Semester
Spring
Date of Graduation
2021
Document Type
MFA Creative Writing Thesis
Degree Type
MFA
College
Eberly College of Arts and Sciences
Department
English
Committee Chair
Gwen Bergner
Committee Co-Chair
Katie Fallon
Committee Member
Ann Pancake
Abstract
In Forty Weeks in 2020, Clayton chronicles his wife’s first pregnancy during a tumultuous year of global pandemic, political upheaval, and personal isolation. Each chapter documents a new week of the pregnancy, from the discovery of conception in Week 5 to the birth in Week 40. Along the way, Clayton addresses his future child directly, telling stories of his youth and family, engaging with the cultural challenges of 2020, and anticipating his own anxiety in raising a child in the 2020s to come. Clayton’s fears include his lifelong history with suicidality, loss, anger, alienation, and gender identity. Through examinations of storytelling, traditions, political commentary, and social critiques, Clayton attempts to overcome his fears while navigating his way to hope for his child’s future in a year widely agreed to be the “worst ever.”
Recommended Citation
Clayton, Storey William, "Forty Weeks in 2020: A Future Father Faces his Fears" (2021). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 8117.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/8117
Embargo Reason
Permanent Embargo – MFA Creative Writing