SCRIMSHAW is a work of fiction composed of prose vignettes and prose poems, ‘translations’ of photographs and films, and assimilated/appropriated texts—all of which trace one troubled family’s century-spanning story as it attempts to inhabit the unstable space of memory. The fragmentary quality of the work’s construction speaks to the way in which the family memory is lashed together from stories, snippets of overheard conversation, photographs, letters, documents, shifting allegiances and alliances, and informational gaps and overlap, all of which cohere around a narrative framework in order to tell the story of a private history. Each page of the text becomes an installation space curated by the family’s remaining member, and each element of story is presented as an exhibit—a word intended to invoke both the art gallery and the courtroom.
","abstract_html":"<p><em>SCRIMSHAW</em> is a work of fiction composed of prose vignettes and prose poems, ‘translations’ of photographs and films, and assimilated/appropriated texts—all of which trace one troubled family’s century-spanning story as it attempts to inhabit the unstable space of memory. The fragmentary quality of the work’s construction speaks to the way in which the family memory is lashed together from stories, snippets of overheard conversation, photographs, letters, documents, shifting allegiances and alliances, and informational gaps and overlap, all of which cohere around a narrative framework in order to tell the story of a private history. Each page of the text becomes an installation space curated by the family’s remaining member, and each element of story is presented as an exhibit—a word intended to invoke both the art gallery and the courtroom.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Dowling, Meghan L."],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Ph.D.","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Selah Saterstrom"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2014,"date_issued":"2014-08-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2014-08-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:01:25Z","subjects":["Creative writing","Fiction","Poetry","Arts and Humanities"],"languages":["en"],"rights":["Copyright is held by the author. This work may only be accessed by members of the University of Denver community. The work is provided by permission of the author for individual research purposes only and may not be further copied or distributed. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
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