Abstract

Inheritance follows the journey of a boy finding himself through the discovery of family secrets and his own sexuality. This hybrid work, part poem, part essay, explores a boy transitioning to adulthood while unearthing secrets about himself and where he comes from. He finds solace in the retelling of stories passed down from within his family and encounters creatures which shift, morph, and lie. In this surreal world, people commune with spirits, the dead find a voice, and a boy breaks and remakes himself. The work divides into three parts, beginning with memoiresque poems from the speaker leading to an interrogation of masculinity in "Reclaiming 'Man.'" The second section then turns inward combining lyric and narrative voices in "potion making," "Studs," and "About a Cat" to explore the speaker's experience with queerness. The final section offers a combination of memory and the mystical to imagine roads beyond societal pressures. Inheritance is an acceptance and dedication to freedom.

Notes

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Graduation Date

2021

Semester

Fall

Advisor

Thaxton, Terry

Degree

Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.)

College

College of Arts and Humanities

Department

English

Degree Program

Creative Writing

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0008878; DP0026157

URL

https://purls.library.ucf.edu/go/DP0026157

Language

English

Release Date

December 2021

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Masters Thesis (Open Access)

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