Six Stories: Short Fiction from Contemporary Life
Date of Award
Spring 2023
Degree Type
Capstone
Degree Name
Master of Arts in Professional Writing (MAPW)
Department
English
Committee Chair/First Advisor
William Rice
Co-Chair
Melanie Sumner
Abstract
“Six Stories” is a collection of short fiction derived from contemporary life. While most are in a Mainstream context, at least two stories are set in a future time. The stories survey contemporary life and tap into a range of topics that include personal psychology, groups, technology, the media, politics, and celebrity culture. The stories give a perspective on who we’ve become in a broader sense and share a common thread throughout the collection in their depiction of the distances and barriers that arise between people and even the distances and barriers that can exist within an individual person. As in the case of most fiction, the story ideas are based on, in some cases, real events and real people.