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Title: Go Ahead, Daytona.
Creator: Hughes, John, Roney, Lisa, Uttich, Laurie, Holic, Nathan, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Go Ahead, Daytona is a collection of essays meant to explore the experiences and lessons learned through law enforcement. It juxtaposes hope with cynicism and encourages the reader to explore his or her own biases through the lens of a narrator believing police work is something to be lived down, rather than up. The essays depict struggles with hypocrisy, sex, homelessness, violence, moral ambiguity, and self-awareness.
Date Issued: 2016
Identifier: CFE0006529, ucf:51361
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006529

Title: We Are the Asteroid.
Creator: Davis, Sloane, Roney, Lisa, Rushin, Pat, Uttich, Laurie, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: We Are the Asteroid is a collection of personal essays concerned with the power of erasure and manipulation of chronology that comes with writing. It both acknowledges and participates in the fact that nonfiction writers become unstuck in time, whether they want to or not, traveling between ages, rearranging the order of events into the stories they tell. The collection centers on a few traumatic events in the narrator's life, and it explores the ways in which she deals with those events...
Show moreWe Are the Asteroid is a collection of personal essays concerned with the power of erasure and manipulation of chronology that comes with writing. It both acknowledges and participates in the fact that nonfiction writers become unstuck in time, whether they want to or not, traveling between ages, rearranging the order of events into the stories they tell. The collection centers on a few traumatic events in the narrator's life, and it explores the ways in which she deals with those events through her writing. The writer utilizes various structural techniques, such as the segmented form, to play with the idea that the placement of events in a story can affect the emotions attached to those memories. In this way, the writer looks at the power that writing has over illness, violent relationships, and even death. Exploring topics as wide-ranging as infertility, inauthentic grief, and sacrifice, the collection resolutely returns to the idea that the nonfiction writer is in control of, and therefore charged with, the responsibility of making beautiful even the saddest of memories. We Are the Asteroid serves both as a wish to go back and an acknowledgement that we must, despite our abilities and tools as a writer to dwell, continue moving forward.
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Date Issued: 2014
Identifier: CFE0005477, ucf:50346
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005477

Title: Heavy Hit Me.
Creator: Basques, Shauna, Roney, Lisa, Thaxton, Terry, Bartkevicius, Jocelyn, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Heavy Hit Me is a memoir series linking obesity to sexual desire and its corresponding fear, linking fantasy to the lived loneliness of a girl too distrusting of her own body and attractions to live outside her own head. Told through essay, found letters, and shifting points of view, Heavy Hit Me explores the breadth of its protagonist's chosen isolation. It shows how the many itches of insecurity craft a young woman never challenged to really know and love herself(-)until now.
Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: CFE0006932, ucf:51678
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006932

Title: JOURNEY TO THE SCARS: A WHITE TRASH EPIC.
Creator: Rader, J, Hemschemeyer, Judith, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Inspired by the work of writers Hunter S. Thompson and Tom Wolfe and motivated by celebrity prevaricator James Frey, Journey to the Scars: A White Trash Epic is a memoir that attempts to redefine the genre by applying the ideals and themes of gonzo and new journalism. The opening chapter, "The Diary of John Doe Frankenstein" tells the story of a pivotal event in the author's life. Immediately following this narrative of a near fatal motorcycle accident, the author/narrator's reliability is...
Show moreInspired by the work of writers Hunter S. Thompson and Tom Wolfe and motivated by celebrity prevaricator James Frey, Journey to the Scars: A White Trash Epic is a memoir that attempts to redefine the genre by applying the ideals and themes of gonzo and new journalism. The opening chapter, "The Diary of John Doe Frankenstein" tells the story of a pivotal event in the author's life. Immediately following this narrative of a near fatal motorcycle accident, the author/narrator's reliability is called into question and the remainder of the memoir is the story of the author's efforts to uncover the truth about himself, and more importantly, the events and motivating forces that led to the author's almost Near Death Experience.
Starting with a nonjudgmental look at the life of his parents before he was born, our unreliable narrator/author hopes to improve the reader's opinion of himself while also uncovering the true stories behind all the fictional ones he's been telling himself and others his entire life. As he learns more about where he came from, he begins to try to understand why he has made some of the decisions in his own life. Life is one long party for James Patrick Makowski and he shares his experiences not as a victim of his choices, but as a lonely man who just doesn't want to be left off of any of Life's guest lists.
In a final attempt to improve his credibility with the reader, the author retells the story of his accident with as much focus on factual detail and verifiable events as possible. His select poems reveal his attempts at emotional honesty while appending documentation is included for the purposes of veracity. Treating himself as a hostile witness, the narrator/author goes on to share the development of his literary integrity when he meets the most honest person he has ever met--the drug dealing Dog. "Tales of the Dog" summarizes the author/narrator's attempts to improve his credibility and why this quest has been so important to him.
Journey to the Scars: A White Trash Epic is the gonzo story of one man's efforts to be his own messiah. The author/narrator, after realizing that his life to date has been in large part the result of his efforts to forget his past, J Patrick Rader begins his efforts to remember his.
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Date Issued: 2007
Identifier: CFE0001664, ucf:47215
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0001664

