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 locked Download file link and fill out the appropriate web form. / Excerpts from a novel under progress, tentatively titled "Stories of Our Lives." / 2031-01-01T00:00:00Z

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 locked Download file link and fill out the appropriate web form. / Poetry manuscript / 2031-01-01T00:00:00Z

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 locked Download file link and fill out the appropriate web form. / Short stories / 2031-01-01T00:00:00Z

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 locked Download file link and fill out the appropriate web form. / Collection of stories / 2031-01-01T00:00:00Z

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. / A collection of poems / 2031-01-01T00:00:00Z

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. / These are the short stories and excerpt of the novel Jaewuk Kim has worked on while in the MFA Program in Creative Writing Fiction at Boston University. / 2031-01-01

It is arguable that memories are one of the most important aspects of the human mind. It is through memory that we are able to learn, to make decisions, to evolve. Michael Jacob Kahana (2012) suggests that “our memories define who we are, and our ability to learn and make new memories determines who we become” (Kahana, 2012, p.13). It has also been a topic by several literary authors in their works, such as James Joyce, Virginia Woolf and Antonio Lobo Antunes. This thesis approaches the subject of memories by researching theories and notions regarding the functions of memory and how memories are processed. It embodies the combination of research and practice, where the research into theoretical materials is used in order to develop a collection of short stories. This thesis has the main objective of approaching the practical side of creative writing with thorough background research in theories of human memory, linking all the short stories through the overarching theme of memory and the creative practice, delivering a consistent and unique approach to the field of Creative Writing. That is, these short stories are interpretations of the research through creative endeavour, and aim to explore these theories through the developed narratives. With each story, there is an accompanying critical commentary which describes the creative process and the theoretical approaches that influenced each of them, as well as the literary influences that informed the development of each story.

<p> <i>The Leaving Symphony: Musicality and Voice in the Poetry of Trauma, Addiction, and Redemption</i> represents two years of my critical and creative writing while attending the California State University, Long Beach M.F.A. in Creative Writing program. Evident in the poems of this manuscript, my major themes include trauma, addiction, and personal redemption, all through the intimate lens of my family and myself. Crucial to my writing is the evolution of those struggles, seen in the organization of the poems in this thesis. The methodological essay at the beginning of this project details my process and influences, followed by a full-length collection of poetry. My poetry is highly musical thanks to the inspiration of both my musician father and several writers, such as Sylvia Plath and Dean Young; my work also possesses a distinctive voice that took me decades to find, especially as a poet. This thesis documents that growth and eventual catharsis in writing. </p><p>

<p> <i>POISON</i> is a collection of loosely interrelated short stories chronicling one family&rsquo;s struggles with drugs, alcohol, poverty, gang affiliation, death, disease, and depravity in Los Angeles, California. Most of the stories are set in the 1990s, and channel the trends of the decade, especially those specific to LA. The chronology of the collection is scattered, the dates and details inconsistent or conflicting. POISON aims to emphasize the imperfect nature of memory, the ways in which recollection at once dictates our lives as well as dismantles it. The collection is accompanied by a fictional family tree and a nonfictional photo album containing real photographs of the semi-fictionalized characters depicted throughout the stories. While the photos may display a sense of contentment, when coupled with the collection&rsquo;s content, the reader may begin to interrogate the ways in which memory severely skews reality.</p><p>

<p> <i>The Daily Special</i> is a collection of seven short stories written during my Master of Fine Arts for Creative Writing career at California State University, Long Beach. The stories are linked thematically through a relation of food to a character&rsquo;s psyche in order to exemplify characterizations or conflicts. The element of food is either mundane or centered; however, all the stories respond with the emotion of fear that later results in an act of acceptance. The fear stems from two outcomes, not fitting in or losing something of value. The characters have to face their fears and accept their current situations in order to move forward.</p><p>