Ethan\u2019s honors thesis<\/a> also reflects his deep interest in poetry and language; entitled \u201cGo Back to the Ground,\u201d it comprises 31 poems of varying length put together into a cohesive book. The work forms an arc processing grief while exploring familial, religious and literary heritages. It goes on to examine the crossroads between these shared histories and carries recurring themes representing experiences related to homelessness, mental illness and self-discovery.<\/p>\n\u201cThe most influential aspect of my honors experience was far and away my thesis,\u201d Ethan says. \u201cIt offered me one of the few available opportunities to pursue whatever field I was interested in with institutional support at the undergraduate level; it bought me enough interest from faculty to get my foot in the door; perhaps most importantly, it provided me with the structure I needed to complete an extended project in the vein of what the \u2018real world\u2019 expects.”<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a special moment of genuine academic freedom,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
The poetry that Ethan writes stems from his own core identity and experiences, though the significance of that influence can be obscure early in the writing process, even to him. His poetry improves and significance shines through, though, when he simply allows the process to happen.<\/p>\n
\u201cI first started writing poetry after I encountered the work of writers such as T.S. Eliot and Allen Ginsberg in high school. I was enraptured by the power of the written word to overcome barriers \u2013 obstacles of time, geography and social stratification,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy writing works best when I remove as many cognitive barriers as possible and allow the subconscious to direct my work and interest. Rarely do I sit down with the goal of writing about one specific idea or theme; instead, I simply pick up where I stopped yesterday and allow my mind to wander. After a while I bookend one of those journeys and look back on what adventures the writing enacted; nearly always I’ll see that I was writing about some specific memory, concern or artistic anxiety the whole time.<\/p>\n
\u201cI save all of my work just in case it will prove useful later, but it’s worth noting that by the end of the revision process, almost everything gets relegated to the scrap heap,\u201d Ethan says. \u201cPoetry requires excellence in the smallest scale possible, which means that a finished product is often extremely deceptive about the amount of work and material that went into its generation behind the scenes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Outside of his academic and work obligations, Ethan enjoys taking time to relax and appreciate the creative work of others. \u201cI would consider myself a nerd in the classical sense, which means a lot of my free time revolves around absorbing science fiction and fantasy stories in books, movies, television and games,\u201d Ethan says. \u201cI love playing board games with my friends, and I also enjoy outdoor adventures with my dog.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Ethan hopes to establish himself in his field and create impactful work, he also recognizes the challenges inherent in that goal: \u201cPoetry is a historic realm of art, and over the millennia, our species has built a towering body of work far taller than any individual could climb on their own. There will always be a deeper level of mastery to pursue or some obscure writer who managed to get to some aspect of human experience before you do. That’s an immense challenge, but if you want to contribute to that legacy rather than just consume it, you need to let that challenge excite and inspire, rather than discourage.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want my poetic legacy to be one of genuine, vulnerable self-expression, a poetics relevant for my contemporary community, respectful of those who came before and instructive for those who will follow. It’s only natural to wish the best for one’s family and to create a world where one’s children enjoy a life better than one’s own; I hope to expand this sentiment to the broadest possible population and recognize the shared humanity and worth of every individual,\u201d Ethan says.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe must love who we were, are and will be: with love comes understanding, and my hope is that by building one of those twin halves, I will lead us one step closer to the other.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Christopher McCracken | HC Student Media Writer \u201cThe only thing that can save the world is the reclaiming of the awareness of the world. That’s what poetry does.\u201d \u2013Allen Ginsberg On the north end of the University of Iowa campus sits the Dey House and the Glenn Schaeffer Library, two uniquely picturesque buildings among […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":397,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1205,645351,82,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3718","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-stories","category-alumni-and-friends","category-features","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/honorslink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3718","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/honorslink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/honorslink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/honorslink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/397"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/honorslink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3718"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/honorslink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3718\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3837,"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/honorslink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3718\/revisions\/3837"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/honorslink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3718"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/honorslink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3718"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/honorslink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3718"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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