Title: I Thought You Were Someone Else.
Creator: Milazzo, Maria, Roney, Lisa, Neal, Mary, Hubbard, Susan, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: I Thought You Were Someone Else deals with violence, family, love, art, and gender. The author examines these issues as well as what makes a creative work fiction or nonfiction by creating a multi-genre collection of seven short fiction stories and five short nonfiction pieces. Fictional stories feature protagonists similar to the author and protagonists who could be considered completely different from the author. Nevertheless, the protagonists in these pieces, whether they are real or...
Show moreI Thought You Were Someone Else deals with violence, family, love, art, and gender. The author examines these issues as well as what makes a creative work fiction or nonfiction by creating a multi-genre collection of seven short fiction stories and five short nonfiction pieces. Fictional stories feature protagonists similar to the author and protagonists who could be considered completely different from the author. Nevertheless, the protagonists in these pieces, whether they are real or fictitious, all experience grand realizations concerning their identity and surroundings. Essentially, they realize they are not who they thought they were. A young boy realizes he likes destruction; another comes to terms with love and romance. A father deals with his homophobia, while another older man examines his life of violence. Young women cope with getting older and struggling to create families. Others realize that their needs will never be met. All stories deal with growth, change, and discovery, thereby allowing the author to unearth details about identity and how it is shaped and evolves.
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Date Issued: 2011
Identifier: CFE0004139, ucf:49078
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004139

Title: BIRTH OF A MOTHER.
Creator: Curran, Ashley, Bartkevicius, Jocelyn, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Birth of a Mother is a memoir that tells the story of how my unplanned pregnancy helps me to transform from a damaged adolescent into an empowered mother. Using a first person, present tense narrative, I relive the nine months leading up to the unmedicated home birth of my first child, exploring the conflicts I faced over my obesity, over having no job and no place to call home, and over developing a relationship with a man who was not the baby's father. Weaving in past tense vignettes, I...
Show moreBirth of a Mother is a memoir that tells the story of how my unplanned pregnancy helps me to transform from a damaged adolescent into an empowered mother. Using a first person, present tense narrative, I relive the nine months leading up to the unmedicated home birth of my first child, exploring the conflicts I faced over my obesity, over having no job and no place to call home, and over developing a relationship with a man who was not the baby's father. Weaving in past tense vignettes, I attempt to show how I prepared myself for impending motherhood by reflecting on my mother's short, violent life and the abuse I suffered at her hands; the effect of losing my mother at the age of twelve and my quest to find someone to fill her role throughout my adolescence; my experiences with faith, from Christianity, to Buddhism, to Atheism, to Paganism; and by struggling to heal the emotional scars left over from suffering childhood abuse, and multiple rapes as a teenager. As I uncover parallels between my mother's life and my own, I come to a new understanding of the mental illness that seems prevalent in my family, of the causes and triggers of my personal flaws, and of methods that I can use to become for my child the mother I always wanted for myself.
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Date Issued: 2011
Identifier: CFE0003996, ucf:48667
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0003996

