Thesis Defense Announcement

The College of Communication and Fine Arts announces the Final Thesis Defense of

Anthony Larry

for the Degree of Master of Fine Arts

November 5, 2018 at 1:00 PM in Patterson Hall, Room 335

Advisor: Cary Holladay

Thunder on Water

ABSTRACT:  "This collection of fifteen interconnected short stories illustrates the hidden life of women and men who live or have lived in Grenada, Mississippi. The collection focuses on individual journeys that swell throughout the entire Southern town. Both saintly and profane, Thunder on Water is inspired by works from James Joyce, Flannery O'Connor, Toni Morrison, and many more. In these fifteen interconnected short stories, Anthony André Larry II uncovers the hidden life of women and men who live or have lived in his native Grenada, Mississippi. Specifically, the collection focuses on the lives of two black women—Brenda and Noelle— whose separate journeys swell throughout the entire Southern town. Both saintly and profane, Thunder on Water is inspired by James Joyce, Flannery O'Connor, Toni Morrison, and many more. What happens when the hidden life is uncovered? Inspired by James Joyce's Dubliners, Sherwood Anderson's Winesburg, Ohio and many others, this project will consist of 160 pages worth of interconnected short stories concerning characters who live or have lived in a small Mississippi town called Grenada. Specifically, the collection will show the lives of two black women—Brenda and Noelle—whose interactions with others will bring about tensions that ripple throughout town. Said characters will be used in stories that explore themes of race, sexuality, and gender. The collection features a story published in the Spring 2016 Issue of the UofM Magazine titled "I Heard Her at the Dollar Store." The collection will be placed firmly in the realist subgenre of fiction with subtle turns in magical realism, Southern Gothic, and Southern noir. "