When writing WORLD-MART, I strove for an overtly mundane and cold world with the hope of fully immersing readers into the world-gone-corporate. It was part of a literary technique that works to connect to readers not only through what they read, but how they're reading it. That meant, however, also writing characters who could fit that cold, corporate model. I chose the Irwin family to be the epitome of mediocrity, a reflection of the world around them, which called for some creative use of characterization. With Shelley's character, I used her poetry to offer the readers a gauge into her ever-crumbling psyche. If one compares the different poems she "shares" throughout the novel, obvious differences in style, language, and content give clues about her standing with the world. With that said, I'm curious about readers' responses to the progression (or in Shelley's case, regression) that occurs in Shelley's poetry through the course of the story. Thanks for reading! | |