Student Launches Kickstarter for Poetry Collection

OMAHA - Looking to the sky for inspiration, University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) student Britny Cordera Doane is hoping to become the youngest published author in the school’s history.

Earlier this month, Doane launched a Kickstarter campaign to help publish her first book of poetry, titled “Wingmakers.”

The book includes dozens of poems and prose, along with illustrations, that connect stories surrounding legendary winged creatures, such as the phoenix and Pegasus, as well as more common birds of flight with long cultural histories and meanings, such as the raven, owl, and dove.

“People know a lot about Greek and Roman mythology, but my book incorporates many other mythologies,” she explains. “I’m creating a thread between all of these cultures and how they view these individual birds”

Doane turned to Pinyon Publishing to release her book; however, the company requires a certain number of books pre-purchased in order to publish, which is the reason for the Kickstarter campaign.

“I had two decisions; either crowd funding or a grant,” she says. “Grants are very particular about awarding funds to individual artists, but crowd funding is much more open.”

Doane’s goal is $1,000 by Feb. 6 with pledge levels stretching from $5 to a fully-funded donation of $1,000.

As a student in UNO’s Writer’s Workshop, Doane been writing poetry for years, and has even published select works in journals such as the Silver Birch Press Mythic Poetry Series and Fall 2014 Pinyon Review.

Doane also spends much of her time in the downtown Omaha Old Market district as the “Old Market Poet,” writing custom poetry for passersby upon request. She uses those experiences and the Old Market environment to help inspire her other writings.

For her first published book of poetry, Doane was inspired not by the sights and sounds of downtown Omaha, but by a late-night visit from a pair of owls.

“I woke up in the middle of the night. I heard these barred owls outside my window and there were two communicating with each other back and forth,” she says. “The next day I wrote the first poem for the book, ‘Little Owl’.”

Through her poetry, Doane hopes that people can peer into the history and stories of other cultures.

“I want people to gain a sense of culture in their lives, other than their own culture that they live in,” she explains. “We call America a melting pot because of all the different cultures that come here and I view this book as a melting pot, as well.”

For more information about Doane’s book and Kickstarter fund, please contact Charley Reed, UNO media relations coordinator, at unonews@unomaha.edu or 402.554.2129.

About the University of Nebraska at Omaha

Located in one of America’s best cities to live, work and learn, the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) is Nebraska’s premier metropolitan university. With more than 15,000 students enrolled in 200-plus programs of study, UNO is recognized nationally for its online education, graduate education, military friendliness and community engagement efforts. Founded in 1908, UNO has served learners of all backgrounds for more than 100 years and is dedicated to another century of excellence both in the classroom and in the community.

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