“Cherry Tree Variations” is a book-length creative nonfiction essay that collages memoir, research, and artifacts into a meditation on the meaning of community and the places in which queerness has often been forced to hide: in shadows, in whispers, and at the margins of the page. This lyric essay comprises a persistent attempt to gather a lineage where there is none and to find the author’s place in a society that refuses to center them. Through this experimental form and research therein, the author discovers their origins, complicates their understanding of their own identity, and considers their role in perpetuating this pieced-together family tree for future queer/trans generations.
","abstract_html":"<p>“Cherry Tree Variations” is a book-length creative nonfiction essay that collages memoir, research, and artifacts into a meditation on the meaning of community and the places in which queerness has often been forced to hide: in shadows, in whispers, and at the margins of the page. This lyric essay comprises a persistent attempt to gather a lineage where there is none and to find the author’s place in a society that refuses to center them. Through this experimental form and research therein, the author discovers their origins, complicates their understanding of their own identity, and considers their role in perpetuating this pieced-together family tree for future queer/trans generations.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Koontz, Ari"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Fine Arts","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"English","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Matthew Frank"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-04-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2025-04-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:24:36Z","subjects":["essay","writing","creative","Arts and Humanities"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://commons.nmu.edu/theses/879","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Matthew Frank"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Koontz, Ari"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2030-03-27T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["English"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Fine Arts"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["essay","writing","creative","Arts and Humanities"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://commons.nmu.edu/theses/879"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["“Cherry Tree Variations” is a book-length creative nonfiction essay that collages memoir, research, and artifacts into a meditation on the meaning of community and the places in which queerness has often been forced to hide: in shadows, in whispers, and at the margins of the page. This lyric essay comprises a persistent attempt to gather a lineage where there is none and to find the author’s place in a society that refuses to center them. Through this experimental form and research therein, the author discovers their origins, complicates their understanding of their own identity, and considers their role in perpetuating this pieced-together family tree for future queer/trans generations.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Cherry Tree Variations"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Matthew Frank"],"dc:creator":["Koontz, Ari"],"dc:date.available":["2030-03-27T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["“Cherry Tree Variations” is a book-length creative nonfiction essay that collages memoir, research, and artifacts into a meditation on the meaning of community and the places in which queerness has often been forced to hide: in shadows, in whispers, and at the margins of the page. This lyric essay comprises a persistent attempt to gather a lineage where there is none and to find the author’s place in a society that refuses to center them. Through this experimental form and research therein, the author discovers their origins, complicates their understanding of their own identity, and considers their role in perpetuating this pieced-together family tree for future queer/trans generations.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://commons.nmu.edu/theses/879"],"dc:subject":["essay","writing","creative","Arts and Humanities"],"dc:title":["Cherry Tree Variations"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["English"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Fine Arts"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:24:36Z"}