College of SBS Creative Writing Students Give Secondhand Objects New Life

A $5 secondhand object sitting on a thrift store shelf might not seem worth much at first glance. But for students in the Creative MFA Writing program in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, those everyday objects became the starting point for stories, experiments in storytelling and published work that reached audiences beyond the classroom.

This spring, undergraduate students in the Department of English gained hands-on experience in writing, editing and publishing through a series of creative projects that challenged them to think about the real-world impact of storytelling.

One of those projects, Significant Objects 2026 Season One, came out of the Advanced Fiction course taught by Professor Ander Monson. The 240-page collection features fiction, essays, poems and photographs centered around 45 secondhand objects and the stories connected to them.

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This project is part of an ongoing literary experiment asking a simple question: What value does narrative add to an object?

For the project, writers purchased or acquired objects for less than $5, wrote stories inspired by them before posting the pieces as eBay auction listings. Buyers received both the object and a limited-edition version of the story.

“I really like doing projects with my creative writing students that bridge the gap between classroom and world, that allows them to see their writing do work in the world,” Monson said. “Seeing their work published in the world with well-known novelists and essayists encourages them to think of themselves as practicing professional writers.”

The project also raised more than $600 for the Hermitage Cat Shelter, a local no-kill rescue organization selected by students.

Monson said many of the objects sold for significantly more than their original purchase price once paired with stories.

“As one example, a music notebook purchased for $2 went for $31 when accompanied by a short story written by one of my students,” Monson said.

For student contributor Layla Todd, the project stood out because it explored how storytelling can transform something seemingly ordinary into something meaningful.

“Here was essentially a collection of items that nobody wanted, and our main goal was to make them wanted again,” Todd said. “As of now, we've auctioned off almost every item and accompanying story on eBay.”

Todd said participating in the project helped validate her future as a writer while giving her a new perspective on the emotional significance attached to everyday objects.

“It was such a meaningful experience to be part of a capstone creative writing class and to work with my peers on stories that brought our chosen objects to life,” Todd said. “And then to see my work published in a book just validated that I am a writer and this is my future.”

The experience extended beyond writing alone. Students participated in editing, production and publishing while seeing how narrative can reshape the way people connect with ordinary objects.

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At the same time, students in the Field Studies in Writing course taught by Professor Susan Briante explored storytelling through zines focused on environmental and community issues affecting Southern Arizona.

Throughout the semester, students worked with organizations including the Borderlands Restoration Network, Salvavision and the Florence Immigration and Refugee Rights Project while studying the role of art and storytelling in creating social change.

“One of the main goals of the class is to teach students about the role that art — in general — and creative writing or storytelling specifically can play in bringing about social change,” said Briante.

The zines gave students an opportunity to combine writing, illustration and graphic design while reflecting on their experiences working with community organizations across Southern Arizona.

“The zines were a way to reflect on their findings and experiences as well as to use the arts of graphic design, illustration and storytelling to share their research on the borderlands with a broader community,” Briante said.

The zines will be shared with local nonprofit organizations to help promote their work and connect students with community-centered storytelling outside the classroom.

Together, these projects reflect the Creative Writing program’s emphasis on experiential learning and show how students are using storytelling not only as a creative practice, but also as a way to engage with communities, ideas and audiences beyond the university.

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More information about the ongoing Significant Objects project is available through the Tucson Essay Club.