Award Date

8-1-2022

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Fine Arts (MFA)

Department

English

First Committee Member

David Morris

Second Committee Member

Donald Revell

Third Committee Member

Steven Sexton

Fourth Committee Member

Maria Casas

Number of Pages

65

Abstract

Wyoming is thought of as an empty space; a spot on the map that one must travel through in order to get to their true destination. Growing up in this “nothing” state, I found it to be a very different place. There was adventure, beauty, danger, and death, and I loved every inch of it. This piece is a creative exploration of what it means to live in Wyoming not only as a child, but as a girl and a woman, as an individual and as a community, as the apex species as well as the bottom rung of the food chain. Wyoming produces a very distinct type of person. My father became rigid and frightened of the land and I explore how this happened through the stories he told me and by the way he behaved around the land. I didn’t know exactly how the land molded me. So I explore myself through my family, community, and the land I grew up with in this piece. Each chapter details different moments within my childhood and within my family that encapsulates what it takes to survive in such a strange and harsh environment and how it molded me into the person I have become. These moments range from a young girl jumping into a rushing river after a dog to a natural hunter who cannot stand the thought of death. Even in these pages, I’m not sure I can decipher who I have become, but the connection between me and Wyoming is ever present.

Keywords

Abuse; Family; Landscape; Memoir; Silence; Wyoming

Disciplines

Creative Writing

File Format

pdf

File Size

438 KB

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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Available for download on Wednesday, August 15, 2029


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