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Special thanks to the 2020-21 Crux Essay Contest Volunteer Faculty Judges
please see next page SUBMI SS IONS
This issue of StoryLine is made possible by a grant from the Coast Community College District Foundation and with the support of Coastline's English Department, with special thanks to Dana Emerson Views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the magazine belong solely to the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Coastline College or any of its employees.
Elizabeth Cragg Guest Editor, Poetry & Nonfiction
Elizabeth Cragg is a Coastline alumnus who is currently pursuing her Bachelor’s degree in English with a minor in Rhetoric at the University of California, Berkeley. She is an interdisciplinary creative who utilizes poetics as driving force for political innovation and social reform.
Kat Gerber is an aspiring writer who is currently working on her English degree. She lives in Huntington Beach and works for an Environmental Consulting firm as a Business Manager, where she performs technical writing, proofreading and serves as editor for environmental reports. She loves literature and can usually be found engrossed in her favorite book, the Norton Anthology of Short Fiction .
guest editors
Kat Gerber Guest Editor, Nonfiction
SUBMIT TO US
Submission Guidelines and Genres:
StoryLine is published once a year, in the fall semester Submissions are accepted all year long, with decisions made in the late summer Art : This genre may include drawings, paintings and graphic designs. Scan desired images and send in high-resolution, .jpg format. Photography : Send up to 5 images in high-resolution, .jpg format. Poetry : Send up to 5 poems in one or multiple Word documents (.docx or .doc) or PDFs. Essays and Short Stories: 2,500 words maximum as a Word document (.docx or .doc) or PDF. Original Short Videos/ Digital Stories on any interesting topic : Send a link to a YouTube video under five minutes long (must be correctly captioned). Please send your submission, along with the genre in which you are submitting, to Oceana Callum: ocallum@gapps.coastline.edu by July 1 for consideration in that year's issue
CONTENTS S T O R Y L I N E M A G A Z I N E F A L L 2 0 2 1 On the Cover: JAVIER ALCALA, "Adria" Three Photos by Javier Alcala
7 - 9
Scott Davis, "An Idea of Autumn" & "A Theme of Autumn"
10
Kimberly Reteguiz, "Bomba y Plena"
12
Dennis Zaldana, "Tiger Lily”
13
2020-2021 CRUX ESSAY CONTEST WINNER: Patrice D'Enbeau, "The Chosen Whites"
14 - 19
Kate Mueller, "Santiago Oaks Sunrise" and "Santiago Oaks Mustard in Bloom"
20 - 21
Zeldash Myst, "Scattered Pastels"
23
Digital Art & Media Students Make Sparks: "What's the Pointe?" "My Best Friend, Kola," "What Cooking Means to Me," and "Drawing with Procreate"
24 - 28
2020-2021 CRUX ESSAY CONTEST WINNER: Jenna Seo, "College Is Too Dang Expensive"
31 - 42
Joel Woodard, "Pixel Confetti,""Raver," and "Sugar Data"
34 - 37
Sean Curfman, Two Photos
43 & 48
Lisa Dowling, "Nepenthe" and "Toasting the Missing Moon"
44 - 45
Ja'net Danielo, "Julia"
47
2020-2021 CRUX ESSAY CONTEST WINNER: Thi Ha, "The Ideal Society"
51 - 54
"Are You Emotionally Intelligent?" Spring 2021 English 100 Students Respond
55 - 58
contributor bios
ON THE COVE R , "AD R IA," AND BLACK-AND- WHITE PHOTOS PAGES 6- 8
JAVIER ALCALA
Born and raised in Santa Ana, California, Javier was fortunate to have also spent many of his summers with his grandparents in Huejucar, Jalisco, Mexico, where later in his teens he would always walk around with a Pentax K-1000 camera around his neck and a native sack made by the local Wixarica people filled with black-and- white film. His greatest inspirations were his close friends, who also were photographers, and artists like Manuel Álvarez Bravo, Josef Koudelka, Diane Arbus, and Henri Cartier-Bresson. He studied at OCC, GWC, and Coastline, and as an avid film lover, Javier went to San Francisco to pursue a B.A. in Film Studies at SFSU. Upon his return to Orange County, he began working in the International Student Program at Golden West College and pursued a Masters in Public Policy and Administration while employed there. Now, continuing his love of working with international students, he is part of the Admission & Records team at Coastline College. On his days off, he enjoys taking photos (now on an iPhone), exploring dark antique shops, gardening, and studying Japanese Tea ceremony.
