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Virginia Tech

Magic City Mischief

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

Set against a lush landscape of swaying palms and rolling waves in what should be a tropical paradise is Miami a.k.a. The Magic City—a hedonistic metropolis saturated with sex whose residents are consumed with the pleasure principle. Combine the sheer numbers and too-busy, modern lives—and the consequential ability to live anonymously—plus inhabitants who embrace the “me"? principle, whip these ingredients together, and traditional guidelines are abandoned. The linked fictional collection consists of longer, more richly-textured stories, as well as experimental and flash fiction pieces that mirror the characters’ unreflective lives and risk-taking nature. While aware of conservative literary models, writing stories about my home of thirty years demanded the more avant-garde tradition of the erotic exemplified by Vladimir Nabokov, Anaїs Nin, and Sidonie Gabrielle Colette. And because my stories are grounded in such a vehemently bold locale—not to mention a bolder present—I aimed for language as bold. To alert the reader that this is a different sort of read, a Sexual Relationship Tree—as opposed to the more customary Family Tree—has been placed at the collection’s start. Clearly, mischief abounds. Note it was my conscious decision not to insert a filter between the story and the reader. Keeping my narrator’s tongue tightly in check, I have embodied the commonly heard storytelling directive of “show, don’t tell"? by opting for a more reportorial approach. I trust my sagacious reader to supply a filter of his/her own when considering the thematic weights of the collection.

Degree

thesis:*
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
2010

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Roberts, Geri L.
Chair dc:contributor.committeechair
  • D'Aguiar, Frederick M.
Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember
  • Mann, Jeffrey A.
  • Falco, Edward C.

Subjects

dc:subject × 6

Rights

dc:rights
Statement dc:rights
  • In Copyright
Language dc:language.iso
en_US

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Dc Identifier Other
etd-04262010-164325
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/77486

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
Virginia Tech
Base URL
vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request
Last updated
2026-07-22
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Roberts, Geri L.. Magic City Mischief. masters thesis, Virginia Tech, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/77486