My dissertation consists of poetry and two non-fiction essays written during my enrollment in the Creative Writing Master of Fine Arts program at the University of New Mexico. The manuscript begins with an essay detailing the moment in my life when I started to write again, after a writer\\u201fs block that lasted fifteen years, from 1980-1995. The following sections of poetry deal with issues that I consider to be main themes throughout my entire body of work: race and class. I specifically explore what it is like to be Latino and working-class at a time when the depressed economy has led to a loss of jobs not seen since the Great Depression of the 1930s. I give the reader my thoughts and feelings during these times of fear and racial divide, with the hope of shedding light on the common stake we all share as human beings. I close with an essay about the childhood memories I have growing up with a parent who was an addict, and how I came to realize my bitter feelings of abandonment were not the total summation of the relationship I had with my father.
","abstract_html":"<p>My dissertation consists of poetry and two non-fiction essays written during my enrollment in the Creative Writing Master of Fine Arts program at the University of New Mexico. The manuscript begins with an essay detailing the moment in my life when I started to write again, after a writer\\u201fs block that lasted fifteen years, from 1980-1995. The following sections of poetry deal with issues that I consider to be main themes throughout my entire body of work: race and class. I specifically explore what it is like to be Latino and working-class at a time when the depressed economy has led to a loss of jobs not seen since the Great Depression of the 1930s. I give the reader my thoughts and feelings during these times of fear and racial divide, with the hope of shedding light on the common stake we all share as human beings. I close with an essay about the childhood memories I have growing up with a parent who was an addict, and how I came to realize my bitter feelings of abandonment were not the total summation of the relationship I had with my father.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Vargas, Richard R."],"institution":null,"degree_name":"MFA Creative Writing","degree_level":"Masters","degree_discipline":"English","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Warner, Sharon Oard","Mueller, Dan","Romero, Levi","Gomez, Laura"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2011,"date_issued":"2011-08-17T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2011-08-17T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:27:31Z","subjects":["American poetry--21st century","American essays--21st century","Race in literature","Social classes in literature","English Language and Literature"],"languages":["English"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/engl_etds/62"],"render_values":[{"text":"https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/engl_etds/62","href":"https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/engl_etds/62","code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/1928/12989","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Warner, Sharon Oard","Mueller, Dan","Romero, Levi","Gomez, Laura"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Vargas, Richard R."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2099-12-17T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["English"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Masters","Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["MFA Creative Writing"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["American poetry--21st century","American essays--21st century","Race in literature","Social classes in literature","English Language and Literature"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["English"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/1928/12989","https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/engl_etds/62"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["My dissertation consists of poetry and two non-fiction essays written during my enrollment in the Creative Writing Master of Fine Arts program at the University of New Mexico. The manuscript begins with an essay detailing the moment in my life when I started to write again, after a writer\\u201fs block that lasted fifteen years, from 1980-1995. The following sections of poetry deal with issues that I consider to be main themes throughout my entire body of work: race and class. I specifically explore what it is like to be Latino and working-class at a time when the depressed economy has led to a loss of jobs not seen since the Great Depression of the 1930s. I give the reader my thoughts and feelings during these times of fear and racial divide, with the hope of shedding light on the common stake we all share as human beings. I close with an essay about the childhood memories I have growing up with a parent who was an addict, and how I came to realize my bitter feelings of abandonment were not the total summation of the relationship I had with my father.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Paydazed and a Song for Shenandoah"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Warner, Sharon Oard","Mueller, Dan","Romero, Levi","Gomez, Laura"],"dc:creator":["Vargas, Richard R."],"dc:date.available":["2099-12-17T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["My dissertation consists of poetry and two non-fiction essays written during my enrollment in the Creative Writing Master of Fine Arts program at the University of New Mexico. The manuscript begins with an essay detailing the moment in my life when I started to write again, after a writer\\u201fs block that lasted fifteen years, from 1980-1995. The following sections of poetry deal with issues that I consider to be main themes throughout my entire body of work: race and class. I specifically explore what it is like to be Latino and working-class at a time when the depressed economy has led to a loss of jobs not seen since the Great Depression of the 1930s. I give the reader my thoughts and feelings during these times of fear and racial divide, with the hope of shedding light on the common stake we all share as human beings. I close with an essay about the childhood memories I have growing up with a parent who was an addict, and how I came to realize my bitter feelings of abandonment were not the total summation of the relationship I had with my father.
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