javier alcala
javier alcala
javier alcala , los primos
is spilled gold unspun a time lapse shot with lens cap on
is Caspian gate , Cas tilian pas s violoncello but not sax
is pres sed bean with cinnamon as chif fon yields to gabardine
is pine needle down but hair updone navigable unnamable – between
is vowel and umlaut , an O of lips ( whis tle or ) be fore the shiver
Scot t Davis press play to hear " A Theme of Autumn , " also composed by Scot t Davis
DENNIS ZALDANA , "tiger l i ly," page 13 I was fortunate to have a safe environment and even more grateful to have a 1-bedroom apartment with a small patio during early lockdowns in 2020. To be completely honest, I took the patio for granted. It wasn’t until my world went from 60 to 0 miles an hour when I began to take appreciation for the space. I began planting seeds and photographing the process. With all the hustle and bustle, it’s easy to lose a sense of what is important, and for me, it was patience and the small details in my life. The up-close image you see, is my first blooming Tiger Lily.
SCOTT DAVIS , "AN IDEA OF AUTUMN," P R EVIOUS PAGE
Scott Davis teaches composition and critical reasoning at Coastline Col lege. He plays a couple instruments, has a broken jump shot, and wonders when the taco truck will get here.
KIMBERLY RETEGUIZ, "BOMBA Y PLENA," NEXT PAGE Bomba y Plena is our national dance and music that combines our Spanish, African and Taino roots all into one form of physical and audible art. When I was a child, this and many other styles of music and dance were a part of our everyday lives in my
My name is Kim Reteguiz. I ’m a Military Student Advisor and have been working for Coastline College out of Jacksonville, FL/NAS Jax/NS Mayport Naval Bases since 2010. I ’m also a working musician and have been on the Florida music scene since my college days at the University of Florida. When I ’m not working and am at home, I love to build furniture and paint EVERYTHING! It’s my creative outlet! When the world and my family was falling apart due to Covid-19, I turned to what always grounded me…my roots, my LATINO BORIQUA heritage, and memories of my family back home in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico.
house. The significance of the three colors of women in the painting represents the fact that, because of our unique DNA as a whole island, these beautiful skin colors all exist within our own immediate families; therefore, we have no room for racism and colorism in our culture. This painting is rather large in person, sizing at 40x40, and is acrylic paint on canvas. The waves of the skirts are pallet knife-brushed so that you can feel the folds and texture of the skirt should you touch it. ¡ Somos Latinos!
bomba y plena
kimberly reteguiz
Dennis Zaldana
javier alcala javier alcala javier alcala kate mueller
kate mueller
Kate Mueller is the Vice President of Student Services. She joined Coastline in November 2017, and has been in the Coast District since August 2001. The photos shared (untouched!) come from 6am hikes in Santiago Oaks, and there are no better days than when begun with these kinds of views and 1000-foot elevation gains! Kate looks forward to hiking with her 6-month old Akita, once she is a bit better on a leash and can go the distance. In the meantime, Kuma’s (the puppy) adventures are in the garden/backyard and around the neighborhood.
KATE MUELLER , "SANTIAGO OAKS SUN R ISE" AND "SANTIAGO OAKS MUSTA R D IN BLOOM," P R EVIOUS PAGES
ZELDASH MYST, "SCATTE R ED PASTELS," NEXT PAGE
Kanav Aggarwal, pen-name Zeldash Myst, has travelled around the world taking inspiration from nature and the universe for his work. With keen observation, his unique perspective allows him to bring the scenery in harmony using words. Never having thought about being a writer, his talent preceded his passion. He published his poetry collection book while living in Orange County. Some of the work was inspired from local attractions, like the poem "Scattered Pastels," which depicts the landscape of Newport Back Bay reserve. He is a Science & Business Major and tutored at the Student Success Center.
DGA STUDENTS MAKE SPARKS... VIDEOS PAGES 25-28 This assignment allows students to select a topic—something they enjoy doing, like photography, pets/animals, cosplay, dancing, Minecraft gaming, working out, gardening, cooking, drawing, painting, ceramics, ancestry, etc. In this first introduction to the Adobe Spark video application, the students include titles, voiceovers rather than blocks of text, photos, videos, artwork and other creative content to enhance their story. DGA C100 is an introduction to fundamental concepts, practices, and theories of digital art and media. Topics include the integration of traditional design, color, and compositional principles with contemporary digital tools. Demonstrations of digital image capture, image manipulation, illustration, layout, animation, 3D, and emerging technologies. The course is offered yearly in Coastline's Digital Media fall course rotation.
