The Palouse Review is the biannual arts and academics journal of the Washington State University Honors College. We accept submissions from current and former honors students from throughout the Western Regional Honors Council. Our editors are looking for carefully crafted, evocative work that demonstrates the literary, artistic, and academic excellence of our broader honors community.
The Palouse Review, May 1st 2024 Edition
Fiction ~ Nonfiction ~ Scholarship ~ Poetry
~ Photography and Visual Art ~ Author Bios
Hello and Welcome from the Editors of The Palouse Review!
As we reach the end of another (long) school year, I want to begin by congratulating everyone on their hard work and accomplishments, whatever they may be. It never ceases to amaze me just how remarkable and resilient people are in the face of everything the world throws at us. The ability to create while also juggling millions of other things: personal, national, and international— please take this moment to give a collective round of applause for all we’ve done and all we have yet to do.
I joined TPR at the beginning of the Fall 2023 semester and was instantly delighted by the amazing team we have. I feel like I’ve found where I belong. Which is why I am quite honored to be introducing the Spring 2024 edition of The Palouse Review, a wonderful publication highlighting the creative literary, artistic, and scholarly voices of Honors students across various campuses.
I urge you to explore each of the following categories of this publication: scholarship, non-fiction, fiction, visual arts, and poetry. As you read, be inspired and please submit your own works for next semester’s edition! We especially eagerly await music submissions!
I will only hold you here a moment longer to express gratitude for and celebrate the members of The Palouse Review graduating this semester (ready your hands for more applause):
Kailin joined TPR in fall of 2023 and served as our Web Executive Editor.
Molly has been with TPR since fall of 2022 working as our Treasurer and Non-fiction Executive Editor.
Rachel also joined TPR in fall 2022 and worked both as Visual Arts Executive Editor as well as a Poetry Editor.
Shana joined TPR in spring of 2022 and has been on various teams over that time. Most recently she served as Fiction Executive Editor and was also a Visual Arts Editor.
Waldon has been on TPR the longest, joining in spring of 2021. He has also had various roles within the publication but ends his time with us as Managing Editor, Web Editor, and Scholarship Editor.
And a special thanks to Dr. Libby Walker, retired dean of the Honors College, for her assistance and advice to the Scholarship team.
Ursula Delgado | The Palouse Review Executive Poetry Editor
May 1st, 2024
Fiction
Break on The Surf
by Keanu Hua
“The dam of Los Angeles’s trash was breaking.” — Surfing after the first rains, near the CSU Chancellor’s office, is never a good idea. There’s so much trash at the mouth of that river, and today, that trash is his own corpse.
Warning: Gifted child burnout, child abuse, implied suicide ideation, teenager’s corpse.
Filthy Filthy Filthy Filthy Filthy
by Keanu Hua
“What if he was like his father, who saw the world as his plaything?” — Two boys, a hotel room, and the nonstop scratching of the filthy filthy filthy filthy filthy sins off of themselves.
Warning: implied sexual assault, self-harm, cheating father, blood.
Nonfiction
Any Resemblance
by Petra Ellerby
COVID-19 and its many impacts made our already-fraught transition to college even more challenging than usual. This short story seeks to capture the strange compression of emotional perception that followed these multiple upheavals.
Scholarship
Trying Again: T.S. Eliot and the Ethics of Imperfection
by Petra Ellerby
This paper seeks to provide a brief analysis of effort and imperfection in T.S. Eliot’s 1943 “Four Quartets”.
Editors’ note: This piece is a beautiful invitation to take joy in the journey and not worry about the destination. It takes the reader through an exploration of the challenges and inadequacies of language in expressing feelings and ideas through the lens of Four Quartets and related works. Even if poetry isn’t your forte, this piece is delightful to take the time to explore and understand.
Poetry
Live Blue Crab for Sale
by Matilda Iem
Inspired by the sight of a pair of children, armed with tongs, toying with a blue crab at a live seafood market, this free verse poem contemplates the journey which that crab underwent to arrive here. The thought starts with evolutionary origins, and ends with the environmental ramifications of human apathy.
Schoolhouse Road
by Jonah Lindsey
This piece is a reflection on time spent exploring southwest Montana as a college sophomore, linking my nerdy passions and shy personality to this home away from home while remaining tied to my routes in rural Washington. Between then and now, my life was thrown into turmoil by a family loss, but the communities of these places and elsewhere kept me going.
Photography and Visual Art
Whalen’s Boots
Kimberly Giannone
Sterling Davis
Kimberly Giannone
Sculpted Earth Spiral
Kiet Huynh
I Watched As My Story Was Taken Away
Willow Giorgini
Coney Island
Kimberly Giannone
Red, White, and Blue
Willow Giorgini
Visual Language
Willow Giorgini
Rats
Keora O’Meara
Under the El
Kimberly GiannoneRats
Keora O’Meara
This piece started with wanting to know how to draw a rat because I find them cute. It really just evolved on its own to become this in the end.
