This paper is a collection of three short stories. A short preface discussing the origin of the tales precedes the stories. Fractions and Equations is the story of a love triangle. In this tale, the development of love between two people is told. There is no resolution in the tale. The second story, The Sailing of the Fantasy Cafe, tells of the operation of a book shop at Christmas time. The main characters in the story are described and several important incidents are also related. The tale ends with a Christmas party. The final story, And Penance More Must Do, deals with the life of a young teacher. The story begins in Africa and ends in America. During the course of the story the mind and heart of the main character are probed in detail.

Two teenage girls get summer jobs as tour guides at a Christian corporation's Poverty-Around-the-World display. A man seduces women with the nostalgia of smell. A young couple finds passion while waiting at a traffic light. These and other stories in the collection explore themes of loneliness, isolation, and coming-of-age in the contemporary American landscape.

No description available.

Cauterizing Tide is a collection of short fiction. The stories feature characters struggling with managing or creating healthy relationships. Characters wrestle with their feelings about family, love, anger, longing, and addiction. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.F.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2019. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

All My Sins is a collection of short fiction. The stories feature characters from Florida struggling with family, sexuality, masculinity, ethics, and themselves. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.F.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2019. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Original short story.

This thesis comprises a collection of short stories entitled Everything Beautiful is Far Away, supported by a commentary which explores ideas of self within the short story and locates my creative writing practice within the field of contemporary short fiction and theories of autobiography. The collection Everything Beautiful is Far Away is made up of eleven stories that experiment with a variety of forms, from rhyming flash fiction to the novella, and fairy tale to psychotherapy, and as a substantial example of original creative practice stands as the main body of my thesis. The accompanying critical element is divided into three chapters, the first offering a survey of the aesthetic intentions underpinning the collection, as well as an introduction to the concepts of embedded autobiography and estrangement and establishment of the context in which my enquiry uses such terms. Chapter Two deals primarily with the notion of embedded autobiography and its manifestation within my own short stories, taking in the theories of Karen Horney, Celia Hunt, Ronald Sukenick and elements of psychoanalysis, (Freudian, Lacanian) whilst also considering the writings of Raymond Carver, Ian McEwan and Jean-Paul Sartre. The third and final chapter raises further questions about the concept of the Self in short fiction with specific reference to my own creative practice, the notion of transferring a story from the imagination to the page and the evolution of the project from novel to collection of short fictions.

THE WINTER WAR is a collection of short fiction set in Sweden.

The short stories in this collection focus on young individuals’, especially women’s, experience and development as they navigate personal relationships and search for a place in the world. Both longer stories and flash fiction are included, and stories are told in past and present tense, and from first, second, and third person point of view. However, the narration of all of these stories stays close to the characters’ points of view, inhabiting their visceral experience. These stories take place in a variety of settings, including a beachside motel, college campuses, bars, and offices. All of these characters, though, struggle with questions of identity, intimacy, and purpose. These conflicts are revealed through the characters’ interactions with others and reactions to their environments, especially focusing on the small details of ordinary events and settings. By depicting these characters’ encounters with the everyday, their sense of self and experiences are shown, and thus the particularities of women’s relationships with their selves, their bodies, and their relationships are represented. In addition to this collection of short stories, the Writing Life Essay in this thesis discusses my development as a writer, my aims, and the writers, such as Dylan Landis, Joy Williams, and Mary Gaitskill, who have influenced my work. A Reading List of influential works, including fiction, non-fiction, and poetry, follows.

No description available.