The rose line

The Rose Line is an interlocking collection of short stories featuring an eclectic cast of characters whose lives are affected and connected by a tragic subway crash. Told in reverse chronological order, each new story brings the reader a step back to the events and possible causes leading up to the accident, even as each new character attempts to move forward in their life. In this novel, the form parallels the content; both explore the fragmenting, yet also unifying aftershocks of trauma as a community moves on or fails to move on from a tragedy. Research to develop this story collection included reading works which rely on alternate structure and nonlinear arrangement; the goal was to create a novel in which the narrative shapes might echo the themes therewithin. I studied short stories and novels in which place or trauma serve as a locus—a tether holding separate narrative threads in tension. Additionally, I researched transit systems and maps, the history of transit development in real cities, and the ways in which infrastructure can mirror and motivate movement in the lives of citizens. Finally, I analyzed various theories of art and aesthetic philosophy to examine the role of art in the public space and its potential to heal or unify a group of people in the wake of tragedy. All areas of research allowed The Rose Line to better interrogate the ways in which persons are connected and isolated within a city—through trauma, art, as well as the literal infrastructure that lies, in this book, under the surface of the narrative at all times. The Rose Line explores themes of trauma, loss of love, motherhood, and the role of art in society; furthermore, it examines the relationship between place and tragedy—how the very shape of a city might inform the ripple effects of trauma. The goal of this work is to investigate ways in which human beings are connected while alluding to these connections in the formal arrangement of fourteen individual yet interlocking narratives.Arts, Faculty ofGraduat