English, Department of
First Advisor
Jonis Agee
Date of this Version
2010
Citation
Presented to the faculty of the Graduate College at the University of Nebraska in partial Fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy
Major: English
Under the supervision of Professor Jonis Agee
Lincoln, Nebraska, May 2010
Abstract
A CATALOGUE OF EVERYTHING IN THE WORLD: NEBRASKA STORIES is a collection of linked short stories, all set in Nebraska, that explore the ways in which the forces of geography—being from or choosing to live in a particular place—affect identity and influence the course of lives. They feature a wide range of characters, from a bus driver mourning the death of his infant daughter to an octogenarian former doctor preparing for her death, from a young girl trying to cope with her parents' divorce to a woman whose obsession with a decades-old crime has literally taken over her life. Just as they explore a variety of lives, the stories take on a variety of forms. One is a collection of postcards, one is an excerpt from a diary, one is a letter to a friend, one is a series of e-mails, one prominently features a list as its organizing device, and one includes as part of its text a resume, a timeline, a business card, a real estate flyer, and an infomercial. I see each of these diverse, highly textured narratives as a unique window—an unusual vantage point—from which the characters’ lives can be glimpsed. As a whole, the stories weave together to form a larger picture of a community of people, living side by side, often oblivious to one another's troubles but intricately and subtly involved in one other’s lives. In writing these linked stories, I looked to authors who through shorter, stand alone stories created larger coherent narratives; such works include Sherwood Anderson’s Winesburg, Ohio, James Joyce’s Dubliners, Sandra Cisneros’s The House on Mango Street, Katherine Anne Porter’s Pale Horse, Pale Rider, and William Faulkner’s Go Down, Moses.
Pre-existing contractual obligations prevent full-text deposit of A CATALOGUE OF EVERYTHING IN THE WORLD: NEBRASKA STORIES. Parties interested in viewing the dissertation should contact University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries Special Collections or Interlibrary Loan.
Advisor: Jonis Agee
Comments
Copyright 2010, Yelizaveta P. Renfro. Used by permission