Title: Antipodes: Ways to See the World.
Creator: Sallee, Brenda, Neal, Mary, Bartkevicius, Jocelyn, Poissant, David, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This thesis is an examination of the geographical oddities of my past, the process of transitioning between worlds, and the kinds of relationships that survive those transitions. In a world where I can fly from Atlanta to Beijing non-stop in fifteen hours, I sometimes convince myself that geography no longer matters. I was born in the tropics, raised in the arctic, and became a dual citizen of the same two countries twice. I could distinguish gunshots from fireworks by age five and have...
Show moreThis thesis is an examination of the geographical oddities of my past, the process of transitioning between worlds, and the kinds of relationships that survive those transitions. In a world where I can fly from Atlanta to Beijing non-stop in fifteen hours, I sometimes convince myself that geography no longer matters. I was born in the tropics, raised in the arctic, and became a dual citizen of the same two countries twice. I could distinguish gunshots from fireworks by age five and have ridden the Trans-Siberian Railroad in both directions. I have milked a water buffalo and played Tchaikovsky's piano and been interrogated by a Maoist by firelight on the top of a mountain at the far western edge of the earth. I have seen the Louvre and the Hermitage and the highest point in Iowa and The Pit, the outhouse that connects directly to Hell. I sometimes believe I can go anywhere. See anything. Befriend anyone. But I deceive myself. Some places are so far away, it takes years to settle, to adjust, to reach a level of familiarity where the world outside your window, and the people in that world, no longer shock you. I have seldom stayed that long.The transient life does not get easier, but you can get better at it. I have gotten better at it. Distance is a matter of perspective and convenience and desire. The farther two places, or two people, or two lifestyles are from each other, the subtler and more intricate the connecting lines. My contentment and sanity and relationships depend upon deciphering those lines. This is the story of what I've learned.
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Date Issued: 2013
Identifier: CFE0004746, ucf:49765
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004746

Title: MILD TO MODERATELY SEVERE.
Creator: Valencia, Julian, Thaxton, Terry, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Mild to Moderately Severe is an episodic memoir of a boy coming of age as a latch-key kid, living with a working single mother and partly raising himself, as a hearing impaired and depressed young adult, learning to navigate the culture with a strategy of faking it, as a nomad with seven mailing addresses before turning ten. It is an examination of accidental and cultivated loneliness, a narrative of a boy and later a man who is too adept at adapting to different environments, a reflection on...
Show moreMild to Moderately Severe is an episodic memoir of a boy coming of age as a latch-key kid, living with a working single mother and partly raising himself, as a hearing impaired and depressed young adult, learning to navigate the culture with a strategy of faking it, as a nomad with seven mailing addresses before turning ten. It is an examination of accidental and cultivated loneliness, a narrative of a boy and later a man who is too adept at adapting to different environments, a reflection on relationships and popularity and a need for attention and love that clashes with a need to walk through unfamiliar neighborhoods alone. "Mild to moderately severe" is a diagnosed level of my hearing impairment. It is also the level of clinical depression I'm supposed to have been suffering since I was a preteen. It is also an answer to the question, "How was your day?"
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Date Issued: 2011
Identifier: CFE0003749, ucf:48770
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0003749