—Angela Gomez-Holbrook
WHAT'S THE POINTE?
darby mcdougall My name is Darby McDougall, and I have always loved art and would really love to turn it into a career. I have always loved art and creating things. I would love to learn more about graphic art and design! I love to dance, do art and crafts, play guitar, ride horses, and I'm looking to learn all that I can about design. The last book I read was Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Harry Potter is my absolute favorite book series, and the movies are also incredible. Coastline's DGA Intro to Digital Art and Media is the first art class I've taken. I am taking this class to see what digital art is really like, in the hopes that I will be able to soak up many new concepts and understand more deeply how to use the software.
My name is Gabriella Torres, but I go by Gaby because it is easier to remember and pronounce. I am an aspiring artist with many hobbies like hiking, playing guitar, reading, knitting, and manicuring. I have taken art courses before like Drawing fundamentals and oil painting; This is my first time doing only online courses. I have always loved to draw since I was a little kid, and I've picked up on other things like ceramics and painting. In my free time, I also like to read and one of the most recent books I have read is, The Outsider by Stephen King. I definitely recommend it if you are a fan of horror and suspense. I decided to take DGA, Intro to Digital Art and Media, because I'd like to learn more about digital design and improve my skills. gaby torres
DRAWING WITH PROCREATE
WHAT COOKING MEANS TO ME
rosie coleman My name is Rosie Coleman. I’m attending Coastline to get my AA in Entrepreneurship and Business Management to hopefully open my own business in the future. I’ve taken a few basic art classes before, but I am taking DGA 100 Intro to Digital Art and Media to get a better understanding of digital media and how to use the software. I really love art, and I think this class will help me develop a skill I can use in the future when advertising or creating anything for the brand of my business.
My name is Riley Mcmann. I am an aspiring graphic artist trying to earn certificates and get into the art festival scene. I live in Huntington Beach with my dog and best friend Kola. I took an intro to drawing class and I have always been inspired by the visual arts since I was just a kid. This is my first time taking online classes and I think I'm already feeling more comfortable with this type of learning at Coastline. My goal is to use everything I learn from these courses and make live visuals for live shows. I chose to take this DGA 100 Intro to Digital Art and Media class to get started on my journey to create visual art and make a career out of it.
riley mcmann
MY BEST FRIEND, KOLA
jenna seo, "col lege is too dang expensive" contributor bio
winner, crux essay contest 2020- 2021, informative category
Thank you to the donors for making this award possible, I think my essay topic was fitting, and I hope it opens up the conversation for future policy changes surrounding higher education. These [essay contest] funds will ultimately go towards my education as I transfer to UC Berkeley for the coming fall and will definitely help lighten the burden that comes with the cost of a four-year university. I hope to major in social welfare and eventually continue my education and get a Master's degree in social work. I am passionate about educating others and serving underrepresented communities, and I hope to continue helping others as I pursue my professional and educational goals. Thanks again to the donors and Coastline College for providing this amazing opportunity for their students.
~continued on page 37~
contributor bios
JOEL WOODWARD, "PIXEL CONFETTI," "RAVER," "SUGAR DATA," PAGES 33 - 36
What are we? Who are we? Where are we going? How wil l we get there?
My work is a convergence of graphic shapes, patterns, symbols, gestured abstraction, and is driven by an obsessive search for unfamiliar and uncanny imagery. I ’m continual ly interested in how the variety of texture, the unpacking and navigation of color, and automatism informs the anatomy of that uncanny imagery. I let as many different possibilities emerge as I can, and I chal lenge myself with the limitations of traditional media. The work is inspired by the philosophical questions of where human society is going in our fast-paced and technological ly driven world, explorations of the primitive, and fascinations from evolution. I ’ve been a student of art and a working artist for over 20 years. Born and raised in Northern California, my interest in art took root in the mid-90s with my many visits to art museums and gal leries in San Francisco. Eventual ly moving to Southern California, I earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Drawing and Painting from Laguna Col lege of Art and Design, and a Master of Fine Arts degree in Art from California State University,
Long Beach. I also have 20 years’ experience working in various capacities at Laguna Art Museum where I currently serve as the Director of Operations. I have also been involved with the art dept. at Coastline Community Col lege. Beginning in Nov. of 2017 as an Embedded Art Tutor for drawing classes, then on to an English Writing Tutor through 2018, until final ly being offered to teach Art History online in the spring of 2019, which I have done every semester since.
