Essays

All of these were written for my BA in Creative and Media Writing/Writing and Media at Middlesex University. If I can remember the grade I received for the essay I've included it in the summary - non UK-residents can find an explanation for the UK tertiatry education grading system here.

Barrel of a Gun Commentary

Written in 2002, with the brief to write a story relating to the theme of Forbidden Love and in some way - however minor - derived from Arundhati Roy's novel The God of Small Things. The story is here.

The Boy in the Elevator Shaft, or, The Continuing Descent of Icarus

The original finished work was presented as an installation piece and built on the idea of retelling old myths first brought about in Narcissus Through The Looking Glass. The story this essay relates to is here, and both were completed in 2004. I received a 2.1 for this.

Monsters Under The Bed: Critique

Coursework for my Prose Fiction class in 2002, this did somewhat push the boundary of what was acceptable under the original brief for realist fiction. The story it relates to is here.

Narcissus Through The Looking Glass: Critical Preface

Experimental Fiction coursework, originally presented as an installation piece, and my first work dealing with tearing a myth down to its component symbols. The installation piece was not terribly well received by the administration office and was branded "obscene" by the Dean of the Students, so I think we can assume I did something right, there. The original story (sadly lacking the mirror and collage it was presented on) is here

A Rather Inaccurate And Brief History Of Comic Book Publishing In Considerably Less Than Ten And A Half Chapters

Does exactly what it says on the tin. This was written in early 2002, as evidenced by the poor research and abominable tone.

Analysis of Comics As An Adult Story-Telling Medium

Again, does exactly what it says in the title, albeit really not very effectively. Completed in 2003 for my Drama Writing class in defiance of my tutor (whom I hated for no good reason) and to avoid having to write another blasted critique. It quite rightly received a woeful 2.2 and probably deserved a third.

How Comics Are Usually Made

The introduction to my dissertation (below). Originally this was part of the dissertation text, but alas the text was about twice as long as it was meant to be and so I squirreled this vital piece of intformation away in the preface and shoved a lot of things into the appendix. Completed in 2004, received a first.

Kissing Carrion and the Comics Industry

My dissertation, completed in 2004, and received a first. An interesting coda to that respectable tale is that my tutor emailed a little while after I'd graduated to ask if it could be included in a handbook of "how to write a critique", which might have been useful for me to have around for my bloody attempts. Quite gratifying all the same.

© Derek Des Anges (unless stated otherwise)