"Fogo"

Identifier

etd-04022015-142237

Degree

Master of Fine Arts (MFA)

Department

English

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

Titled “FOGO,” after the island of Fogo, Newfoundland, this collection speaks from the intersection of location, visitation, and residency. Fogo has drawn considerable attention for the artist residency program begun in 2010 by a native islander in an effort to revitalize the local communities. The titular island manifests the mystique of place as persona, person as place, and each poem is framed, ostensibly, in the voice of a male artist working in a different medium in residence on Fogo. While this project plays in persona, “FOGO” also interrogates narrative—each persona begins to tell a story or stories. Narrative arcs begin, or are entered at some point along a spectrum, but remain fragmentary. Slippage between the personas causes the narrative fragments to overlap, conflate and diverge. The text as a whole asks the reader to contemplate whether the fragments come together to create a coherent whole, and suggests that the reader will bring their own storytelling into the act of reading to ‘fill in the gaps.’ “FOGO” further represents ongoing exploration of interdisciplinarity. The heavy research undertaken to capture the special vocabularies of more than forty “types” of artist made it natural to adopt the abecedarian form. The volume comprises a disordered alphabet, a small encyclopedia of art and intimacy spoken by strangers in a strange land.

Date

2015

Document Availability at the Time of Submission

Secure the entire work for patent and/or proprietary purposes for a period of one year. Student has submitted appropriate documentation which states: During this period the copyright owner also agrees not to exercise her/his ownership rights, including public use in works, without prior authorization from LSU. At the end of the one year period, either we or LSU may request an automatic extension for one additional year. At the end of the one year secure period (or its extension, if such is requested), the work will be released for access worldwide.

Committee Chair

Mullen, Laura

DOI

10.31390/gradschool_theses.3839

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