-Joel Woodard
FOR WORKS CITED SEE PAGE 62
GEOFFGLENN_PHOTO
sean curfman
J U S T B E F O R E T H E Y U N C A P T H E N E E D L E , I F I D G E T W I T H T H E F I L M Y H A I R N E T A N D T U G A T T H I N G O W N S T R I N G S , T H E N W A R N T H E A N E S T H E S I O L O G I S T I A M A C H E A P D A T E . O N E D R O P A N D I ’ M Y O U R S ; D O N ’ T J U I C E M E U P U N T I L Y O U S L I P M E O N T O T H E S U R G I C A L T A B L E . I ’ L L S I N G , P R E T E N D I ’ M A M E R M A I D , A S K Y O U F O R S U S H I , A N D R E V E A L M Y B A N K C O D E S A S I D R I F T , S O T A K E N O T E S . S O M E T I M E S T H E Y L A U G H , U N U S E D T O P A T I E N T S W I T H G A L L O W S H U M O R P O K I N G
F U N A S A S U R G E O N C H O O S E S T H E B L A D E B E S T F O R F L E S H O R B O N E . S O M E D O N ’ T B E L I E V E M E
A N D I N J E C T J U S T T H E O N E T O C A L M Y O U F I R S T , T H E N G O W I D E - E Y E D A S I S L I P O F F T H E F A C E O F A C L I F F W I T H A S I N G L E B L I N K . I L O V E T H E O N E S W H O L E A N I N T O R E A L L Y L O O K A T M E , T H E O N E S W H O T R U S T T H A T W H E N A W O M A N S P E A K S , S H E M I G H T K N O W H E R M I N D . T H E Y S A Y , D O N E T H I S A L O T , H A V E Y O U ? A N D I N O D . O N C E , I A S K E D H O W M A N Y T I M E S I C O U L D B E P U T U N D E R W I T H O U T F R Y I N G M Y C I R C U I T S , A N D T H E W O M A N H O L D I N G T H E D R A M A S S U R E D M E T H A T T H E R E W A S N ’ T A C O U N T D O W N C L O C K W H E R E T H E B U Z Z E R A T T H E E N D M E A N T P E A C E O U T . I ’ M S T I L L N O T S U R E . E A C H T I M E I F I G H T B A C K U P T H R O U G H T H E S A L T Y L A Y E R S , M O V I N G F R O M T H E T R E N C H E S T O S U N L I G H T Z O N E W H E R E S U R G I N G T I D E S D R A W M E S W I F T L Y B A C K T O S H O R E , I W O N D E R H O W L O N G I C A N H A N G T H E R E I N T H E D A R K N E S S , B O D Y R E N T O P E N A L O N G S O M E S E A M , S T I L L E D B U T N O T D E A D , B R A I N B L I N D L Y F L O A T I N G . E A C H T I M E T H E Y L A Y M E D O W N A N D F I L L M E W I T H F O R G E T T I N G , I L O S E F R A G M E N T S O F M Y S E L F . W H E N I W A K E , M Y H U S B A N D L A U G H S I N T H E R E C O V E R Y R O O M A S N U R S E S R E C O U N T T A L E S I T O L D W H I L E S W I M M I N G U P O R D O W N T H E B E N T H I C L A Y E R S . O N E Y O U N G T R A I N E E W I T H A N O C T O P U S T A T T O O O N H E R T A N N E D A R M E V E N S C R A W L E D O N M Y R E L E A S E P A P E R S W I T H A S M I L E Y F A C E : M E R M A I D , L E T ’ S G O G E T D R I N K S A N D L A U G H S O M E M O R E . Y O U S A N G A S Y O U S W A M . Y O U S A N K , B U T D I D N ’ T D I E .
