Thesis Proposal

Paul D Blumer
CCA MFA 2012
Thesis Proposal Louder Than Words

Le Train de Nulle Part is a French novel by Michel Thaler, who claims it as the first book written without a verb (apart from gerunds and participles as nouns and adjectives). It stands mostly as a series of observations by a narrator aboard a train, and has been criticized for its lack of action and its scathing, seemingly pointless grievance. The work has not been translated to English, so my plan for Louder Than Words is to achieve the historical position of first author to pen an English book without a verb—and to do it better. With loads of action. It’s about a revolution, after all, and all the gore, glory, love, and loathing that go into such a thing.
Inspired by George Orwell and the Arab Spring, my thesis will comprise as much of a novel or novella as I am able to complete in the time allotted, which will thereafter be added to, tweaked, and molded until it is fit for public consumption. My overall goal for Louder Than Words is somewhere in the vicinity of 200 pages, depending on what the story calls for, and the idea is to bind the thesis as a book for its final presentation.
As I see it, the thesis is in and of itself a work, but its importance to my writing is as an oasis, to replenish my water supply—if one can imagine an oasis with a weight room, a jumprope, and a climbing wall. The due dates and the pressures serve to strengthen my writing, which is part of why I’ve chosen such an exceedingly difficult project. But to call myself a master, without reaching so high, would be disingenuous at best.