Current Honorees
The works below were written by first-year students in the Composition Program at the University of Massachusetts Boston, selected for publication by Composition Program faculty serving on the Undercurrents editorial board. Please click About the Journal to learn more about Undercurrents, or click the links below to enjoy our 2024 selections.
Bella Brown’s A Conversation Amongst Trees
“The idea is still widely contested by scientists, for a multitude of reasons which I will get into. So, therein lies the question: Can trees communicate with each other through underground fungal networks? And if so, how?”
Lauren Brown’s Leaving Brushstrokes on the Page: Writing That Grabs You and Demands Attention
“AI will always produce something hollow and unoriginal. Human writers only might do that. We’ve been encouraged to conform to the basic expectations of high school. But now is the time to break out of that.”
Brian Coughlin’s Writing is Really Really Scary
“We’re all bursting with differing ideas, opinions, and important things we wanna talk about. I think it’s important for students to know that you can do that.”
Yelena Hernandez Bonilla’s Music and Mental Health
“Music can always squeeze itself through and connect to anyone. It goes beyond what we can say in simple words and creates an outlet to release everything we can be feeling.”
Mandy May’s Film’s Depictions of Mental Illness
“Filmmakers hold so much power for how people think about mental illness, and for the most part, they do not take the proper amount of responsibility for what they create.”
Allison Peguero’s Femininity on Social Media
“Although women now have more media recognition, misogynistic comments and hate have begun to spread easily in comment sections and social media.”
Reese Smith’s Comforts with the “S”
“Why have we made it atypical to have an outlet for emotional release in our routines at work and/or school? What can we do to change this?“
Anh Tran’s The Passive Voice Should(n’t) Be Avoided (Video Essay)
“The passive is not weak, as it’s no weakness to show the subject being influenced. It just comes down to the skill of the writer to utilize it for their benefit.”