Theses and Dissertations Collection

Weathering Alaska is a collection of six short stories that explore place, its profound effect on human identity, and how the environment shapes the lives of people in a specific region. This collection attempts to represent those living within Alaska’s city limits, often women, and the isolation that people feel even in populated areas. Setting helps set a tone and at times is designed to take on a life of its own. The characters in these stories feel trapped in their situations, and the narrators rely on images, objects, and settings to help relay the characters’ memories and emotions to the reader. These stories are influenced by such authors as Rick Bass, Annie Proulx, Claire Vaye Watkins, and Ron Hansen, writers who often write about place and the people subjected to the fate of the natural world.