Document Type
Thesis
Degree
Master of Fine Arts
Major
Creative Writing
Date of Defense
4-12-2023
Graduate Advisor
John Dalton
Committee
John Dalton
Shane Seely
Minsoo Kang
Abstract
“Against Beauty” is a collection of three short stories—Against Beauty; Ascend, Living Dead; and One Dark Night in a Loud, Lonely Place—along with the excerpt of a novel-in-progress, currently titled On Bloodied Wings. Each of these stories focuses on strange and transformative moments of connection between lonely, frightened characters, often against a supernatural backdrop. Against Beauty tells the story of a hideously deformed vampire whose encounter with a surprisingly chill vampire hunter drags her out of her dismal basement-dwelling lifestyle. Ascend, Living Dead focuses on a zombie-like creature in a dying world, who wishes nothing more than to know the divine. One Dark Night… focuses on an anxious young woman as she descends into the local goth club in an effort to make friends. And finally, the excerpt from On Bloodied Wings follows a holy sister in a horrifying blood-soaked convent, when she discovers that the chthonic murder-deity she’s been pretending to worship isn’t the monster she expected.
Note: This thesis is under a author requested embargo until 2223, after which it will become available in accordance with end of expected copyright protection. This embargo year is intentional and not an error.
Recommended Citation
Smith, Owen, "Against Beauty: Three Short Stories and a Novel Excerpt" (2023). Theses. 489.
https://irl.umsl.edu/thesis/489