Winds & Waves: A Collection of Short Stories & Poems

JoAnn Balderrama, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

Copyright 2023 The Author. All Rights Reserved.

Abstract

Winds & Waves: A Collection of Short Stories & Poems, presents works of fiction telling a cohesive story with themes of survival, joy in simplicity, and resilience. My work will show the gradual exposing of moods as well as experimentation with writing techniques in several genres. My writing has developed to include a voice of introspection. My thesis title includes winds and waves to signify change and transformation. They also refer to the movement in nature. Nature is included in a lot of my pieces. Water is an important symbolic component in several of the pieces as well. Being born and raised in the lower RGV, our language is a quirky blending of Mexican Spanish slang and South Texas English, Tex-Mex. I draw from personal experiences so since I’ve grown up with this language some of the dialogue in my stories and phrases in my poetry will have Tex-Mex sprinkled throughout. Tex-Mex reminds me of family, that’s how we talk.