was quite interesting. The immediately preceding e-mail letter in my in-box was an editor’s acceptance letter and contract for a two-part article that I […]
Have you created something special and want to share it with the world? Do you want to be a published artist or writer? Here are six great literary magazines for undergraduates to send in submissions, other than the campus Inkwell Magazine, of course. Submitting is […]
Because of the rushed game based on the hit movie, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, the popular game company, Atari, developer of Pong, nearly closed its doors for good due to financial loss during the North American Videogame Crash of 1983. Never again to rise to […]
Zayne Engel recently interviewed student Laura Sonnek to find out about her studies at Bethany, as well as her plans for the future as an artist. What got you interested in painting? I always loved drawing growing up as a kid, and my favorite restaurants […]
Against Expectation When I think of a poet, I tend to think of a “hipster.” I think of someone who wears the latest trends of clothing for fashion’s sake. I think of someone who wears a snapback hat with shades and drives an older, beaten-up […]
“What if an entire generation were to reject their central story line?” asks Eula Biss in The Balloonists, a book that is part poetry, part creative essay. Biss draws heavily from her own life in creating this assembly of anecdotes of both her life and […]
Recently, Staff member Zayne Engel sat down with Emily Kjeer, Inkwell’s Programs Editor, to talk about how she got started as a writer and what publishing her own work has been like. Below is their interview. Who/what inspired you to start writing? Actually, it was […]
Lloyd the Deplorable Scene 1 Henrik, a young man in his twenties, walks into the lobby of his apartment building to find AGATHA, who is roughly the same age and is sporting a wedding ring, waiting. AGATHA. Good morning, have you seen your grandmother today? […]
Candace Black entered, relishing the opportunity to encourage others to write. She faced a room of eager students at Bethany Lutheran College on a Tuesday night. Wearing a sea blue shirt and dangling necklace, Candace discussed how her life experience has molded her most recent […]
Year: Senior Major: Studio Art Minor: Art History Meet Kirsten Elyea, a young lady who has been vastly interested in drawing ever since she was little. Drawing has always been something that has come naturally to her, and the love of creating her own pieces […]
The soft whisper of shoes on concrete. A whistle of wind, the sounds of my breathing, faster than it should have been. It was dark, but my eyes were adjusted, and I could see like a cat. I could see lights ahead, and hear the […]
“Right this way, Mister Braune. Lord Lucifer will see you now.” I looked up from the outdated copy of People magazine I had been perusing to meet the smouldering sockets of the scaley receptionist sitting behind the large, lacquered desk. His weird tongue kept flitting […]