• Fiction

    An Honest Man: Prologue

    by Thomas Brown An Honest Man is the tale of two down-on-their-luck Alaskans trying to sell a stolen 13th century Arabic philosophical manuscript on the black market in Anchorage.  The book is divided into three main parts: 1) the obstacles and dangers facing the Anchorage duo while illegally selling a priceless antique, 2) the philosophical premise and pedigree of the manuscript itself and, 3) the journey of the manuscript through history from 13th century Muslim Spain to 21st century Anchorage.   This prologue sets up two major themes of the novel while establishing the historical and philosophical roots of the many historical scenes as well as that of the 13th century…

  • Academic

    Editorial: It’s Time to End the War on Drugs

     by Garrett Okonek      “We owned a tortilla factory for generations, but a few years ago drug related violence grew and families who owned businesses started receiving threats,” says APU sophomore Paula Cerda, who hails from a town on the southern tip of Texas, only a five-minute drive from Mexico, where her parents grew up. “This is typical of cartels; they threaten families with kidnappings and murder, and if these families do not turn in a percentage of their profits to cartels, those threats are carried out. My uncle, father, and aunt decided that they would not succumb to the threats of inglorious criminals and took matters into their…

  • Announcements

    Welcome to the Turnagain Currents

    Hello, welcome to the Turnagain Currents. This is an Alaska Pacific University student-run blog featuring student-generated content. Here you will find featured essays from APU classes, creative writing, editorials, and news about events impacting the APU community. There are also sections for photography, information about the APU Nordic Ski Team, and ASAPU, our student government. The Turnagain Currents will serve as a way for the APU community to express themselves and become a more connected, informed place. The Currents will also be a way for students to advance their writing skills. Writing is important because it allows a person to share their thoughts, ideas, hopes and dreams in a way…

  • Poetry

    To the Smog-Filled Sun Beams of Santiago de Cuba

    by Sarah Felder   Children line up asking for gifts– They gleam in their dirty American Popular-cartoon-t-shirts– Don’t worry someone will take you home Tonight: feed you the American way, love You the American way: through money, through Candy, and through camera lenses. [divider] The social clubs are home to old ghosts dancing They forgot where they parked their cars after A few too many gin martinis, whirling olives. I collect their reassuring winks, put their memories Into clickable slides, hold their faces in sea shells And dead coral. [divider] You can’t take a picture of this: Sun bleached blue, yellows and whites, The salt tarnished sea-wall on the high-way, The undiluted smell…

  • Poetry

    Thirteen Ways of Looking at Present Tense

    by Sarah Felder   I Valentines Day, North Philadelphia we dance until dawn; wild limbs lift like dust. I fall asleep on your floor again. I feel your bones through the wood; I lay like leather and don’t move for hours. II we sit parked by the river. you collect your thoughts; pick them off the ground like change and I’m on currency again, my body drops into the seat. III it rains heavily today. I lose my skin on the walk. I lean over to pick up a quarter. my watch hits the pavement  and breaks open. I forget the time. IV you are a mirror inside of my…

  • Poetry

    A Carpet of Lights Over a Dark Thing

    by Sarah Felder   Layers. Layering/folding over Gates of houses Following snow trails this is The first snow I’ve Seen that sticks to the Curves of Octobers ancient Lettering: throws, hurls itself At those hard to reach Creaks of hour to hour life; Divorce, inside of its magenta Creases a monotonous color like The underside of velvet Textile; the insecurities; Pull of feeling on the backside Of cheekbones (she tells me her Translucent tear ducts are blocked, They only flow every six months)   March is the month that cold lives In only in New England though Glows on our white faces Dry, skin, backs of our hands, White with…

  • Nonfiction

    Publish Or Perish and “The Impossible Heap”

    Publish Or Perish and “The Impossible Heap” by Sarah Felder   There’s no money in poetry, but then there’s no poetry in money, either.  ~Robert Graves, 1962 interview on BBC-TV, based on a very similar statement he overheard around 1955   Abstract     Poetry as a distinct art form chronologically predates western literacy. Ancient works, from the Vedas which is dated between 1700 and 1200 BC, to the Odyssey (800-675 BC), appear to have been written in poetic form to help with oral story conveying and memorization in “prehistoric and ancient societies”(Sonnet Mondal, The History of Poetry). In a way, poetry still exists as a form of story-telling, because of modern technology, a publishing…

  • Nonfiction

    In Review: Backcountry Film Festival

    I think that we can agree that a good film every now and then is good for the soul. For the ladies, we fancy a good chick flick to get our tear ducts in working order. For the dudes, those Arnold Schwarzenegger/Jason Statham action movies full of explosions and attractive women remind you of your manhood. But Anchorage is host to a massive population of a different breed with different needs: the outdoorsy people. You all know what I’m talking about. We Anchoragians love to climb anything with a hold, ski anything with snow, and hike on anything solid. Naturally, we require an adrenaline rush from just about everything in…

  • Nonfiction

    APU Log

    On Thursday, December 6th at 1pm, ASAPU president Erica Stoddard and others stood beside the APU Log to share some thoughts and remembrances on the day the log was being retired as the primary signpost welcoming Alaskans and visitors to the campus. The face of the log will hopefully be salvaged here this winter and if all goes as planned, be returned in the spring or summer to adorn the face of Grant Hall as a work of preserved artwork. A new sign is now in place. Please watch the video of the installation of the new APU sign below.

  • Nonfiction

    On the Subject of Roads

    Currently, two roads projects are being planned on or adjacent to the APU campus 1) University Lake Dr. extension and 2) the Northern Access road. Herein I will attempt to provide clarity as to their status. 1) University Lake Drive extension The Municipality of Anchorage (M OA) fire marshal provided a major impetus for this project by identifying a need for APU to provide a secondary road outlet to its main campus core. APU is currently addressing Phase 1 of this road extension.  APU secured a $6 million federal grant to extend University Lake Drive, for Phase I of this road, to reach the APU soccer field (see map below).…