Ethology is a highly fictionalized ethnographic account of my travels around Tanzania, East Africa during my teens.
"This autoethnographic story is about mental illness, specifically bi-polar disorder."
Ulla-Maija Matikainen·
All ContentAutoethnographic Literary FictionAutoethnographic PoetryAutoethnographic WritingVolume 2, Issue 1 (2022)
··12 min read"A woman alone doesn’t belong to any male power or protection sphere. She can be kidnapped into fears and dreams."
“Cold Snap” is about two disparate adults, caught in the tumult of abrupt weather change, caused by the accidental detonation of an experimental meteorological weapon.
"She has been so careful at work; she has had all of her shopping delivered for weeks, actually for months, now; she's even wiped down the items with bleach as they are delivered, and still does. How can this have happened?"
Catholic Boy Fights the Devil in the Mohawk River Valley is a short story that’s set in upstate New York during World War II. At a time when America was fighting fascist devils abroad, many were struggling with the devil’s influence at home.
In my short story, “Cubicle,” a student filmmaker discovers loneliness, absurdity, and cruelty in the halls of Corporate America—but also finds his artistic voice.
This story explores childbirth-related trauma and postpartum mental health through the lens of a ‘good birth.’
J. Sumerau·
All ContentAutoethnographic Flash NonfictionAutoethnographic Literary FictionVolume 3, Issue 4 (2023)
··19 min readThis short story about a night in a shed is an attempt to encourage any reader to think about the stories that circulate within communities.
I provide context by referencing theory and practice in narrative medicine and current literary criticism around trauma plots.
Missing A Beat examines the journey of two brothers as they attempt to leave behind a past marred by domestic violence but are presented with a choice that threatens the sibling bonds that have been their life raft.
Odesa addresses the traumas of struggling immigrants, who face rejection and shunning rather than acceptance and understanding.
