Writings, Stories, Free-Verse Essays, Poems, and General Affluvia

Welcome to the page of writings. Why do I write? Why does anyone write? I write because it is a way of releasing. I write because it helps me add validation to my life. It says, "I created this. This is what I have left for future generations." That and it's fun. I write because it is one of the vices in the world that won't screw you up and eventually kill you like alcohol, booze, drugs, and cigarettes. When you have written well, an overwhelming feeling of connection with the world occurs.      All of the following was written by me in various states of sobriety, consciousness, and at all times of the day. The majority, though, was written in the evenings or at night. Let's face it, that's when you're the most inspired. If you would like to comment on any of the following writings or you would like your own work to be on this page, please email me at wakinglifer@yahoo.com. Please enjoy the following:

Regret

Transitions

"Transitions" is a full length play I wrote off and on from June 2002 to August 2003. The form you see is 95% the finished form. I may alter and revise it at some later date, but that's damn unlikely. I dedicate this play to my Philly people. You know who you are.

"Regret" is a short story that was written in September of 2003. Partly based on fact, partly based on my own mind. Just like life...

The Door

Tick Tock

I am a very deliberate person. I think very carefully about nearly every decision I make. "The Door" is one of my lesser works. I'm not horribly pleased with it, but I ultimately like the ideas of decision and choice that it plays with. September, 2003

One of my free-verse essays. I don't consider them poems because they don't have that "lyrical" quality. But there is an underlying rhythm that ties it all together. I wrote this regarding my anorexic gal who had no concept of time. September, 2003

Those

Interaction

I have always been intrigued by Urban Decay. That's no secret. I wrote "Those" in response to the Jane Addams Houses being demolished near my UIC dorm. I cannot fathom the stories that these apartments have to tell. So I wrote this. In memory of public housing: September, 2003.

This is the first entry I wrote for my full-length book, which, let's face it, I'll probably never write. I struck gold with this, though. I really like it. I feel it very adequately explains my love and hatred of people simeltaneously. August, 2003

The Seconds of the Minutes of the Hours

Sunscreen Speech

By: Kurt Vonnegut I always find this commencement address very inspiring. It loses something without the audio, though. To hear it, check out Baz Luhrmann's Romeo & Juliet soundtrack Vol. 2, or The Big Kahuna soundtrack.

This is a parody of one of my favorite movies, The Hours. It was written in June/July 2003 and it was to be filmed, but alas, the summer just ran out. Check the bottom for the "dream cast." Woulda been awesome. Still a great script.

A Warning

Ideas For Titles

One of my first creative endeavors. This was written in Ms. Karrasch's creative writing class in the fall of 2001. Yes, I stole some ideas from "The Raven," but who hasn't?

I wrote a children's story for this aforementioned creative writing class. While the story about the lifecycle of a flower in a vast meadow is in the big recycling bin in the sky, the 30 or so titles I had for it live on. Proof of my everlasting insanity. Fall, 2001

I Met A Man Today

All

When you get right down to it, you should never face the present or the past head on. For if you never examine the present, you have no past to remember nor a future to look forward to. A stab at a more traditional poem format than "Tick, Tock." October, 2003.

We are all unique. However, we all we think we are different, therefore, we are all alike. The two can coexist because of this anomaly. People are eminently fascinating. October, 2003

Untitled Anonymous and Number One

Azaleas

My grandmother turned 85 this week. Considering her family history, she never thought she would make it this far. This is for her.  October, 2003.

These two free verse esaays / poems were written in February 2002 as I was struggling with coming out of the closet. I wrote them during them my calculus class which became free writing; I ended up having to take calculus in college again. Good deal. Read together they could be viewed as my understanding of life. Whee!

Late Thoughts

Tony

Don't ask me why I wrote this. I don't know. Everyone has a back story, I suppose. People exist, but we just take them for granted. This is what I get for listening to Elgar's Enigma Variations at 2 in the morning. November 2003

I find myself becoming more creative as the night wears on. Put poetically, I guess it is because the day begins to wrap itself up into some kind of thing that I could put my finger on and say that's what the meaning of life was today. Written Summer 2002.

The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock

My Mind

Over Semester Break, Cari Maher told me that I think too much. What a shocker. As a demonstration of the way my mind works I wrote this to show you just how every single thing becomes registered and how my most "wild and zany" moments may be rather...planned. December 2003

By T.S. Eliot I love this poem...love, love, love it. The dazzling imagery of the scenes created are absolutely amazing. In fact it gives me the idea to create a series of one-acts based on the ideas...hmm... anyway. Rumor has it that Bill Burghardt did a recording of it (he doesn't know, no joke, I asked him) and I would give anything for it. Enjoy

Being American

Monologue

My first writing assignment for my awesome English Prof at Philadelphia University was a paper on what the American identity was. I turned in this and it was the beginning of a beautiful relationship for us. She went on to name my style of writing the "Fred Uebele Style" in that there was an undercurrent of sarcasm and meaning in every statement. I miss you, Dr. Linda Newman. September 2002

"Azaleas" above is for the Grandmother that I will always remember. This monologue was written after a not-so-pleasant experience with the same woman over Semester Break. I credit it to a bygone era; one that instead of looking back at with nostalgia, I should really be content to let go of. December 2003

I Met A Man Who Sang The Love Song of The Unknown Citizen

Opening Night

What happens when we arrive somewhere before everyone else we know? What happens when you're in a foreign country and don't know the vernacular? This is for those of us who scream and scream but have no one to hear us. March 2004

My first "script" for my Fundamentals Of Acting Class in Spring '04. I incorporated poems of myself, W.H. Auden, and T.S. Eliot in order to give voice to a surrealist photograph that depitcted, to my group, the oddity of the human experience and the acheivement of the spirtit. It's short...read it! March 2004

I Know Not Me

Herbert Spencer: Evolution, Political Theory, and Sociology

We have ideas, when we're young, of what we want to do with our life. Unless we have an extremely good gift of forsight, we cannot fulfill our own initial dreams. That is not inherently bad. It is when we have to reconcile the changes that occurred and the blind faith that led us that things get more complicated. April 2004

The only non-creative writing piece on this page. This is the longest research paper I've written; I wrote it in about four hours, the day it was due. Ever wondered how a Victorian atheist was able to apply his views of evolution to political theory and sociology? Well, here's the starter piece!!! December 2004 (Added February 2005)