Graduate Studies, UNL

 

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

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First Advisor

Timothy Schaffert

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

Committee Members

Debra Hope, Gabrielle Owen, Stacey Waite

Department

English

Date of this Version

4-27-2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Citation

A dissertation presented to the faculty of the Graduate College at the University of Nebraska in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy

Major: English

Under the supervision of Professor Timothy Schaffert

Lincoln, Nebraska, May 2026

Comments

Copyright 2026, Blake Kinnett. Used by permission

Abstract

No Ash Will Burn follows twin narrators Avery and Krista Harmon. After a boy their aged, named Oliver O’Hara, moves in next door, Avie begins playing music with him at the docks in their town. When their mother unexpectedly passes away, Avery leaves their small town of Monticello, Kentucky for Lexington, Kentucky, taking Krista’s dulcimer along with her. The dulcimer was built by their late father, who intended to build two, but passed away before he could complete the second, dedicated to Avery. The completed dulcimer has Krista’s name carved into the side. In Lexington, Oliver develops an original song, which they record and goes mini-viral on the Internet. Meanwhile, back in Monticello, Krista is struggling to keep his family together following his sister’s escape and his mother’s death. He loses his job after his manager finds out that he is transgender, and he establishes a relationship with a man named Hayes Sloan, who knew his father when he was alive. With Hayes’s help, Krista begins building dulcimers. During this time, Miles, their adopted younger brother, begins seeing his biological mother, who struggles with meth addiction. After a car accident that hospitalizes their older brother Elijah, the family is brought back together and forced to deal with the things left unsaid. Avery returns the dulcimer to Krista, and Krista finally completes the unfinished dulcimer for his sister.

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