{"id":{"repo_id":"vt","oai_identifier":"oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/63895"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/vt/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/63895","repository":{"repo_id":"vt","name":"Virginia Tech","base_url":"https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"The Human Origins of Beatrice Porter and Other Essential Ghosts","abstract":"The following manuscript is a collection of linked stories that follows a family from Jamaica and Trinidad to the U.S. and back. The collection focuses on two sisters' episodic journey through their sexual awakenings, their mother's illness, their father's violence and absence. In the process, the sisters come to terms with their own hybrid identities. In writing this book, I drew not only from my personal experience, but also from extensive research both in Trinidad and Tobago and in books and oral histories. The enclosed stories include, \"What's My Name?\" which is told from the point of view of oral history personified--a narrator trying to break free from \"dominant narrative.\" In this way, my work aims to challenge the nature of narrative itself. Other pieces such as, \"Taino Instructions for Communicating with Dead Mothers,\" re-purpose historical figures into present day in order to create a mythic ghost story.","abstract_html":"The following manuscript is a collection of linked stories that follows a family from Jamaica and Trinidad to the U.S. and back. The collection focuses on two sisters' episodic journey through their sexual awakenings, their mother's illness, their father's violence and absence. In the process, the sisters come to terms with their own hybrid identities. In writing this book, I drew not only from my personal experience, but also from extensive research both in Trinidad and Tobago and in books and oral histories. The enclosed stories include, "What's My Name?" which is told from the point of view of oral history personified--a narrator trying to break free from "dominant narrative." In this way, my work aims to challenge the nature of narrative itself. Other pieces such as, "Taino Instructions for Communicating with Dead Mothers," re-purpose historical figures into present day in order to create a mythic ghost story.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Palmer, Soraya Jennalee"],"institution":"Virginia Tech","degree_name":"Master of Fine Arts","degree_level":"masters","degree_discipline":"Creative Writing","degree_department":"English","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":["D'Aguiar, Frederick M."],"committee_members":["Meitner, Erika S.","Vollmer, Matthew"],"year":2014,"date_issued":"2014-05-08","date_published":"2014-05-08","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:19:22Z","subjects":["fiction","thesis"],"languages":[],"rights":["In Copyright"],"rights_urls":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["vt_gsexam:3035"],"render_values":[{"text":"vt_gsexam:3035","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/10919/63895","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.committeechair","label":"Committee Chair","values":["D'Aguiar, Frederick M."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Meitner, Erika S.","Vollmer, Matthew"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["English"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Palmer, Soraya Jennalee"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2015-10-31T06:01:12Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2015-10-31T06:01:12Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2014-05-08"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Virginia Tech"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Creative Writing"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["masters"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Fine Arts"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["fiction","thesis"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["In Copyright"]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["vt_gsexam:3035"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/10919/63895"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The following manuscript is a collection of linked stories that follows a family from Jamaica and Trinidad to the U.S. and back. The collection focuses on two sisters' episodic journey through their sexual awakenings, their mother's illness, their father's violence and absence. In the process, the sisters come to terms with their own hybrid identities. In writing this book, I drew not only from my personal experience, but also from extensive research both in Trinidad and Tobago and in books and oral histories. The enclosed stories include, \"What's My Name?\" which is told from the point of view of oral history personified--a narrator trying to break free from \"dominant narrative.\" In this way, my work aims to challenge the nature of narrative itself. Other pieces such as, \"Taino Instructions for Communicating with Dead Mothers,\" re-purpose historical figures into present day in order to create a mythic ghost story."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["Master of Fine Arts"]},{"key":"dc:format.medium","label":"Dc Format Medium","values":["ETD"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Human Origins of Beatrice Porter and Other Essential Ghosts"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.committeechair":["D'Aguiar, Frederick M."],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Meitner, Erika S.","Vollmer, Matthew"],"dc:contributor.department":["English"],"dc:creator":["Palmer, Soraya Jennalee"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2015-10-31T06:01:12Z"],"dc:date.available":["2015-10-31T06:01:12Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2014-05-08"],"dc:description.abstract":["The following manuscript is a collection of linked stories that follows a family from Jamaica and Trinidad to the U.S. and back. 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