Writing Portfolio
In 2020, Bridget earned her MA in English from Arizona State University. Originally a graduate of UC Irvine with a BA in History, minor in English and concentration in Medieval Studies, Bridget taught English in public and private high schools and then took an extended break from work and education to raise her two children. She used this break to learn digital research techniques and launch a website focusing on folk, Americana and independent music.
As a graduate student in 2019, she presented her travel memoir “Mom on the Run: Experiential Travel Through the Trash Dumps of Managua, Nicaragua” at the ASU Southwest English Symposium “Boarders and Cross-Cultural Encounters.” On January 19, 2020, her article The Testament of Alma was featured as a guest column in the online and print editions of the Arizona Central. The article focused on gospel lyricist Alma B. Androzzo, whose song, “If I Can Help Somebody” is featured in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous sermon, “The Drum Major Instinct.”
Her current research interests and projects include forgotten voices of the Irish Literary Revival and African American Rhetoric. She has begun archival research on the personal letters of Irish author James Stephens and continues her research of Androzzo’s works.
A native of southern California, Bridget enjoys spending time with her family at the beach and watching her children compete in various sports. She is a retired semi-professional Irish dancer and continues to be active in the Irish community. She believes in cultural connectivity by supporting the arts in San Diego and loves attending live music shows and theater. She continues to run the music blog www.rabblebee.com and social media account @dontoedanddrive.
Academic Writing
Masters in English from Arizona State University
This paper uses the published letters between Sir Charles Duffy and William Butler Yeats to highlight their arguments for an Irish national literature. Duffy advocates for historical events and biography while Yeats favors ancient legends and mystical religions. They both believe a national literature should be void of divisive political rhetoric.
This paper applies the theory of natural nobility in the medieval period to the character of Sir John Falstaff. It considers the use of personal property in the form of stage props as outward extensions of identity in the noble class.
This final essay from "English Drama: 1660-1789" argues that "the breeches roles" in the Restoration theater of England were used as meta-theater devices to question the role of women in society.
Academic Writing Cont.
Masters in English from Arizona State University
This discussion post uses Nell Irvin Painter's book "Sojourner Truth: A life, A Symbol," as the basis for examining the speech "Ain't I a Woman."
This short paper examines the LGBTQ themes present in Young Adult Literature and identifies ways to incorporate the novel into secondary education.
This paper traces the history of the word "shirt" from the 1000 AD to the modern era and it is the project that made me love the Oxford English Dictionary.
Music Writing
From Rabblebee.com
Written at the end of 2014, this interview was pivotal experience for me as a freelance music journalist. The entire band sat down with me before they played the famous El Rey Theater in Los Angeles and it gave me confidence as an interviewer. The band has since broke up, but I have remained friends with several members and the connections have led to additional music writing opportunities.
According to the analytical data on Medium (from which this story links), this story has been viewed 1,300 times and read 625 times which equates to a 48% engagement. Views went up after Tom Petty's death, but this proved to me that title is everything in social media engagement. My post "Elvis Presley: Misogyny, Racism and Yoga" has been read 398 times with 54% engagement.
This is the travel memoir about my trip to Managua, Nicaragua with the non-profit Love Light + Melody. The experience was an integral part of my journey towards graduate school and I later adapted this piece for the SWES Graduate Conference at ASU.
Music Writing Cont.
From Rabblebee.com
I was an early Pandora and Spotify user, so when U2 released their album for free on iTunes, it made sense to me. However, the rest of the world went crazy and claimed it an invasion of privacy. If hindsight is 20/20, then my conclusions were spot-on in 2014.
In 2014 I began a continuing series called "The Beer Test" where I detailed the reasons why kids should know specific bands or songs. I began simple with a song by the 80s ska band, Madness, but quickly went down a rabbit hole that required a lot of research. This represents one of those rabbit holes.
Greensky Bluegrass ET
My observations at a bluegrass concert led me to post on Medium for the first time on September 18, 2014. I tagged the band on twitter and 73 people read it. I could not believe it.
Published
From Arizona Central
Featured in both print and digital platforms for the Arizona Central newspaper, my article recounts the contributions of gospel writer, Alma B. Anrdrozzo to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s sermon "The Drum Major Instinct."
