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University of Southern Maine

Theses/Dissertations

2019

Articles 1 - 5 of 5

Full-Text Articles in Arts and Humanities

Too Cool, Lillian Margaret Cary Apr 2019

Too Cool, Lillian Margaret Cary

Stonecoast MFA Theses and Capstones

Too Cool is a collection of short stories and essays concerning a young woman’s experiences with relationships, and how they help shape the world around her. The body, foregrounded as metaphor, is threaded throughout each story and essay in the collection in the hopes that all readers will relate to the sometimes un-relatable. Both in fiction and non-fiction, these pieces explore heartbreak, friendship and the human need for connection. The stories and essays are written in a minimalist style to emphasize that what is written is just as important as the information that has been left out, and their themes …


The Eternal Waters, Heather Meeks Apr 2019

The Eternal Waters, Heather Meeks

Stonecoast MFA Theses and Capstones

This creative thesis is from the first book of a planned trilogy. It is the beginning third of a young adult, dark fantasy novel about a secondary, drowning world. Merfolk and humans have been at conflict for centuries over territory and resources. When an angry ocean goddess wakes after a thousand years of slumber, both societies are threatened. The races are forced to work together to solve their environmental and fantastical perils.

We see the island and water worlds though an alternating point of view. The two male point of view characters, one human and the other merfolk, become attracted …


Time Away, Loren Hart Francis Apr 2019

Time Away, Loren Hart Francis

Stonecoast MFA Theses and Capstones

Loren Francis planted himself squarely into his life in 2008, and looked around from there, trying to remember what the view was like from then: a time of building, music, creativity and expansiveness followed by an accident, panic attacks, and the deep rout of alcohol and drug addiction. He picks up the threads, tugging on them and letting them take him where they would back through his family tree to his Irish farmer grandparents on his mother’s side, and his British and Lebanese grandparents on his father’s. Music, addiction, family and entrepreneurism all play a salient part in his life …


Catching Fireflies, Stephanie Mejia Loleng Jan 2019

Catching Fireflies, Stephanie Mejia Loleng

Stonecoast MFA Theses and Capstones

Included in this thesis are five short stories and the start of a novel. Themes include Filipino American and Filipino cultural identity, definitions of home, and first and second generational family interpersonal relationships. The stories are written in either first or second-person point of view, mainly from a female perspective. The settings for the stories feature natural and urban landscapes including locations in Northern California, New York City, the Philippines, Siem Reap, Cambodia, and Prague. The main characters are Filipino or Filipino Americans who experience feelings of loneliness, internal conflict, parental pressure, and both platonic and romantic love.


Coalescing Finish, Daniel James Mcminn Jan 2019

Coalescing Finish, Daniel James Mcminn

Stonecoast MFA Theses and Capstones

This thesis comprises five short stories, the climactic chapter of a novel, two short plays, one short screenplay, and two poems by Daniel James ("Dan") McMinn. The work focused on satisfying endings. Most of the work is speculative fiction---either science fiction or fantasy. The work is prefaced by a statement describing Dan's development as a writer in the Stonecoast MFA in Creative Writing program. The short stories address the following topics:

  • An aging salesman gets replacement internal organs and becomes an opera singer
  • A female presidential candidate must keep a straight face while watching a ridiculous PSA
  • A sniggler (eel-catcher) …