Introduction [excerpt] The Guided and Other Trips is the tenative title of the collection. I will continue to craft additional stories throughout the MFA, aiming for a completed manuscript for publication consideration. Each story is centered with a phyisical journey (Joyce to Long Island, Olivia to Saugerties, Benny to Philadelphia) that veers into the existential (Joyce in the midst of a mid-life crisis, Olivia facing the impending loss of her husband. Skye and Benny reckoning...

Abstract

The Lost Daughter of Grover is the start of a novel about a young journalist named Anna who sets out to interview Elizabeth Peuper, a reclusive celebrity, to save her struggling newspaper. At the same time, Anna grapples with the loss of her adoptive mother and ultimately decides to search for her biological mother.

Keywords: The Lost Daughter of Grover, Original fiction, Novel, Journalist, Motherhood, Fame.

Critical Introduction [excerpt] "The Tale of Jim Bum: A Poker Memoir" is a satirical fictional account that is half literary realism and half poker memoir. The manuscript covers the beginning (Part One) of the novel I plan to finish for my MFA capstone project. It follows a first person narrator named Jim "Bum", a poker aficiando that works as a janitor at a casino where he gambles his wages irresponsibly, all while supporting his wife who pursues her dreams to be a cardiologist. One half of the...

Introduction [excerpt] My thesis constitutes part one of a novel set in New Jersey in the year 2008. It is a work of literary realism, yet the narrator's overactive imagination adds an element of absurdist comedy and dream logic. The story is narrated by Amelia, an abrasive woman in her sixties suffering from substance abuse brought on by the loss of both her son and husband. When a representative of the bank that controls the mortgage to her house shows up on her doorstep one morning to inform her that...

Scope and Contents From the Collection: The collection consists of theses written by students enrolled in the Monmouth University graduate English program. The holdings are primarily bound print documents that were submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for the Master of Arts or Master of Fine Arts degrees.Students become eligible to pursue the Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) degree if they have obtained a Master of Arts...

Critical Analysis [excerpt] My manuscript, You Could Have Hurt Me Better, will borrow from the structure of ... [Hispanic] crime fictions ... in order to simulate how Hispanic family life is disturbed by white supremacist assailants through the eyes of Quinton, or in first person, "I."... The manuscript is ... as much a response to the U.S. political climate since the 2016 Presidential Election as it is to the subject matter of creating empathy for the...