Date of Award
5-31-2026
Document Type
Campus Access Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Fine Arts (MFA)
Department
English/Creative Writing
First Advisor
John Fulton
Second Advisor
Askold Melnyczuk
Third Advisor
Eileen Pollack
Abstract
A Thousand Lives in the Country follows those living on the margins of a modernizing Japan, a country caught between its rigid traditions and the rapid encroachment of Western culture. Told from the perspectives of outsiders (Americans) and the Japanese, these eight short stories navigate questions of heritage, rural decay, sexism, language loss, and family dynamics. The voice of this collection is not entirely Japanese, American, or otherwise; it is instead somewhere in between, where the murkiest foundations of identity surface in the face of loss, alienation, and the indifferent passage of time.
Recommended Citation
Earl, David, "A Thousand Lives in the Country" (2026). Graduate Masters Theses. 950.
https://scholarworks.umb.edu/masters_theses/950
Comments
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