Sculpted Earth Spiral
Kiet Huynh
The “Spiral Jetty” coils majestically into the Great Salt Lake, a masterpiece of land art created by Robert Smithson. This stunning formation of rocks and earth forms a serpentine path, inviting contemplation from above. Amidst the water’s changing hues, it remains a dynamic interaction between art, land, and the forces of nature.
Red, White, and Blue
Willow Giorgini
This work was a technical challenge for me. I started with a bright red paper and drew with a white charcoal pencil from a live model, then filled in the other values on a different day. On accident, I realized the colors were reflective of the American flag, and I found the piece had developed a powerful statement on diversity.
I Watched As My Story Was Taken Away
Willow Giorgini
Across the country, communities are attempting to legislate queer literature out of the public eye. Some take to the government, to school boards or to the PTA, but all have the same result: the censorship of literature. The power of storytelling comes in many forms, but none more powerful than the ability to see yourself reflected, to learn new perspectives about the world and yourself. This is the gift that LGBTQ literature gives to young people, and it’s what I am mourning with this piece.
Visual Language
Willow Giorgini
I created this painting to explore my complex feelings about teaching visual art. I believe art is a multipurpose tool, but I wanted to focus on its ability to communicate. Visual art can express feelings and experiences beyond the written word and reach others in a unique manner. This is a powerful tool to develop for young people, not unlike the importance of teaching writing and grammar. It gives young people another way to voice their joys, excitement and frustrations.
Whalen’s Boots
Kimberly Giannone
35 mm black and white digital full frame image /Southwest Montana
Sterling Davis
Kimberly Giannone
35 mm black and white digital image/ Southwest Montana
Coney Island
Kimberly Giannone
35 mm color film image /Coney Island/NY
Under The El
Kimberly Giannone
35 mm color film image /Philadelphia
About Our Authors
Jonah Lindsey
University of Montana, Western
Jonah Lindsey is a Junior majoring in Ecology with a minor in Fish & Wildlife at the University of Montana Western, and a K-12 space science outreach ambassador, with future hopes of teaching middle school. Passionate about fisheries, botany, and more, he regularly dives into independent learning while searching for natural interdisciplinary connections. Jonah is not only a STEM nerd, but a creative writer, language learner, history buff, artist, train nerd, and amateur photographer, with a curiosity about urban planning and civics. After every K-12 school visit, he encourages young learners to never stop asking questions, and to explore beyond their interests, now and then, for one may find new passions in the least expected places.
Keanu Hua
California State University, Long Beach
Although a statistics and economics major, Keanu Hua attributes those choices to his interest in writing, to the way that it enables him to investigate distant shores of life. As far as English is from his home departments, his wild imagination and ambitions still drive him to write.
Keora O’Meary
Oregon Institute of Technology
Keora O’Meara is currently a third-year student at the Oregon Institute of Technology majoring in Mechanical Engineering. They enjoy painting and exploring different art forms in their free time.
Keit Huynh
Mount San Antonio College
Kiet, currently a third-year student at Mt. San Antonio College, is majoring in Computer Information Systems with plans to transfer to the University of California, Irvine for Computer Science. Since 2022, Kiet has been immersed in his studies, eagerly embracing every opportunity to learn and grow. Known for his adventurous spirit, Kiet has a passion for traveling and documenting his experiences, showcasing his creativity through photography and videography. His impeccable taste in clothes and eye for capturing moments are just a few of the skills that stand out to others. Described in five words, Kiet embodies adventurousness, creativity, efficiency, freedom, and love. He is always on the lookout for new experiences, undeterred by the nature of the adventure ahead.
Kimberly Giannone
University of Montana, Western
Kim Giannone is a photographer studying environmental science and sustainability at the University of Montana Western. Her work explores the tenuous and often complicated relationship between human beings and the natural world.
Matilda Iem
California State University, Long Beach
Matilda Iem is a local aspiring creative poet and artist located in Long Beach, California. Her work tends to dabble in mental health and perspective-taking. When she isn’t writing or drawing, she also enjoys dabbling in other mediums, like crochet.
Petra Ellerby
Western Washington university
Petra Ellerby graduated from Western Washington University last June with a BA in History, a minor in Global Humanities, and an additional minor in Interdisciplinary Honors. She is currently serving as a historic preservation specialist/library tech at Joshua Tree National Park, and will start her MA in Seattle this coming September. Petra is also a classical violinist living in a lovely (but remote!) desert wasteland… and hopes to play with real live humans one day soon.
Willow Giorgini
Western Washington university
Willow Giorgini is an undergraduate student of Western Washington University and recently enrolled in the Art Education department. They are an artist of many trades, including playing cello in the Western Symphony Orchestra, as well as studying traditional art. They were raised on Vashon Island and many of their work depicts the natural work they’ve been surrounded by as well as our political landscape.
