Semester
Spring
Date of Graduation
2025
Document Type
MFA Creative Writing Thesis (Campus Access)
Degree Type
MFA
College
Eberly College of Arts and Sciences
Department
English
Committee Chair
Christa Parravani
Committee Co-Chair
Mark Brazaitis
Committee Member
Mark Brazaitis
Committee Member
Brian Broome
Abstract
The Wick of Youth is an autofictional novel following Casey Mullen, a young man from the Pacific Northwest who spends his twenties drifting between jobs, places, and relationships. Told in episodic fragments, the novel blends memoir and fiction in the tradition of the roman à clef. It draws influence from writers like James Baldwin, John Williams, Bret Easton Ellis, and Adelle Waldman. Set in locations like Washington, Oregon, Hawaii, New Zealand, Thailand, and Germany, this swashbuckling but intimate story also functions as a kind of travelogue. This project is less about plot and more about capturing a feeling—a mix of restlessness, detachment, and the existential search for meaning in an indifferent world.
Recommended Citation
Cronin, Brent, "The Wick of Youth" (2025). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 12777.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/12777