Re(Fractals) : a collection of gay short stories

• Main Author: Kent, Reginald James
• Other Authors: Barrie Wayne Sherwood
• Format: Thesis-Master by Research
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2021
• Subjects: Humanities::Literature
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/153390
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Re(Fractals) is a collection of gay short stories accompanied by an exegesis detailing the theoretical texts and media that have informed the collection. These eight stories dramatize, render, and contextualize the lives of gay men in Singapore. These stories document their experiences, explore their trauma, and celebrate their triumphs. They were written to illuminate the fact that the gay experience is not monolithic but exists in a myriad. The queering of the short story was important to me in this process, and this can be seen in the unconventional approaches that the narratives adopt. There is the incorporation of lists, the use of excessive dialogue, and the breakdowns of time as well as setting, among others. Drawing from my forebears, other gay fiction writers such as Christopher Isherwood, Ocean Voung, and Bryan Washington, queerness is not only present itself in plot and characterization, but also in form and narration. These stories also examine the intersectionality present in the gay experience arising from factors such as upbringing, nationality, and economic class. Institutions and societal conventions form the backbone of most of the collection’s conflict. Characters in Re(Fractals) strive against the forces that hinder their realization of authentic gay lives. Through subtle but meaningful epiphanies achieved in the narratives, they come closer to understanding what the gay experience means and how it manifests for them. These stories were written by a gay man for his community. They open conversations on our existence and hopefully provide healing and solace, even amid trauma.