Date of Award

2018

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Humanities

First Advisor

Dimino, Andrea

Area of Concentration

English

Abstract

Florida literature is not merely a part of Southern literature, but rather its own category of writing. Its prose and poetry cannot be defined except as the sum of its parts, so this thesis explores two regions of Florida: the Everglades and Central Florida. The Everglades chapter examines Karen Russell’s Swamplandia!, Peter Matthiessen’s Shadow Country, and Campbell McGrath’s poems “A City in the Clouds” and “The Everglades.” It identifies magic, Southern influence and outlaw culture, and conservation of land as prominent themes in Everglades literature. In the Central Florida chapter, it analyzes Susan Lilley’s poem “Fall,” Nathan Holic’s 15 Views Vol. 2: Corridor, and Jeff Parker’s Ovenman, placing a heavy emphasis on Orlando as an overall example for the region. After the two primary chapters, third section contains lesson plans for a five-day high school unit on Florida poetry. It concludes by comparing findings from both chapters--especially singular works written from multiple perspectives, nature’s presence, and the ways in which each region portrays change over time--and suggesting steps for future installments in an “Innumerable Perspectives of the Sunshine State” series.

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