L I S A
D O W L I N G
2 0 2 1
One month after the lockdown began he watched her walk out her front door with a glass of wine and find the double yellow lines in the middle of the boulevard. The night air was warm, wind rising from the direction of the sea to slide down the street toward the hills. Sodium vapor streetlights winked against the lip of her glass and she stood for many minutes, looking one way and then the other; not a single car or human traveling either way. The city was stilled, people tensed on the edge of knowing and fear as they waited for the virus wave to wash over. She walked over reflective dots a few yards, her skirt swirling in the breeze, and just as he had decided to go out to see if she was ok, she lifted her glass to the sky, black-orange dome devoid of constellations, and she toasted the night. Startled, he reached for his glass, whiskey melting a single cube of ice, and from behind his window he toasted her back, though he wasn’t sure if her gesture was a fanfare or farewell , social reflex moved him to reflect the act. He wondered what she saw that he did not. No planes flew, no one scurried from work to home, nothing but coyotes and nightbirds moved among the shadows. In another time he would have stepped out, exchanged neighborly banter, complained gently about the surreal act of stopping everything. But her toast seemed like it may have been a prayer, the lifted glass a supplication rather than a blessing, and he drew the blinds to let her make her offering to the concrete and silent stars in peace.
— Lisa Dowling 2020
contributor bios
LISA DOWLING, "NEPENTHE" AND
JA'NET DANIELO, "JULIA," NEXT PAGE
"TOASTING THE MISSING MOON," P R EVIOUS PAGES As a fourth generation Californian, I have a deep affinity for the landscape, lifestyle, and cultural offerings of the Golden State. Just as my home state offers extremes of experiences: desert to ocean, snow to meadow, redwoods to Salton Sea, my creative interests fol low suit. Always a voracious reader, I fil led my childhood with books and music. Writing poetry helped me to make sense of the tiny details in life that seemed to stand out to no one else but me, and finding a way to make the mundane beautiful was a thril l. Find me at lisadowling.weebly.com
Ja'net Danielo is the author of The Song of Our Disappearing, a winner of the Paper Nautilus 2020 Debut Series Chapbook Contest. Her poems have appeared or are forthcoming in Mid-American Review, Radar Poetry, The I lanot Review, DIALOGIST, Gulf Stream, Frontier Poetry, and 2River View, among other journals. Original ly from Queens, NY, she teaches at Cerritos Col lege and lives in Long Beach, CA with her husband and her dog. You can find her at www.jdanielo.com.
SEAN CU R FMAN, TWO PHOTOS, PAGES 42 & 4 8
My name is Sean and I am 60 years old. I have had few brain injuries which have changed the way I take pictures, not physical ly but mental ly. I see things that I didn’t see before, like a man hole cover, detailed and beautiful. Almost three years ago, a friend gave me a camera, and I ’ve been hooked ever since. I have a Canon Rebel T6, a Canon 75-300mm, and a Canon 50mm
J A ' NE T DAN I E LO
- - A f t e r J u l i a L o u i s - D r e y f u s , w h e n s h e w a l k e d t h e r e d c a r p e t a t t h e 2 0 1 9 E m m y s a f t e r h a v i n g a b i l a t e r a l m a s t e c t o m y w i t h r e c o n s t r u c t i o n
I s a w i t w h e n y o u w o r e t h a t g o w n a t t h e E m m y s , g o l d - s p a n g l e d , p l u n g i n g n e c k l i n e : s o f t f r o w n s a b o v e y o u r b r e a s t s — m a r k o f a h o l l o w e d - o u t w o m a n s t u f f e d & r e s h a p e d i n t o a b e a u t i f u l t h i n g . I k n o w t h e d a r k c u r v e o f s p a c e & t i m e a k n i f e l e a v e s b e h i n d , t h e w e i g h t
o f i t s c o l l a p s e d & h u n g r y s t a r s . I s a w i t i n y o u r c h e s t , o n y o u r s k i n — g o l d - f l e c k e d & b r i g h t , y o u r b o d y a g a l a x y b u r n i n g w i t h a m i l l i o n r e b o r n s t a r s .
sean curfman
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contributor bios
WINNE R , 2020- 2021 C R UX ESSAY CONTEST
My name is Thi Ha. I am from Vietnam, and I have two little boys. I am currently living in Garden Grove, California. My major is Biology. Hopefully, I can complete all biology classes at Coastline Community College and transfer to CSU or UC to pursue a Bachelor of Science degree in the health care field. My goal is to become a Postpartum Registered nurse in the future. Helping others is something that I have always enjoyed doing, and seeing what a difference healthcare work can make in someone's life is such a rewarding feeling. I love cooking, traveling, and reading, especially reading children's books to my two little kids.
R ESEA R CH- BASED CATEGO R Y
THI HA, "THE IDEAL SOCIETY"
FO R WO R KS CITED SEE PAGE 64
&
REFERENCES
"College is Too Dang Expensive," pages 31-42
Works Cited for "College is Too Dang Expensive," pages xx-xx
for "The Ideal Society," pages 51-54
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