Award Date
5-1-2016
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Fine Arts (MFA)
Department
English
First Committee Member
Maile Chapman
Second Committee Member
Douglas Unger
Third Committee Member
Vincent Perez
Fourth Committee Member
Sheila Bock
Number of Pages
111
Abstract
In memoir, writers point their pens towards the hazy space between “nonfiction” and “fiction,” constructing narratives based on their memories. My thesis, “Notes from Reconstructing Illness,” is a memoir about illness that attempts to lay bare the various layers of its construction. In Part One and Part Two, I use the tools of fiction to construct scenes where I reenact memories from my past, but these scenes are put alongside sections containing more “nonfictional” modes such as present day reflection on my “past self” and the inclusion of text from my medical record and other healthcare documents. Therefore, in addition to being a memoir about illness, the thesis is also about the constructed nature of writing itself, and to help emphasize this point, there are bracketed sections containing the “material” for the narrative’s continued construction. Finally, there is one last layer of construction: as the memoir delves into the story of my past illness, in dealing with the past it also inevitably reveals my origins, my construction as a writer. What better way to conclude my thesis, then, than with Part Three, a sort of “appendix” which contains two artifacts, “Moon Fog” and “The Yellow Suit,” both short fiction pieces that reflect the common themes of alienation and illness seen in the memoir aspect of the thesis.
Disciplines
Creative Writing
File Format
Degree Grantor
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Language
English
Repository Citation
Hinkle, Scott, "Notes from Reconstructing Illness" (2016). UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones. 2681.
http://dx.doi.org/10.34917/9112080
Rights
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