The Cleanse

The Cleanse is a novel that takes place deep in the Appalachians of the U.S. South—a queer woman named Nola finds herself at the forefront of a racial struggle for survival amidst a crumbling nation. One century after a Black genocide of the 2040's, Nola lives in a maroon community named Omega, built inside an Appalachian mountain for refuge while chaos ensues outside its walls. Fighting to return from a place of alienation in her community after a suicide attempt, young Nola begins having visceral dreams of an ancestor's fight for survival during the genocide. Nola must piece together the significance of these dreams before her and her people's lives are immutably changed. In this work I'm exploring queerness, ancestry and spirituality within the Black American context to navigate themes of community, joy and belonging in the face of racial oppression.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Fine Arts

Level thesis:degree_level

masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Creative Writing

Department dc:contributor.department

English

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Tech

Year dc:date.issued

2020

Author dc:creator

• Garretson-Atkinson, Lauren E.

Chair dc:contributor.committeechair

• Vollmer, James M.

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Roy, Lucinda H.
• Smith, Carmen Gimenez

• magical realism
• speculative fiction
• eco futurism
• afrofuturism

Statement dc:rights

• This item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. Some uses of this item may be deemed fair and permitted by law even without permission from the rights holder(s), or the rights holder(s) may have licensed the work for use under certain conditions. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights holder(s).

Dc Identifier Other

vt_gsexam:25351

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/132189