Creative Writing Commons^™

Because A Fire, A Lover's Quarrel: Poems, Clifton Clyde Ward

Master's Theses

This thesis comprises poems written and/or revised over the past two years. They mark the development of my aesthetic and writing ability thus far and are representative of the training and practice incited by my own efforts and those of my professors during my enrollment in the Master of Arts degree in English, Creative Writing emphasis. The majority of these poems are written in an open form, and all of them fall under three general categories: autobiographical, absurdist, or formal.

[Blip] And Other Noises, Jennifer Jacob Brown

Master's Theses

[Blip] and Other Noises is a collection of short stories that explores the illusory nature of identity, time, space, and our experience of reality. Its principal characters include a sea captain, an Elvis fanatic, a space alien, and some very confused children. Its principal settings include small town Mississippi, the Gulf of Mexico, the Indiana wilderness, and uncharted (by humans) outer space. This collection is accompanied by a critical introduction.

Dreamers: Stories, Eddie Wayne Malone

Dissertations

The short stories in Dreamers explore American masculinity in the twenty-first century. They also examine and complicate Asian-American identity at a time when decades-old stereotypes persist in the culture. In the title story, a war veteran returns home from Afghanistan to find an American landscape that has the feel and texture of a terrible dream. In other stories, men fixate not on women but on each other. In “Still Life,” the middle-aged main character is preoccupied with a friend who died over fifteen years ago. The main character in “At War with the Insects” pursues a man who was both …

Next Year In Juarez: Stories, Christopher Michael Brunt

Dissertations

This creative dissertation comprises a collection of short fiction and a critical preface. The preface explores the concept of variousness as it affects the contemporary production of literary fiction. Reference is made to a range of twentieth century writers in order to position the dissertation in a context of literary history. The piece titled “The Essay on Longing” is the first chapter of a novel-in-stories.

Nine Exits: A Collection Of Short Stories, Tracie Renée Dawson

Master's Theses

Nine Exits is a collection of fiction and nonfiction written over the span of two years in workshops provided by the Center for Writers.

Stories, Garrett Alden Ashley

Master's Theses

These short stories represent different genres, forms, ideals, and times. This collection contains the weird, the scientific, the fantastical, and settings that are real. The problems faced by the characters are a product of each story's genre, but the willingness of its characters to overcome change remains the same. In one story, a man wants to get rid of his mechanical daughter because she reminds him of his wife. In another, a man takes care of his brother who has returned from the dead as a pig. In others, a man believes his wife is trying to kill him, a …

Collected Short Stories, Arthur Ross Walton

Master's Theses

In this collection of short fiction, I draw upon the experience of growing up in a small southern town and my work as a researcher with the Center for Oral History to reach beyond the stereotypes and create a more accurate portrayal of life in Mississippi.

There are two central themes touched on in these stories. The first I call “Occupational Obsolescence” and delves into the tensions created when a person’s (or community’s) livelihood is taken away for reasons beyond their control. The second, “The Outsider Within,” considers the question of how a person can be a resident of a …

Deconstructing The Body: The Exploration Of The Human Mind Through Symbols, Cassandra M. Knudsen

Honors Theses

The writing of fiction is one of the most popular and enjoyable modes of self-expression; not only does it give the writer the freedom to indulge her imagination, but also allows her a particular insight into her own patterns of thought. This form of introspection is especially important to the symbolist, who hopes to convey psychological human truths through the use of symbols. Traditionally, the intentional use of symbolism is frowned upon in fiction writing, as it is seen as distracting from conveying human truth. However, this study hopes to prove through both literary review and the practice of fiction …

Filipino, Too: Compositions On Culture And Identity, Randy Eugene Gonzales

Dissertations

“Filipino, too: Compositions on Culture and Identity” is a creative dissertation that documents my journey to understand my cultural heritage, focusing on my displacement as an expatriate and as a third-generation Filipino American.

This Animal, Elena Therese Tomorowitz

Dissertations

This Animal is a poetic narrative about humans’ animalistic instincts and how we use them to navigate our relationships with others and the world around us.