2024 OMOT Literary Works
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/2152.5/10338
This collection contains literary works submitted for the 2024 On My Own Time Employee (OMOT) Art Show. OMOT is open to all UT Southwestern employees and students. Literary categories include:
- 10-Word Story
- AI Literature
- Creative Non-Fiction
- Fictional Short Story
- Open Verse Poetry
Authors of winning Literary Art submissions will be invited to read their works aloud at Literary Night on September 12, 2024, at the Dallas College Brazos Gallery (additional details will be provided at a later date). Winning entries will also be published in a Business Council for the Arts Program.
Questions? Contact omot@utsouthwestern.edu for more information.
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Recent Submissions
Item My Queen(2024-07) Young, LenoraMy inspiration for writing the poem "My Queen" was to model writing elegy poetry for my 7th grade ELA students. My mother had recently passed away and I decided it would be an honorable memory. I didn't have a lot of time to fully process the reality of life without her nor really grieve, because I had a main role in preparing as well as participating in her funeral services, and afterwards, I could not take more time off from work. Writing this poem was very therapeutic for me, and even more so when I read it aloud in class to my students. When I finished reading it, the entire class gave me a standing ovation and many of them (including me) were visibly filled with raw emotions (tears). When they completed their elegy poetry, it was very apparent that my previous moment of transparency had quite a positive influence on their commitment to produce amazing heart-warming poetry!Item Teachers and Surgeons(2024-07) Young, LenoraMy inspiration for writing the poem "Teachers and Surgeons" was to model writing comparison poetry for my 6th grade ELA students. The reason I selected those two careers is because I wanted them to understand that although they are commonly mistaken to have a vast level of differences and importance, they are truly quite similar.Item Bury Me on a Rainy Day(2024-07) Guill, DallasA friend shared the news of a loved one's passing while I was back home visiting family. I received the news via text in the sunroom of my sister's house. It was a quiet, gray afternoon, with a light mist covering the fields behind their east Texas home. While reflecting on the loss, I imagined the additional stress of laying someone to rest on an afternoon of bad weather. And yet I found my mind drifting towards the deceased's perspective, and how perhaps he would see the beauty in being memorialized on a rainy day. And as he slowly transitioned from the physical world, he would latch on to the weather, succumbing to sentimentality, listening to the sound of thunder and rain one last time.Item Inferno(2024-07) Guill, DallasReworked from a draft that was based on fires in Northern California that engulfed numerous redwoods, the piece took on a more personal note when fires recently ravaged Ruidoso, New Mexico, which is a short drive from my mother and stepfather. The images and videos I received from them were so disheartening, knowing how horribly it impacted the local ecosystems and countless lives, which were upended by the heavy smoke and fires. Here, I imagine two brothers stuck in a hopeless situation, forced to endure the inevitable nature of mortality. And while so many forms of green will rise through the ashes, it doesn't make the loss and pain any easier to handle.Item Hush Money(2024-07) Cramer, GuyI was inspired by a series of questions my children asked me as they started to become aware of mortality. I tried to soften the whole concept of life and death when surprisingly all they wanted was a straightforward answer.Item This Wondrous World(2024-07) Shaver, EleryAs a chaplain, we often share in others' experience most difficult experiences. So, I wanted to reflect the beauty and wonder in the interconnectedness of the natural world all around us. And in honoring this beauty, we can find some peace and hope.Item The Watchers in The Night(2024-07) Shaver, EleryWorking as a overnight chaplain on the weekends has provided me a unique opportunity to bless patients, family, and staff who are in the hospital overnight. After working with these extraordinary people, I found an overwhelming desire to express my gratitude and admiration for all those medical professionals who work during the night shift.Item We Lie on the Floor(2024-07) Shaver, EleryI wrote this poem after comforting a mother whose adult child died of cancer. Her anguish touched me, and I felt compelled to articulate the powerful ways that her family and friends were supporting her in this devastating moment. Experiencing something like this can feel so isolating, even when you are surrounded by people who grieve alongside you.Item Resilience - Nurses' Second Nature(2024-07) Alexander, MercyItem Prison(2024-07) Berry, JamesPrison was written during a recent, institutionally mandated isolation for COVID - it felt more like a vacation, since I was barely symptomatic. James Berry is a professor and Vice-Chair in the Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Management at UT Southwestern. He serves as the Section Editor of "Mind to Mind", a creative writing section of the journal "Anesthesiology". His work has been published in the journals "Anesthesiology" and "Chest", as well as in online poetry venues.Item Life(2024-07) Alexander, MercyItem Narcissist(2024-07) Alexander, MercyItem Hope(2024-07) Alexander, MercyItem Item Bird in a Cage(2024-07) Alexander, MercyItem My Faithful Friend(2024-07) Alexander, MercyItem The End(2024-07) Alexander, MercyItem Joy(2024-07) Shaver, EleryMy brother-in-law is about to get married, and all of the joy and excitement of this time in their lives is permeating the entire family.Item Bynar(2024-07) Berry, JamesBynar was a cross between an old Star Trek episode and my experience with medicolegal consulting, where yin or yang were the only possible answers. James Berry is a professor and Vice-Chair in the Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Management at UT Southwestern. He serves as the Section Editor of "Mind to Mind", a creative writing section of the journal "Anesthesiology". His work has been published in the journals "Anesthesiology" and "Chest", as well as in online poetry venues.Item Walking Down the Aisle(2024-07) Popokh, BenjaminA dark twist that came to mind after hearing church bells toll on a gloomy Sunday morning.