Title: What We Hide.
Creator: Bowcott, Ashley, Thaxton, Terry, Bartkevicius, Jocelyn, Uttich, Laurie, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: What We Hide is a collection of memoir essays that explores the themes of mystery and deception in personal relationships, specifically within familial and romantic ones. Though the essays in the collection explore the decades from early in the narrator's childhood through her move to Florida for graduate school, the narrator's keen discernment of the world around her and her curiosity for what experiences shape a person's character remain constant. Many essays explore the extent of her...
Show moreWhat We Hide is a collection of memoir essays that explores the themes of mystery and deception in personal relationships, specifically within familial and romantic ones. Though the essays in the collection explore the decades from early in the narrator's childhood through her move to Florida for graduate school, the narrator's keen discernment of the world around her and her curiosity for what experiences shape a person's character remain constant. Many essays explore the extent of her father's alcoholism and the consequences of it, as well as the narrator's obsession over the possible sources of his addictions. Other essays examine the narrator's relationships with men beginning when she enters high school and question the extent to which her strained relationship with her father both excuses and/or explains the way she deceives and allows herself to be deceived in these relationships. What We Hide is endlessly implicating and looks for the accountability of these situations from all sources. The narrator delves into the sneakiness of her parents' courtship, the accusations that become commonplace during their divorce, the ways in which the narrator lies to family, friends, and boyfriends for her own selfish motives, and how each of these experiences shapes subsequent ones.What We Hide uses personal experience, emails, and newspaper articles to demonstrate the vulnerability, contradictions, and complications that are inherent in all of us as humans and how these weaknesses manifest themselves in the relationships with those we are closest with.
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Date Issued: 2015
Identifier: CFE0005582, ucf:50240
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005582

Title: TOURIST TRAP: ON BEING RAISED IN AWARD-WINNING SAND.
Creator: Carson, Catherine, Roney, Lisa, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The literary essays in this collection explore the relationships between mind, body, and environment as the narrator explores Orlando, her beachfront hometown of Sarasota, and other "tourist traps." The traditional and experimental essays here question how residents make popular vacation destinations their own and how much trust one can put in strangers, neighbors, city planners, theme-park designers, and lovers. Dance floors, hybrid bikes, flying elephants, swing sets, and swimming pools...
Show moreThe literary essays in this collection explore the relationships between mind, body, and environment as the narrator explores Orlando, her beachfront hometown of Sarasota, and other "tourist traps." The traditional and experimental essays here question how residents make popular vacation destinations their own and how much trust one can put in strangers, neighbors, city planners, theme-park designers, and lovers. Dance floors, hybrid bikes, flying elephants, swing sets, and swimming pools fill these pages. Worries spiral like disco lights on dance floors, and cultural forces press down with the constant pressure of pedal strokes. With the embodiment of place comes connection between environment and activity; music, buildings, landscape, and physical activity heighten the relationship between personal identity and place. Everything moves, but the appeal of tourist traps remains constant.
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Date Issued: 2007
Identifier: CFE0001895, ucf:47383
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0001895

Title: AMIDST A BOTTLED WORD: POETRY & PROSE.
Creator: Peralta, Carlos J, Milanes, Cecilia Rodr�guez, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: "Amidst a Bottled Word: Poetry and Prose" includes a variety of different themes, styles, and genre - many reflecting a cynical or ironic tone. This eclectic thesis reflects the wide-ranging interest of its creator. The stories within this collection are a thriller and a work of speculative fiction, the former supernatural and the latter near future or science fiction. In one story, "The Man Behind the Curtain," Val, the older of two young sisters, must protect herself and her sister while...
Show more"Amidst a Bottled Word: Poetry and Prose" includes a variety of different themes, styles, and genre - many reflecting a cynical or ironic tone. This eclectic thesis reflects the wide-ranging interest of its creator. The stories within this collection are a thriller and a work of speculative fiction, the former supernatural and the latter near future or science fiction. In one story, "The Man Behind the Curtain," Val, the older of two young sisters, must protect herself and her sister while enduring a weekend visit to her estranged Grandparents' house, while signs of a mysterious man keep emerging throughout their stay. The futuristic story, "Life.exe," details a man overcoming his own personal dystopia by finding comfort within the arms of an inadvertently purchased robotic companion. Additionally, the poems within the collection deal with failed love, anxiety, isolation, and despair. Finally, the thesis also includes an essay, "The Schism Past Skin," expounding on race, ethnicity and how people make assumptions of others based on appearance.
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Date Issued: 2018
Identifier: CFH2000433, ucf:45713
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH2000433

