Dissertation
Alterity: Writing Differentness in Print
University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland
Doctor of Creative Arts, University of the Sunshine Coast
2013
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25907/00432
Abstract
The creative artefact accompanying this submission for the Degree of Doctorate of Creative Arts (Creative Writing) is a 40,000 word novel, entitled The Sherbrooke Brothers, written for the cross-over market, which includes young adult and older readers. Following the lives of two brothers, Alex and Rob (aged 17 and 20 respectively), The Sherbrooke Brothers explores existential themes such as fate, choice, death, freedom, personal responsibility, and the possibility of an afterlife. As an important manifestation of alterity (the sense of self and other) the subconscious world of both characters is explored using surreal devices - such as memories, dreams, visions and/or hallucinations - most of which are written as stand-alone episodes that may be read non-sequentially. Additionally, parallel storylines allow readers to observe events impacting upon both characters simultaneously, but in different settings. Digressive footnotes, as well as material written in the margins, intensify the creative artefact's multi-linear nature, providing readers with a choice as to how they traverse and interpret the text. Footnotes also allow for the introduction of an omniscient narrator, instilling the creative artefact with a different point of view, as well as multiple character-oriented perspectives. The Sherbrooke Brothers is an experimental work that re-presents the networked, interlinked, visually-oriented aesthetics of electronic-based technologies, such as computers and smartphones. This re-presentation is brought to the fore in several ways, including the use of Quick Response (QR) Codes that link the creative artefact with the Internet. When adapting electronic aesthetics into the printed realm, it has been my intention to transform a contemporary existential narrative into an assemblage of texts that conjures individual interpretations and reader interactivity. Yet, as a deeply intertextual work that positions the printed text as physical artefact, The Sherbrooke Brothers reinforces the collaborative dynamics that occur between readers and author when determining meaning.
Details
- Title
- Alterity: Writing Differentness in Print
- Authors
- Eileen Goodall
- Contributors
- Gary Crew (Supervisor)
- Awarding institution
- University of the Sunshine Coast
- Degree awarded
- Doctor of Creative Arts
- Publisher
- University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland
- DOI
- 10.25907/00432
- Organisation Unit
- School of Business and Creative Industries; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; School of Creative Industries - Legacy
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99448936202621
- Output Type
- Dissertation
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