Comets

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dc.contributor.authorCosta, Joseph Allen
dc.date.accessioned2018-02-13T17:15:27Z
dc.date.available2018-02-13T17:15:27Z
dc.date.issued2018-01-04
dc.description.abstractComets is a linked collection of short fiction that follows the life of Robert Lazzara and the unpredictable struggles of a group of cabinetmakers in the Latin Quarter of Ybor City, an historic Tampa neighborhood. Robert is a lying, juvenile, self-pitying cabinetmaker who spends long days in his father’s shop staring out the garage doors waiting for his life to start. He is incredibly perceptive to small details, but blind to the comic and tragic lives of his coworkers: Del, who stumbles into seven garbage bags of pot and sees it as financial freedom; Pernell who has PTSD, a loveless marriage and works 16 hour days believing that death can make him a hero; Crazy Jimmy who speaks to his dead son and dreams of flying away with his homing pigeons; and Larry, the homeless, jazz pianist, who fights demons, addictions and racism. The twelve-story collection follows the mild and dire struggles of the men, as well as their wives and girlfriends, with problems that resonate deeply, while throughline protagonist, Robert, grows from a sophomoric 19 to an assured 36, trying to fill his father’s shoes, while searching for a deeper understanding of himself and his life. Inspiration for Comets was drawn from collections like Olive Kitteridge, Knockemstiff and Jesus’ Son, as well as by the gritty, blue-collar world in which I was raised.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11868/254
dc.language.isoen_USen_US
dc.publisherMFA in Creative Writing, The University of Tampaen_US
dc.subjectShort storiesen_US
dc.subjectTampaen_US
dc.subjectYbor Cityen_US
dc.titleCometsen_US
dc.typeThesisen_US

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