Portal Theory
Hello, world.
About Me
My name is Meep (you might also know me as Annie James Rollins). My pronouns are e/em or she/her (or, as Annie James, they/them).I am a full time international school librarian based in Tokyo, Japan (originally from New England, USA) and part time grad student, part time poet, and former portal fantasy protagonist. ✨
I am a graduate student at Antioch University in the MA in Humanities, Self Designed program. I graduated with a MFA Writing for Children & Young Adults from Hamline University in January 2023 and a BA East Asian Studies from Simmons
This site is the public side of my grad school digital garden.
Research Interests
Portal theory is defined by poet-scholar Lev Mirov as “a way of entering stories that changes you.”I am interested in affective relationships with inanimate objects, fictional characters, and imaginary friends - "loving things that can't love you back." Lately, my focus has been on doll photoplay on visual social media.
- Adults playing with character toys
- Defictionalization/Paratexts
- Imaginary friends
- Fictionkin/Soulbonders/Reality shifting
- Fan studies
Projects & Publications
Current projects:
- Toy Tourism in Tokyo: An Autoethnographic Account Drafting/Revisions
- Playing With/As Protest: #ToysFightingFascism on Visual Social Media Research/Drafting
Now
- Reading: Children's Books, Dolls, and the Performance of Race; or, The Possibility of Children's Literature
- Thinking about: Digital ethnography research ethics
- Crafting: Pastel rainbow half circle blanket (Crochet)