Date of Award
4-2021
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Fine Arts
Department
English
Program
English (MA)
First Advisor/Chairperson
Dr. Lesley Larkin
Abstract
The Abstract is meant, despite what its name suggests, to make a given work definite and knowable, to map its parameters in order that the reader, scholarly or otherwise, can determine the worth of a given work – relative to their needs or interests – without having the inconvenience of reading the work itself. In the world of literary publishing, a paragraph like this is meant to convey the most compelling – read: saleable – features of a text in order to entice consumers to purchase one book over another, to take a certain path within the networks of global capital, changing a few ones and zeroes in a sales database that – amalgamated with other, similar changes – might increase, ever so slightly, the satisfaction of an executive board whose goodwill might be passed-on, in reasonable measures, to their underlings who, at best, will get a small holiday bonus, but who, more likely, will just be glad to have another day where they can be fairly certain they will not be fired for having written jacket copy that displeased The Market. The work of fiction contained herein is different, because it knows that either you are the type of person who will read it or you are not – and which type of person you are has already been determined by so many other infinitesimal decisions like this one – binaries, ones and zeroes. There is no point in trying to convince you; you have always already decided – amor fati.
Recommended Citation
Maxton, Ian, "Amor fati" (2021). All NMU Master's Theses. 656.
https://commons.nmu.edu/theses/656
Access Type
Open Access
Justification for Restricting Access
The thesis is a work-in-progress creative manuscript for which I may seek commercial publication. Making it accessible in this format would damage my ability to do so.