My thesis defense PowerPoint from April 2009. I wrote a travel memoir and added short stories to compliment my own story--it was a great challenge and an awesome experience.
1. Espa ña: An Experiment in Cross-Genre Writing by Kelly Thomas April 3, 2009 University of Pittsburgh Bachelor’s of Philosophy Thesis Faculty Advisor: Leslie Rubinkowski
The intro addresses point 4: I wanted to learn about myself, and hopefully help the reader learn something about herself too.
Others: Ernest Hemingway, Martha Gellhorn, Washington Irving, Warren Zevon—most of these people obviously didn’t make it into the final draft. Don Quijote: metafiction, I wanted to do “meta-storytelling” somehow to pay homage
Pieces about Alcala would be interludes; the pieces would then be able to stand on their own. Started working on the project in February 2008 when I won the Arts and Sciences 2008 Undergraduate Summer Fellowship.
Churches: Even though I no longer worship in churches, I find myself drawn to them as powerful symbols of spirituality and religion The theme of storytelling comes out more in the structure and the inclusion of multiple genres. Heartbreak and recovery may not have come out as much as I wanted it to, because I focused so much on the spiritual.
Magic: Everyone tells you study abroad will be amazing, but you can never know exactly how. So I expected to have a great time, but not in the way that I did, or with the people that I did. I was also very focused on the spiritual, and I had my little Wicca book with me, although I wound up exploring Wicca through other ways than books. I also learned a lot about accepting other people and their religions for who and what they are. I probably didn’t realize that my heart was still broken when my flight took off from Philadelphia, because I was so nervous about having to live with a strange family for a month.
Catedral: Fernando is searching for healing in this church, and through telling his story, much like I am. (Initially I thought I would identify more with Marci.) Caidos: This is an example of what you can find when you’re not looking. Seina doesn’t go with her mother so that she can break away and finally express herself or work out her mixed feelings about her father, but when she sees Manuel’s ghost, she’s able to start doing that. Witch: At first I thought they would have to confront the witch, and that she would be a reflection of me, but H wound up being more of a reflection. This dramatizes a specific moment—understanding that it’s okay to not always understand, and moving on from that to continue the journey. Sometimes you DON’T find what you were looking for. Zevon: Something I really wanted to include. An example of how spirituality can lead you astray or not save you.
Fiction problems + nonfiction problems = 3 rd set of problems 2. Creating recognizable connections, arranging stories in a way that conveys narrative (most of the fiction wound up at the end). 3. emotions: I focused too much on the external, because I didn’t want to be too gushy or internal. Also couldn’t tell if what I was writing was any good, or just total crap most of the time. 4. Impossible to find good books, most research was in Spanish, my journals were undetailed and unhelpful.
Original lyric essay, second Zevon story, among other pieces. Also rewrote a lot of transitions to make everything flow and fit together. 2. Research 3. Ishtar as one of the reasons I was drawn to wicca in the first place, Moors from Mesopotamia so that’s an odd fit/connection.
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