American Turtles by The Students in the Art of Neil Gaiman
Tara Prescott is a Lecturer in Writing Programs and Faculty in Residence at UCLA. She is the editor of Neil Gaiman in the 21st Century and co-editor of Feminism in the Worlds of Neil Gaiman and Gender and the Superhero Narrative. Although she loves all of her classes equally, she can’t help but feel that the contributors in this collection truly were stars that fell from the sky and materialized into students, à la Yvaine from Stardust, and they brighten her life with their knowledge and humor.
Ranger Saldivar is a Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology major who is currently a freshman. He comes from a small city called Escondido, which belongs to the county of San Diego. His favorite genres of stories have always been mystery, fantasy, and horror. Reading Neil Gaiman’s stories, Ranger easily came to enjoy the author’s dark writing style. Being a life science major, he drew inspiration from both sources to create an elaborate story that paid homage to them. Ranger definitely recommends reading Gaiman’s stories as it was an enjoyable experience for him and he hopes his own story is just as entertaining to read.
Dalia Sherif is a senior studying Physiological Sciences at UCLA. Growing up in the busy border town of Tijuana, B.C. Mexico, Dalia discovered her passion for traveling, adventure and medicine. She has camped out in the Saharan desert; bungee jumped into the Central American jungle; and dissected a couple of human bodies in lab. Dalia is doing research on body donation programs so let her know if you are interested in giving her a hand. Anatomy is fascinating to her, so finding this raw, dark yet satisfying element in Gaiman’s works truly stuck with Dalia. She recommends Gaiman’s illustrated pieces, as she will continue to enjoy them on her way to medical school.
Melissa Smith is a Spanish Community and Culture major at UCLA, dedicated to pursuing increased educational equality throughout the state. Coming from northern California, and growing up in forests, allowed Melissa to transform the story of Peter Pan into a personalized narrative cherished in days of pretend-play. Pulling inspiration from the corner of nature that is the UCLA Botanical Garden, the story of Peter Pan came back to life—though this time with a twist. The childhood narrative of northern California trees and boys who fly is shifted in this story to account for the odd juxtaposition of a garden-oasis in the midst of a bustling city.
Shabnam Tabesh is a graduating 4th year at UCLA studying Communications who is originally from Wisconsin. After her graduation, she hopes to go to South Korea and teach English abroad for a year or two before returning to the U.S. and pursuing a career in entertainment. She loves all things movies/TV/music related from both the U.S. and South Korea and she would love to work in an entertainment job that connects these two places together. Her hobbies include anything to do with pop culture, finding creative ways to avoid the gym, eating any and every type of food, and spending time with friends and family (especially since she rarely sees her family and friends from home).
Andrew Takeda is a fourth-year student at UCLA with a major in Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics and a minor in Biomedical Research. A native of Escondido, California, Andrew can be found eating, sleeping, and crossword puzzle-ing from Hedrick Summit to Boyer and everywhere in-between. His foray into Gaiman’s works has (figuratively) carved a place in his heart for The Sandman and Neverwhere, and he waits optimistically for a Los Angeles-based sequel to the travels of Richard Mayhew. As he prepares for life after UCLA, Andrew encourages readers to keep their friends close and their turtles closer.
Shuming Wang is a sophomore at UCLA studying statistics and economics. Raised in Sydney, Australia, Shuming competes on the UCLA men’s rugby team and in his free time also plays golf and basketball. Although he lives in Los Angeles now, Shuming loves Sydney’s great outdoors and is an avid fan of Australian Rules Football. Outside of rugby he’s involved in the Cultural Affairs Committee at UCLA, helping organize the Jazz Reggae Festival. He enjoyed delving into the fantasy world of Neil Gaiman through the different mediums Gaiman writes in. Shuming drew inspiration from the science fiction and fantasy nature of Gaiman’s works for his writing and he would definitely recommend Gaiman’s books to others.