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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'Vanishing Point is a crossover verse novel that poses the question of how individuals can learn to be comfortable in their own bodies. Nineteen-year-old Diana Warren suffers from anorexia and bulimia. She faces a challenging situation at home with dysfunctional parents and a Down-syndrome brother, which causes her to seek refuge in female role models in the mythic past. An Irish racehorse trainer who reignites her childhood love of horses causes her to question everything. Will she choose life or death? And what happens when that choice is taken out of her hands?' (Publication summary)
Adaptations
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Vanishing Point
2014
single work
musical theatre
'Vanishing Point explores the interior and exterior life of Diana, a nineteen year old girl living in South Australia. She struggles with the question tormenting many young people today: How do you learn to be comfortable in your own body? Diana suffers from anorexia and bulimia. Living with a demanding father, a mother who dabbles in charismatic religion, and a brother with Down syndrome, Diana feels pressured to be the family savior, to be “perfect.” In her need to control something in her life, she retreats into the self-destructive world of anorexia and bulimia. The play takes us on Diana’s journey into a place of healing and hope. Theatre is a medium of metaphor – nothing and no one are exactly what they seem to be: brick walls are really painted flats; actors assume new identities as aristocrats, peasants – even animals or plants. So, poetry – another medium grounded in metaphor – seems perfectly suited to the stage. Jeri Kroll’s rich, evocative language enables us to examine sometimes painful situations without looking away.' (Production summary)
Notes
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Crossover verse novel
Affiliation Notes
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Writing Disability in Australia:
Type of disability Eating disorders; Down syndrome. Type of character Primary and secondary. Point of view First person.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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The Verse Novel as Musical Drama : Vanishing Point as Case Study
2017
single work
criticism
— Appears in: New Writing , January vol. 14 no. 1 2017; (p. 47-66) This article takes a case study approach, using the adaptation in America of Vanishing Point into musical drama. It discusses the suitability of a verse novel for adaptation, provides context about American musical drama and focuses on shows that break new ground through dealing with challenging social and psychological material. Vanishing Point treats a young woman’s struggle to overcome anorexia and bulimia. The article explores music and emotion in drama and concentrates on the composer’s, director’s and poet’s interpretations of how music and lyrics shape the production’s affect. These ‘emic’ perspectives strengthen the case study methodology.' (Publication abstract) -
Jeri Kroll, Workshopping the Heart : New and Selected Poems, and Vanishing Point
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Poetry Journal , vol. 6 no. 1 2016; (p. 112-116)
— Review of Workshopping the Heart : New and Selected Poems 2013 selected work poetry ; Vanishing Point 2015 selected work poetry -
YA Verse Novels : No Chance of Vanishing
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: TEXT : Journal of Writing and Writing Courses , April vol. 20 no. 1 2016;
— Review of Vanishing Point 2015 selected work poetry -
Poignant and Necessary : Aidan Coleman Reviews ‘Vanishing Point’ by Jeri Kroll
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: Rochford Street Review , October – December no. 20 2016;
— Review of Vanishing Point 2015 selected work poetry
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YA Verse Novels : No Chance of Vanishing
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: TEXT : Journal of Writing and Writing Courses , April vol. 20 no. 1 2016;
— Review of Vanishing Point 2015 selected work poetry -
Jeri Kroll, Workshopping the Heart : New and Selected Poems, and Vanishing Point
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Poetry Journal , vol. 6 no. 1 2016; (p. 112-116)
— Review of Workshopping the Heart : New and Selected Poems 2013 selected work poetry ; Vanishing Point 2015 selected work poetry -
Poignant and Necessary : Aidan Coleman Reviews ‘Vanishing Point’ by Jeri Kroll
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: Rochford Street Review , October – December no. 20 2016;
— Review of Vanishing Point 2015 selected work poetry -
The Verse Novel as Musical Drama : Vanishing Point as Case Study
2017
single work
criticism
— Appears in: New Writing , January vol. 14 no. 1 2017; (p. 47-66) This article takes a case study approach, using the adaptation in America of Vanishing Point into musical drama. It discusses the suitability of a verse novel for adaptation, provides context about American musical drama and focuses on shows that break new ground through dealing with challenging social and psychological material. Vanishing Point treats a young woman’s struggle to overcome anorexia and bulimia. The article explores music and emotion in drama and concentrates on the composer’s, director’s and poet’s interpretations of how music and lyrics shape the production’s affect. These ‘emic’ perspectives strengthen the case study methodology.' (Publication abstract)