The Ocean Between Us
Description/Abstract/Artist Statement
“The Ocean Between Us” is a work of fiction written as a series of letters from a granddaughter, Cory, to her grandmother or “lola” who has recently passed away. What starts as an exploration of Cory’s grief over a lost connection that she felt she didn’t have to begin with develops into a larger exploration of family histories and cultural stressors as Cory learns to seek self-acceptance in the diaspora. I will be reading from the first two chapters of the work. In the on-going process of writing this story, I have been interested in reflecting on the following questions: How do I write about familial and cultural backgrounds without turning any characters into caricatures or exploiting, trivializing, or romanticizing the histories that appear here? And how much of this also relies on the reader’s responsibility to be aware of the ways in which they engage with this story?
Faculty Advisor/Mentor
Kent Wascom
Faculty Advisor/Mentor Department
English Department
College Affiliation
College of Arts & Letters
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Disciplines
Arts and Humanities | Creative Writing | Fiction
Session Title
Creative Writing/Reading
Location
Learning Commons @Perry Library, Room 1310
Start Date
3-25-2023 10:45 AM
End Date
3-25-2023 11:45 AM
The Ocean Between Us
Learning Commons @Perry Library, Room 1310
“The Ocean Between Us” is a work of fiction written as a series of letters from a granddaughter, Cory, to her grandmother or “lola” who has recently passed away. What starts as an exploration of Cory’s grief over a lost connection that she felt she didn’t have to begin with develops into a larger exploration of family histories and cultural stressors as Cory learns to seek self-acceptance in the diaspora. I will be reading from the first two chapters of the work. In the on-going process of writing this story, I have been interested in reflecting on the following questions: How do I write about familial and cultural backgrounds without turning any characters into caricatures or exploiting, trivializing, or romanticizing the histories that appear here? And how much of this also relies on the reader’s responsibility to be aware of the ways in which they engage with this story?