Title: (In)Tangible Things.
Creator: Skaryd, Ryan, Uttich, Laurie, Roney, Lisa, Thaxton, Terry, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: (In)Tangible Things is a collection of memoir essays and poems that examines loss, pain, and identity. Many pieces explore familial ties through separation, secrecy, and divorce, while other stories and poems observe the author's connection to drag culture, sexuality, eating disorders, and time itself. Using techniques such as framing devices, backwards storytelling, and delineated narrative, the author invites the reader to experience memories and moments from his past that show consistency...
Show more(In)Tangible Things is a collection of memoir essays and poems that examines loss, pain, and identity. Many pieces explore familial ties through separation, secrecy, and divorce, while other stories and poems observe the author's connection to drag culture, sexuality, eating disorders, and time itself. Using techniques such as framing devices, backwards storytelling, and delineated narrative, the author invites the reader to experience memories and moments from his past that show consistency and change, betrayal and forgiveness.
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Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: CFE0006661, ucf:51215
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006661

Title: Ascending Mango Hill.
Creator: Camueiras, Lorri, Poissant, David, Bartkevicius, Jocelyn, Neal, Mary, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Ascending Mango Hill is a collection of work that represents me. The intention is to connect with readers by depicting protagonists who are unable to fit in, a theme most readers can relate to. Many times the protagonist must find the courage to confront a situation rather than remain quiet. The collection is separated into two sections: The Essays and The Short Stories. The essays detail my own experiences at being an outsider while exploring the topics of family and personal growth. In the...
Show moreAscending Mango Hill is a collection of work that represents me. The intention is to connect with readers by depicting protagonists who are unable to fit in, a theme most readers can relate to. Many times the protagonist must find the courage to confront a situation rather than remain quiet. The collection is separated into two sections: The Essays and The Short Stories. The essays detail my own experiences at being an outsider while exploring the topics of family and personal growth. In the stories, characters must overcome unresolved childhood issues, recognize unhealthy relationships, and decide when to set off on new journeys. I bring the sections together by using my travel experiences as the setting for several stories. Aspects of who I am show up in the stories through character motivation and characterization. Ultimately, Ascending Mango Hill is a reflection of the girl I was, the woman I hoped to be, and the woman I have become.
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Date Issued: 2015
Identifier: CFE0005585, ucf:50266
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005585

Title: Golden Years.
Creator: Malik, Sienna, Bartkevicius, Jocelyn, Stanfill, Mel, Thaxton, Terry, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Golden Years is the culmination of the author's studies in Creative Nonfiction writing, with attention to hybrid forms of the genre, combined with her professional background in screenwriting, and research interests in nostalgia and cultural preservation in the modern age. In the collection of essays, the author blends established forms of Creative Nonfiction, such as the braided essay, with literary conventions borrowed from other forms of written communication, such as the screenplay (("...
Show moreGolden Years is the culmination of the author's studies in Creative Nonfiction writing, with attention to hybrid forms of the genre, combined with her professional background in screenwriting, and research interests in nostalgia and cultural preservation in the modern age. In the collection of essays, the author blends established forms of Creative Nonfiction, such as the braided essay, with literary conventions borrowed from other forms of written communication, such as the screenplay ((")You Must Remember This,(") (")Driver's Seat(")), the cookbook ((")Tip of my Tongue(")), a travel guide ((")A Trolley Runs Through It(")) and fabulist fiction ((")Selkie on the Shore(")). Through these hybrid forms, Golden Years explores the narrator's fascinations with music, cinema, and fashions of the past, with crafting the perfect pot of vegetarian chili, and with marine mammals. Through the blending of personal essay with cultural criticism, the author explores how these loves have shaped her relationship with the world around her.
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Date Issued: 2018
Identifier: CFE0007344, ucf:52128
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007344

