Includes abstract. / The concept of the traveller has changed considerably in Irish society over the last fifteen years. Traditionally, the traveller was either the emigrant, forced to leave Ireland to better himself, or the gypsy, marginalized since the time of the Famine (1846). Since the advent of the Celtic Tiger (1994), and the wealth and prosperity it brought, the new traveller is the immigrant or refugee who comes to Ireland because of the opportunities it offers. I also believe that the definition can be broadened to the Irish people themselves, who can learn to travel within their own space by embracing the multitude of cultures, ethnicities, languages and religions that are now a part of the society. In fact, the very definition of 'Irishness' is shifting and morphing away from the majority Catholic Celtic nation, to an exciting blend of otherness. We must become travellers by leaving our preconceived notions of 'the other' behind, and travelling out of our own personal narrative into the stories of others. In an attempt to show this shift in 'Irishness', and the difficulties it brings, this novel has been structured to echo the great Irish literary work Ulysses by James Joyce. While I am not so ludicrous as to compare my effort to Joyce's, I do not believe that any creative work deserves 'holy grail' status. Therefore, while my aims are far more minor than Joyce's, I felt that shadowing Ulysses would be a perfect way to contemporise the issues that still lie at the heart of the Irish psyche. Just as Joyce set his book on one day, June 16th 1904, The Traveller is set on June 16th 2004 (Centenary Year). In the same way as Joyce used 'The Odyssey' as a foundation for a reflection on the Irish society of 1904, The Traveller loosely recreates Ulysses in contemporary Dublin. Like Joyce, I see this as a way of creating a thread of continuity between the actions of a small group of people in a particular place and the wider historical context, as well as showing the archetypal nature of human relationships. The Traveller does not adhere slavishly to the plotline of Ulysses, but builds upon it, creating additional characters and transferring the original themes to a modern context. Where appropriate, I have echoed the style of certain chapters in Joyce's original, ego the soliloquy format for the last chapter. Where Joyce used the central character of Bloom, a Jewish advertising salesman of Hungarian extraction, my central character is Omar, a Muslim journalist of Egyptian descent. They both represent the outsider in their own time, and suffer from being born into a tradition/religion that is alien and threatening to the society in which they live. Neither is a hero in the Homeric sense, but ends up being one through ordinary humanity. In The Traveller, the character of Omar is key to exposing the difficulties faced by 'the stranger' , even one who is half Irish and has grown up in that society. His journey through one day indirectly illuminates the key themes of politics, religion, marginalisation and love, as do the characters of Kinch, Flora, and Bláithín.

Summary in English.

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Includes bibliographical references (leaves 214-215). / A collection of eleven short stories, grouped under the tit A Gift Stones. The key thematic concern is the portrayal of dysfunctional individuals contemplating loss. The author offers a definition of his understanding of dysfunctional in the introduction, and further elaborates on the concept of documentary realism. The author proposes the expression “Boer humour†as shorthand for a stylistic drift in recent South African fiction. The deficiencies of journalism apropos prose fiction are discussed, and the author also considers the influence of photography on his prose fiction.

'The Art of Forgetting' is a novel in progress. It can be classified as a work of psychological fiction which adopts the form of a circular narrative. The story is set in Northern Wisconsin, USA. Part One takes place in a mental institution and examines the psychological landscape of Kai Hawkin, the protagonist, in response to events in her life; the precise nature of these events is not elaborated upon. Part Two traces her recent history and ends where Part One begins, thus giving background as to why Kai has been committed to psychiatric care. The setting for Part Two alternates between a Native American Indian reservation and a holiday town close by.

Includes summary.|Includes bibliographical references. / This study examines aspects of the creative writing process and some literary statements in Joan Hambidge’s novel Kladboek (2008). The possible guidance for beginner-poets present in the metafictional Kladboek is examined with reference to Fourie Botha’s collection of poetry titled Blikhoek (included), which came about during work done for a Creative Writing Masters degree from the University of Cape Town.

Includes bibliographical references. / Termination is a genre novel which follows a contemporary crime fiction format. It adheres closely to the narrative shape of modem mystery books, containing the essential elements which constitute a work in this field. With a few twists. Contemporary crime fiction can follow a couple of paths along the way to solving a misdemeanour. Which is usually a murder. The protagonist is either on the spot and in the plot by virtue of his/her job. In other words, they could be a cop, forensic specialist, medical examiner, private investigator etc. Or they could be drawn reluctantly into a scenario, by circumstance or due to an over-developed sense of "doing the right thing."

Includes abstract. / Late in 1998, Lincoln, a former journalist turned truck driver, picks up the ghost of a 17 year old white schoolgirl on a dark Joburg highway. She becomes his confessor, as he relates fragments of his life, hoping to seduce her. He is driving a shipment to Port Elizabeth, where he grew up, but does not want to return home with the news of being HIV positive. He would rather drive forever. Sooner or later Lincoln abandons the map completely, as he proceeds to willfully get lost. He gets stuck in an indeterminate phantom time, struggling to stay awake, losing and finding himself on a journey through eerie nocturnal landscapes and memories he has forgotten. Ban, the ghost's obsessive-compulsive best friend, wakes up after her funeral having tried to commit suicide. He is pursued by memories of Marga while she was alive, in particular her theories on AIDS and sexuality, and his secret love for her. A number of forces, real and imagined, are driving him towards overcoming his fear of leaving the house. Ban feels abused by his mother Helen's lifestyle. She is a con artist with a taste for reckless men, the latest of which is Derrick, who represents to Ban everything which is morally reprehensible about adulthood and growing up. Ean's discoveries in the course of his spring clean of the house, and the stories Lincoln tells the ghost, uncover Helen's great secret. She survived apartheid by denying her coloured family and living as a white woman, rejecting the black father of her child early on for her dream of becoming a .great white actress. When Ban runs away from home with the intention to commit suicide, and Lincoln emerges into the dawn with finer hopes of returning home, they meet without recognising one another as father and son, but unexpectedly give each other hope to carry on. In a world the one does not believe in and the other has abandoned, a boy and a man resist and deny the unfolding of their stories. Central to their struggle are the themes of home, family and healing. For Ban, healing means leaving, for Lincoln it requires return. The memories which pursue them will force them into the discovery of who they are about to become.

No description available.

Please note: creative writing theses are permanently embargoed in OpenBU. No public access is forecasted for these. To request private access, please click on the lock icon and filled out the appropriate web form. / River Atlas is a collection of 35 poems, divided into three untitled sections, that explore the human experience through lenses of travel, geography, interpersonal relationships, memory, and nostalgia. In other words, these poems—some lyric, some narrative—are concerned with attachments to people, places, and times. Special attention is paid to the adventures and limitations of youth. / 2999-01-01T00:00:00Z