My Journey of Primary Source Research on Author Breece D'J Pancake
Faculty Mentor
Dr. Olivia Carr Edenfield
Location
Russell Union Room 2052
Type of Research
Completed
Session Format
Oral Presentation
College
College of Arts & Humanities
Department
English
Abstract
My Honors Thesis focuses on the significance of setting in the writing of West Virginia author Breece D’J Pancake, whose only book was a short story collection published posthumously, six years after his suicide at age 26. Although Pancake is not widely known, he has received acclaim from many other great authors, such as Kurt Vonnegut, Joyce Carol Oates, and Andre Dubus III, the latter citing him as a major literary influence. Pancake’s descriptions of landscapes and domestic spaces are often misunderstood to be hyper-realistic objective descriptions of the environments inhabited by everyday West Virginians, but I argue that every detail included in his stories are, instead, actually a means of developing the protagonists by capturing their subjective experience of life.
In the process of researching my thesis, I engaged in extensive archival research, including six days over two trips at the the West Virginia and Regional History Center Archives at West Virginia University, and two days at the University of Virginia Archives, where all of Pancake’s correspondence, drafts, papers, and other ephemera are held. I also visited Pancake’s hometown of Milton, WV, where many of his stories are set, and even managed to speak to and get a tour of the town from a man who was a childhood friend of the author. The many discoveries I made in the archives and in Milton not only supported my argument, but greatly expanded my appreciation and understanding of his skill at crafting narratives that are just inches wide, yet miles deep.
This presentation focuses on the journey of researching my Thesis, sharing some of the discoveries I made as well as how primary source research changed my perspective on Pancake’s writing, and literature more widely.
Program Description
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Start Date
4-23-2026 3:00 PM
End Date
4-23-2026 3:15 PM
Recommended Citation
Rolinson, Callum, "My Journey of Primary Source Research on Author Breece D'J Pancake" (2026). GS4 Student Scholars Symposium. 249.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/research_symposium/2026/2026/249
My Journey of Primary Source Research on Author Breece D'J Pancake
Russell Union Room 2052
My Honors Thesis focuses on the significance of setting in the writing of West Virginia author Breece D’J Pancake, whose only book was a short story collection published posthumously, six years after his suicide at age 26. Although Pancake is not widely known, he has received acclaim from many other great authors, such as Kurt Vonnegut, Joyce Carol Oates, and Andre Dubus III, the latter citing him as a major literary influence. Pancake’s descriptions of landscapes and domestic spaces are often misunderstood to be hyper-realistic objective descriptions of the environments inhabited by everyday West Virginians, but I argue that every detail included in his stories are, instead, actually a means of developing the protagonists by capturing their subjective experience of life.
In the process of researching my thesis, I engaged in extensive archival research, including six days over two trips at the the West Virginia and Regional History Center Archives at West Virginia University, and two days at the University of Virginia Archives, where all of Pancake’s correspondence, drafts, papers, and other ephemera are held. I also visited Pancake’s hometown of Milton, WV, where many of his stories are set, and even managed to speak to and get a tour of the town from a man who was a childhood friend of the author. The many discoveries I made in the archives and in Milton not only supported my argument, but greatly expanded my appreciation and understanding of his skill at crafting narratives that are just inches wide, yet miles deep.
This presentation focuses on the journey of researching my Thesis, sharing some of the discoveries I made as well as how primary source research changed my perspective on Pancake’s writing, and literature more widely.