Title: POTENTIAL ENERGY.
Creator: Bull, Edward, Rushin, Pat, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: BULL, EDWARD. Potential Energy. (Under the direction of Pat Rushin.) Potential Energy is a collection of sixteen short stories. They range from the fictional to the autofictional to the entirely non-fictional. In all of them, characters both real and imagined struggle to live and define themselves in a world that is outside their control. They cope with the inevitability of loss, dangers both internal and external, and the passing of their own greatness. Some of these characters become lost...
Show moreBULL, EDWARD. Potential Energy. (Under the direction of Pat Rushin.) Potential Energy is a collection of sixteen short stories. They range from the fictional to the autofictional to the entirely non-fictional. In all of them, characters both real and imagined struggle to live and define themselves in a world that is outside their control. They cope with the inevitability of loss, dangers both internal and external, and the passing of their own greatness. Some of these characters become lost while others learn to embrace life on its own termsÃ‚Â--to accept Ã‚Â"without hope or expectation.Ã‚Â" More often, they are not lost or enlightened, but simply survive to continue on, still uncertain. Though all the stories in Potential Energy are stand-alone, they are thematically connected. The themes of family and identity are most prominent in Ã‚Â"Potential EnergyÃ‚Â" and Ã‚Â"Eulogy to Maria Mamani, Fire-Eater.Ã‚Â" Loss is confronted and the question of what comes next is asked in Ã‚Â"OystersÃ‚Â" and Ã‚Â"Slide.Ã‚Â" The conflict between fate and the need for control rises to the surface in Ã‚Â"Threshold,Ã‚Â" Ã‚Â"The Elizabeth Years,Ã‚Â" and the non-fiction story of Charles WhitmanÃ‚Â's deadly rampage in 1966, Ã‚Â"Seed.Ã‚Â" Themes of ambiguity, moral erosion, and literary exploitation appear in the non-fiction Ã‚Â"Bright and Loud and Then Gone,Ã‚Â" about a landlord burned alive in Chicago in 2008, and Ã‚Â"What It Might Have Been Like If We Had Been There,Ã‚Â" an apologetic for the writerÃ‚Â's right to write inspired by the 2007 Al Mutanabbi Street car-bombing in Baghdad, Iraq. Most importantly all the content of Potential Energy tells stories of people trying to hold on to what is good when, tragically, everything must eventually come to an end.
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Date Issued: 2010
Identifier: CFE0003148, ucf:48651
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0003148

Title: A CRIMSON TRAIL.
Creator: McGill, Caitlin, Neal, Mary Darlin', University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Willing to overstep literary conventions in order to ensure that meaning and purpose reign over structure, cross-genre writing works to push boundaries of genre and tear down the walls of limitation. This cross-genre thesis aims to test literary restrictions of structure and style and, as literary endeavors often do, to rattle our existence. In this thesis, nonfiction and fiction work together to drive meaning to the surface of the page, meaning that is universal in the individual stories as...
Show moreWilling to overstep literary conventions in order to ensure that meaning and purpose reign over structure, cross-genre writing works to push boundaries of genre and tear down the walls of limitation. This cross-genre thesis aims to test literary restrictions of structure and style and, as literary endeavors often do, to rattle our existence. In this thesis, nonfiction and fiction work together to drive meaning to the surface of the page, meaning that is universal in the individual stories as well as in the human experience. Although some characters are fictional and some real, they often intersect, their journeys and discoveries merging into one. The many voices of this thesis, while diverse, speak to similar themes and meaning. The main character of "Silhouettes," a homosexual male who yearns to find his identity away from the place he once called home, experiences feelings of abandonment and loss. The narrator of "A Crimson Trail" longs to uncovers truths about her uncle's suicide and endures similar feelings of loss. "Abandoned Laurels" explores a complex mother-daughter relationship and wades through themes of mourning, regret, and shame. The remaining stories explore similar themes, including those of longing, death, and familial relationships. Shorter pieces are scattered amongst longer works and supplement themes developed in the thesis. Each section contributes to the characters' longing for identity, recovery, and understanding of the past. These related characters and their stories - both real and fictional - merge in a collective endeavor to sift through loss, explore the past, and, most importantly, find identity and hope in the future amidst the rubble of the present.
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Date Issued: 2012
Identifier: CFH0004165, ucf:44814
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004165

Title: HOME NOWHERE: ASSORTED PROSE.
Creator: Fortes, Rebecca, Rodríguez Milanés, Cecilia, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Oftentimes, the children of immigrants find themselves straddling two worlds. As Americanized minorities, we navigate torn psychological landscapes in which uneasy dichotomies are formed: living up to our parents' expectations, or fulfilling our own; embracing tradition, or birthing a new culture; admiring the lives of our family, but wanting different for ourselves. These tough decisions are further compounded by identifiers such as age, race, and gender. My creative thesis, a collection of...
Show moreOftentimes, the children of immigrants find themselves straddling two worlds. As Americanized minorities, we navigate torn psychological landscapes in which uneasy dichotomies are formed: living up to our parents' expectations, or fulfilling our own; embracing tradition, or birthing a new culture; admiring the lives of our family, but wanting different for ourselves. These tough decisions are further compounded by identifiers such as age, race, and gender. My creative thesis, a collection of fiction and nonfiction, examines these issues through three central characters. In fiction, they are the Latina sisters Mel and Nena; in nonfiction, it is myself. Through these stories, these young women struggle to feel a sense of belonging where they are, be it at home, work, or school; among friends or on their own; in places they choose, or in places where they are put. Each of these characters is forced to consider whether they will ever find a place to call home. They wonder whether that is a place to be found at all.
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Date Issued: 2014
Identifier: CFH0004577, ucf:45207
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004577

Title: ORANGE BLOSSOMS: ESSAYS ON MASCULINITY, HERITAGE, AND IDENTITY.
Creator: Montalvo, Edward, Roney, Lisa, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: I miss the smell of orange blossoms, which used to flood the countryside. But as a city grows, the land surrounding it dies. You cannot roll down your windows anymore and smell the sweet scent dancing off the buds. You will however find impressive theme parks, factory-style chain stores and restaurants. If you look close enough, you'll also see disgruntled souls of a once naturally spectacular culture of people. Laid back like the sands of Florida's coast. But now there are bills, traffic,...
Show moreI miss the smell of orange blossoms, which used to flood the countryside. But as a city grows, the land surrounding it dies. You cannot roll down your windows anymore and smell the sweet scent dancing off the buds. You will however find impressive theme parks, factory-style chain stores and restaurants. If you look close enough, you'll also see disgruntled souls of a once naturally spectacular culture of people. Laid back like the sands of Florida's coast. But now there are bills, traffic, and IKEA. This collection of essays is an attempt to escape such an experience. To explain such an existence, and to explore an eschewal from the inevitable, retail therapy. Xanthomonas axonopodis, often known as citrus cankers, is a bacterial disease affecting most citrus species. Dead tissue forms, then slowly grows, and consumes, then kills the fruits of labor. Grapefruits are the most susceptible to the disease. There was an outbreak from 1910, to 1931. Another from 1986 to 1994, and rumors sprang less than a year later stating the canker was back. To solve most outbreaks, famers and officials just burn the trees to complete, and utter ash. In 2006, the USDA stated eradication of the disease was impossible. If this sounds like cancer, the trust me, you're not crazy. Florida is known for its beaches, hospitality, and it's citrus.
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Date Issued: 2014
Identifier: CFH0004586, ucf:45183
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004586

Title: Counter Clockwise Culture Shock.
Creator: Mercer, Matthew, Roney, Lisa, Thaxton, Terry, Uttich, Laurie, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Counter Clockwise Culture Shock is a memoir focused the narrator's return to his hometown, a place he barely escaped: drug addiction, incarceration, bad relationships, alienation, an Oedipal mother, and suicidal threats. It is reflection on both culture and self, after I gained an outside perspective from Japan. The narrator is forced to relive nihilism and monotony, and face the troubles of his younger years. It describes the difficult journey of today's youth, in an evermore technologically...
Show moreCounter Clockwise Culture Shock is a memoir focused the narrator's return to his hometown, a place he barely escaped: drug addiction, incarceration, bad relationships, alienation, an Oedipal mother, and suicidal threats. It is reflection on both culture and self, after I gained an outside perspective from Japan. The narrator is forced to relive nihilism and monotony, and face the troubles of his younger years. It describes the difficult journey of today's youth, in an evermore technologically dynamic world(-)with few role models able to plot a course through. This is a meditation on past actions that ended in survival. Unlike most books dealing with cultural alienation, it focuses on a reinterpretation of my own culture. The main theme of the memoir is identity. The remnants of adventure, ingrained in the narrator's mind, contrast with a return to the d(&)#233;j(&)#224; vu of a distorted hometown. Many of the stories cut across time and space to mimic the disorientation of the narrator. The clarity of these cultural distortions emerges when viewed through an outside lens. Not only does Counter Clockwise Culture Shock distill these distortions, it uses an Eastern perspective(-)and language(-)to better understand the flaws and strengths of indoctrinated cultures. An outside perspective of a different culture expands the narrator's former view of the world. Suicide and depression are destroying Western society, and this is an attempt to catalog stresses of Western culture and help people in similar circumstances.
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Date Issued: 2018
Identifier: CFE0007345, ucf:52142
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007345

Title: HALF-VIRGIN.
Creator: Pollack, Alexander, Bartkevicius, Jocelyn, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Half-Virgin is a cross-genre collection of essays, short stories, and poems about the humor, pain, and occasional glory of journeying into adulthood but not quite getting there. The works in this collection seek to create a definition of a term, "half-virgin," that I coined in the process of writing this thesis. Among the possibilities explored are: an individual who embarks upon sexual activity for the first time and does not achieve orgasm; an individual who has reached orgasm through...
Show moreHalf-Virgin is a cross-genre collection of essays, short stories, and poems about the humor, pain, and occasional glory of journeying into adulthood but not quite getting there. The works in this collection seek to create a definition of a term, "half-virgin," that I coined in the process of writing this thesis. Among the possibilities explored are: an individual who embarks upon sexual activity for the first time and does not achieve orgasm; an individual who has reached orgasm through consensual sexual activity, but has remained uncertain about what he or she is doing; and the curious sensation of being half-child, half-adult. Ultimately, I believe, a "half-virgin" possesses all of these traits. One of the goals of the collection is to scramble the prototypical coming-of-age story into bits and parts and halves. Among the approaches included are earnest memoir (the real and metaphorical costumes a young couple wears on Halloween), character-driven fiction (the life story of Marlow, a college track star who ends up the unwitting inspiration for Super Mario Brothers), and narrative experiments (a tongue-in-cheek creative writing syllabus and a bullet pointed resume of sexual conquests). By exploring the untidy fragments in love, lust, and human connection in these works, Half-Virgin aspires to find wholeness through the jagged adventures of growing up.
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Date Issued: 2011
Identifier: CFE0003591, ucf:48921
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0003591

memoir (16)	+ -
nonfiction (14)	+ -
creative nonfiction (12)	+ -
creative writing (6)	+ -
essays (6)	+ -

fiction (6)	+ -
Nonfiction (3)	+ -
identity (3)	+ -
relationships (3)	+ -
Creative Nonfiction (2)	+ -
Fiction (2)	+ -
Florida (2)	+ -
Japan (2)	+ -
MFA (2)	+ -
adoption (2)	+ -
alcoholism (2)	+ -
coming of age (2)	+ -
coming-of-age (2)	+ -
cross-genre (2)	+ -
family (2)	+ -
flash fiction (2)	+ -
gay (2)	+ -
graphic narrative (2)	+ -
latino (2)	+ -
literary (2)	+ -
literary nonfiction (2)	+ -
loss (2)	+ -
memory (2)	+ -
personal essay (2)	+ -
poetry (2)	+ -

ETD Collection (26)	+ -
Honors Collection (4)	+ -

University of Central Florida (30)	+ -
Bartkevicius, Jocelyn (13)	+ -
Roney, Lisa (13)	+ -
Thaxton, Terry (8)	+ -
Uttich, Laurie (7)	+ -

Neal, Mary (5)	+ -
Poissant, David (4)	+ -
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